The political battles over the number of undocumented immigrants crossing our southern borders has just become more confusing. According to the US Customs and Border Protection agency, in May more than 180,000 were intercepted at the border which was the highest number in 20 years.
The U.S. government scrambles for adequate housing in the border states for the hundreds of thousands that have crossed over this year while searching for transportation to, and housing, in other states. Getting enough medical supplies and basic necessities to those areas housing undocumented immigrants is a challenge as well.
Yes, it is a crises, despite Homeland Security Secretary Alejando Mayorkas saying it isn't. The crises won't be solved by a trip to the northern triangle by Vice-President Kamala Harris searching for the root cause of the migration. Finding and curing that cause could help avert a future crises, but does little to help with what we're experiencing now.
It is going to take cooler heads, less partisan political fighting, and someone – or some group, coming up with solutions that will work. Not just a solution that will please one group of people or another but one that will actually work.
The recent assassination of the President of Haiti, and even more recent, the demonstrations in Cuba where protesters are call for a better government. There, on news video feeds broadcast into our homes, we sew many Cuban protestors carrying the flag of the United States while chanting slogans against the communist government.
People are being persecuted and prosecuted for telling their government that they don't like the job they're doing. Arrests, imprisonment, and worse is happening there.
While Mayorkas thinks all is okay at our southwest borders, he has issued a warning to those who might be thinking about escaping the hard-handed and swift "justice" system of Haiti or Cuba.
On Tuesday, he issued a stern warning to any Cubans of Haitians thinking of escaping the ongoing unrest in there by sailing to the US: During a news conference he was quoted ted as saying "The time is never right to attempt migration by sea … To those who risk their lives doing so, this risk is not worth taking. Allow me to be clear: If you take to the sea, you will not come to the United States."
He added that any would-be refugees intercepted by the Coast Guard or any other law enforcement agency would be returned to their country of origin and those who could provide a well-founded fear of persecution or tortured would be referred to other countries for resettlement. "They will not enter the United States," he said.
I wonder if it's because those in Cuba were filmed carrying Old Glory during their protests.
Update from Last Week's Editorial
Last week I wrote about the 9-11 World Trade Center memorial, containing a steel beam from the remains of the attacks, that was erected at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. It was delivered to the airbase by New York firefighters and police officers in 2010.
I mentioned the propaganda value it would have if the base was taken over by the Taliban.
One week after the U.S. evacuated the base, the memorial is missing.