The positive effects of Trump’s border wall on the local communities

Congressman: There are too many security issues to let unvetted foreign nationals have easy access to the United States.

When discussing matters of national security and threats to the United States, most people immediately think of overseas terrorists plotting destruction of our homeland or North Korea’s efforts to build up its nuclear program.

But there is an equally grave threat, one that is frequently caught in the political crosshairs: our unsecured southern border.

Politicians on Capitol Hill have debated whether to build a fence on the border on numerous occasions. Each time, the conversation immediately shifts from national security to immigration reform.

The media and the left are quick to highlight feel-good stories of immigrant families who illegally entered the United States in search of the American dream. But they conveniently wash over the dangers an unsecured border poses to American communities.

Risks demand more than rickety wire

Living in a border state, my constituents and I know these dangers firsthand. Though my district is miles from the border, we too experience the violence of cartels, drug and human trafficking, and increased drug activity.

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The risks do not stop there. Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly acknowledged the threat of even radical terrorists slipping through our porous border.

Earlier this year, I again traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to see just how unsecured it is. I visited two sections on that trip. Although I have visited the border at many sections on numerous occasions, this trip shocked and upset me.

In many places, the “border” was a single post or wire barely lifted off the ground. In other places, the restraint was so worn, its existence was not worth the sorry sight. Still worse, some places had no barrier at all.

The Border Patrol agents I spoke with that day told me a wall is needed to keep illegal aliens out of our country – along with additional Border Patrol agents, a road along the border wall for agents to patrol and enhanced technology. These agents are tired of being tasked with defending miles of fence posts and wire that can easily be stepped over or crawled under and provide zero obstruction.

I also met with ranchers whose land along the southern border has been in their families for generations and who take great pride in their ranching heritage. Like the Border Patrol agents, these individuals testified to the real need for a secure border.

They shared stories of living in constant fear that their lives and livelihoods are under attack by the daily hordes of individuals and drug cartels traipsing through their lands. It makes no sense to me that politicians would continue to let Americans live in these conditions so that unvetted foreign nationals have easy access to the United States.

Trump is keeping his promise to fix this

During the 2016 campaign, President Trump realized the threat of our unsecure border and gave it the attention it deserves. The American people trusted him and were willing to give him the opportunity to reverse the lawlessness of the previous administration.

I am proud that he has followed through on his promises to fully execute federal immigration laws and encouraged by the results we have seen. I am hopeful that the Republican Congress, many of whom also campaigned on “building the wall,” will follow his lead and provide the resources necessary to establish that much-needed security.

It is easy for politicians and unelected bureaucrats to sit in secure buildings in Washington, D.C., and debate the merits of a border wall. For the sake of national security and the safety of all Americans, I hope our leaders will heed the calls of the countless Americans facing the dangerous consequences of an open border and finally build the wall.

Andy Biggs is a U.S representative for Arizona Congressional District 5, which encompasses much of metro Phoenix’s southeast Valley.

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