American Kids are People Too

The White House and the much of the media have talked endlessly about “the kids” who are pouring over our borders. No doubt there has been a tremendous surge in the number of children crossing illegally into the United States, lured by the Obama administration’s lack of border and interior enforcement, DACA, and the perpetual promise of future amnesties. But many, and by reliable accounts, most who are now coming illegally are not children, and that detail has been virtually ignored in the conversations about what must be done to secure the border and repatriate those illegally in the United States. So, too, is the fact that the information about the age (average age of fourteen), country of origin, and intent of the unaccompanied minors comes from the aliens themselves.

The “humanitarian crisis” is man-made, and it is not just the fault of President Obama. The entire Democratic and Republican leadership share responsibility for what is occurring, and for failing to take immediate steps to remedy the situation. It is clear that the President is intent on politicizing the ongoing immigration crisis in order to use it against Republicans in the mid-term elections. This is a grave miscalculation by the White House, as signaled by comments made by Steny Hoyer and other top Democrats, who have spoken out against the President’s failure to act in the national interest.

On the other side of the aisle, the Republican leadership has been backed into a corner and can no longer ignore the concerns of the American public. They are still reeling from the Eric Cantor primary loss and are trying to avoid the defection of their base over immigration. House Speaker Boehner has said that he might add the executive amnesties to the lawsuit he is preparing against the President, though Boehner has done nothing the past six years to ensure that the border was secure and our immigration laws were being enforced.

While the Obama Administration is trying to manage the unfolding public relations crisis, top Republicans in Congress are still trying to find a way to pass amnesty and massive increases in the admission of immigrants and guest workers to placate their corporate financiers. Their recent tough talk is a welcome change, but they need to do more than hold a blustery press conference to effect change.

The non-stop hand wringing over “the kids” is being used to deflect attention away from the larger problem of mass illegal immigration that resumed in 2009 after a short downtick following the 2007 recession. Americans don’t oppose treating illegal alien children humanely, or adult illegal aliens for that matter. But assuring the safety and welfare of illegal aliens before they are sent back to their home countries does not equate with failing to protect the safety and welfare of the American people by turning federal agents into traffickers who transport illegal aliens to the interior of the country –where they most likely will remain permanently. The actions (and inaction) of the Obama administration on immigration policy for the past five and half years have been reprehensible, and the response (or lack thereof) by top Republicans has been indefensible.

There are about 70 million native-born children in the United States. Their future hangs in the balance here, yet the President of the United States is unconcerned about “doing right by them.”

As Senator Jeff Sessions so poignantly asked: “When did we forget that a nation owes its first allegiance to her own citizens?”