You know those folks, especially politicians, who like to use the words "we need to have a conversation about the …"?  Then, after they leave the room and the door is closed we find that it was just words and the idea of a conversation was as empty as the look in their eyes when they said it.

            The United States has a problem at our southern border.  But it pales in comparison to the problems faced by the people daring the treacherous trip across the challenging Rio Grande, in the back of a semi-trailer, or in the trunk of a car.

            It is frightening to think of the many people who entered the United States illegally who will be afraid to report a rape, robbery, or any other crime because they fear being deported.

            The number of drugs pouring across our border, some by unsuspecting immigrants, some in payment for their trip, and some by persons pretending to be asylum seekers pleases the drug cartels.  Last weekend alone the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Director for the Port of Nogales, Arizona, said his officers stopped five loads totaling approximately 400,000 fentanyl pills over the weekend. Of that amount, approximately 30,000 were rainbow-colored. The loads also contained 152 pounds of methamphetamine, he said. That's just in Arizona and in one weekend. 

            Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller that is 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is the number one cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45.  

            The number of people in the United States who had no idea of the magnitude of the problem is also troubling.

            When the federal government was transporting immigrants to other states in the middle of the night, using clandestine flights, it wasn't a big deal because, well, it was clandestine and not widely publicized.

            Blame the media; blame the government; or blame yourself for failing to be informed.      

            If what the governors of Texas, Arizona, and Florida are doing is a political stunt, it appears to be working.  Because now more people know about the border crisis and what it means to the people making the dangerous crossings.  Maybe now proper help can be directed to those in need.

            First, we need to acknowledge that it is a crisis.  We are ill-prepared to properly care for the staggering amount of immigrants who have crossed our southern borders this year.

            Resources and volunteers and, yes, money in the southern border towns are running out.  They need federal help in order to help those they can.  But, for some reason, they and the immigrants are ignored.

            So far this fiscal year, Border Patrol agents have reported more than 1.94 million encounters at the border, which is up from the 1.73 million encounters in all of 2021 and just over 458,000 in 2020.

            We need a plan, and one that includes all Americans – including the rich and powerful. 
            If not in my backyard, then where?  If not you, then who? If not now, when?