As the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants it’s been truly astounding to see that the President of El Salvador has been more committed to securing America’s borders than the Biden administration. Shortly after taking office, Biden suspended the safe third country security deals we had in place with countries like El Salvador in a deliberate attempt to encourage illegal entry by those without documentation.
In the 1980’s, my parents were placed on a strict path to citizenship via Ronald Reagan’s IRCA policy. In addition to having a clean record, they had to prove they would not be a tax burden, and learn English and American history. In return, American employers were supposed to only hire American workers or those that were here legally. This provision was never enforced.
Times are much different than they were thirty-five years ago. A booming economy then has given way to the lowest labor participation rate since the 1970’s with Americans of all races and backgrounds now having to compete against an ever expanding labor pool for jobs and wages.
In addition, gangs like MS-13 have been allowed to metastasize and prey on our communities. I know – my family grew up under that fear, and saw vicious attacks, even killings of loved ones at the hands of this barbaric gang. This was why I fought so hard to preserve Prince William County’s vital 287(g) agreement with the federal government. This agreement ensured that the most dangerous criminals arrested by county law enforcement would be checked for their immigration status.. With the ending of the 287(g) agreement, the county jail now no longer notifies ICE when illegal immigrants that commit violent crimes are arrested.
What is happening at the border today is a man made humanitarian crisis that must be fixed. Every day, young girls are being trafficked into the United States and sold as sex slaves – including right here in Northern Virginia. Massive amounts of fentanyl comes across from Mexico every day, feeding more misery and death to those already struggling with addiction issues.
Before we have any talks about what to do with those here today, we must make sure we turn the magnets off and secure the border or else this humanitarian crisis, on so many levels, will never truly be solved.
Original source can be found here.
