Reid K. Beveridge has covered politics in various states and Washington, D.C., since 1965. He is now retired and lives near Georgetown.
Why have we in Delaware been spared?
Why has Rehoboth Beach been spared?
Indeed, why has North Shores, that tiny dot on the map attached to Rehoboth Beach, been spared?
One might have thought that, by this time, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas would have divined that dropping off a couple busloads of illegal immigrants in front of President Joe Biden’s front door would be a good political stunt.
Of course, to make this work, the Texas governor’s press office would have to alert the TV networks, the cable TV outlets and the Delaware newspapers of the impending dump. It would probably be a real hoot. A hoot because a lot of those immigrants will have never seen the ocean or the beach before.
On the other hand, of course, most of them probably haven’t seen the likes of the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, New York, either. This, even though the poor Roosevelt has seen its better days — it once was an elegant (if older), classy place with something (horrors!) called the Men’s Bar and Grill on the ground floor, off Madison Avenue. But we digress.
The issue here, if it isn’t already dreadfully obvious, is that Delaware and most other states now are border states, too. Nowadays, it’s not just Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and now California that share a border with our neighbors to the south. With the receipt of millions of illegal immigrants from all over the world — not just Latin America these days — many states get to share in the joy.
The joy of having busloads of destitute people desperate to reach the United States has been shared with more than just states physically on the border. If you don’t believe it, consider a comment from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich some months ago. He commented that someone had done a poll in Latin America and found that 121 Latin Americans wanted to come to the United States. Progressives who trumpet that the United States is a horrible racist, xenophobic, homophobic, misogynistic hellhole should consider that statistic.
We have only one man to thank for all this joy. He is Joseph R. Biden Jr., the 46th president of the United States. The situation at the border is not new. However, it was sort of under control until three years ago. Over the years, the United States did receive millions of immigrants this way and largely assimilated them. Mostly, they came to the United States to work and become Americans. Texas was a very multicultural place, with Latin Americans — mostly Mexicans back in those days — widely accepted into the mainstream. Many White Texans speak a language called “Tex-Mex,” which is a combination of Spanish and English. Note: Do not think, ever, that Texans and Puerto Ricans speak the same kind of Spanish. They do not.
Many of us know of the situation in Venezuela these days. Many do not know, on the other hand, of the nearly as abominable situations in Central American countries like Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador or Nicaragua. Many people from those countries are desperate to leave to get away from the gangs who rule the streets and neighborhoods. Those governments are either unable or unwilling to impose law and order.
So, those poor people want to come to what they view as safety and opportunity in the United States. Who can blame them?
But, even though we can’t blame them, we can’t take them all either. Not to mention the fact that, in recent months, this flood of immigrants has spread from dozens of other countries: 20,000 from China, for example. Why on Earth have tens of thousands of Chinese come here? Indeed, why has the Chinese Communist Party allowed 20,000 of its citizens to emigrate to the United States, supposedly China’s greatest enemy?
Not for a good reason, we fear.
Are you familiar with the term “sleeper cells”? Formerly, this term was associated with the Soviet Union (remember them?). Sleeper cells were Russians who infiltrated the United States, usually on tourist visas, and just stayed. They got jobs, started families and lived normal American lives. However, they were trained and prepared to conduct sabotage and other sorts of attacks on command from their handlers.
One can only imagine what damage 20,000 Chinese could do in the United States if it comes to war over Taiwan.
The more immediate concern, though, is what is happening in New York, Chicago and other “sanctuary” cities. With thousands of illegal immigrants bused to those places, the local governments now face the task of educating their children and feeding and housing our new neighbors. It’s already cost New York City $12 billion (with a B), with no end in sight.
As millions more “newcomers” (the Biden administration’s term) arrive, it will fall to all of us to pay for this.
We can begin this fall, by asking our federal (and gubernatorial) candidates what they plan to do about this. Ask Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., what she suggests? Ask congressional candidate Sen. Sarah McBride, D-Wilmington, what she wants? Ask the candidates for governor — Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer — what they hope for. Don’t bother to ask the Republicans. They already know: Close the border.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
