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Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
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Did you at least try to research this subject before you posted?

Point #1 - "The wall is up along the U.S. - Mexico border"
Wrong... Simply and absolutely wrong. In fact, Biden moved quickly as one of his first acts as president to defund and end the construction of the border wall project implemented by President Trump. On top of that, Democrats fought tooth and nail to prevent any funding from being allocated to construct the wall. What ripple effect does this cause? It shows the Democrats are not interested in border security and that they prefer to leave major portions of the border devoid of any barriers. The leadership within the Border Patrol have consistently stated in front of Congress multiple times that there are three things required to ensure manageable border security; Barriers, Technology, and laws. Note, that doesn't mean having one or all three solved the problem. It is simply a means to create a defense in depth strategy to deter people from attempting to cross illegally and/or to enable border patrol in identifying them when they do. Barriers create delays. Technology provides the means to identify people attempting to exploit those barriers. Laws provide resources to Border Patrol, personnel, and rules for people entering this country illegally. When laws make things harder for those taking advantage of them, they tend not to attempt to do so (such as remain in place, vs letting them in and hoping they return to court for a hearing). I work in cybersecurity and this is exactly the same approach. Physical alone does not stop the hacker. Neither does technology like a firewall. Laws are out there to identify consequences when someone successfully exploits and breaks into another network they're not authorized to be on. But it's more than that. Some physical security is stronger based on the threat and the sensitivity of the data within. Technology controls are also designed around this too, placing firewalls, intrusion detection systems, analysis on alerts and anomalies, and then some. Defense in depth. When someone tries to tell me that putting a firewall up will not stop the hacker, so why bother, I kindly tell them it is only one af several defense in depth strategies required to secure a network. Even with everything implemented, there will always be ways to get in. But now we're talking about the more sophisticated and motivated vs everyone.

Point #2 - "Mexico border and the Border Security Forces are patrolling along the erected wall in the U.S."
Sure but this is highly misleading and must be qualified with what's really happening under the Biden Admin. ​The chief of the US Border Patrol blamed President Biden’s “no consequences” immigration policy for sparking the surge of illegal immigrants crossing into the US. That doesn't sound to me like they have the resources they need to properly manage this huge expanse, so let's not kid ourselves and make it sound like there's a team of agents patrolling every square mile of the border. The only qualification you make is that they are patrolling the erected wall. But you failed to account for the fact that the wall was never finished. Let's also note that the Biden admin has attempted to punish BP agents for doing their job (the BS horse whipping event for example) and has created a perception for would be border crossers that they will be released with little to no consequences. So, which is it... Is the border deteriorating or are you going to echo the Press Secretary's statement that the "border is secure," and then follow up by saying the border problem (which is supposedly secure) is all Trump's fault. Do you not see the double speak?

Point #3 - "so why is the situation deteriorating?" Ask the Biden Admin... Press Secretary and the VP say it's secure. Interviewed Illegal Immigrants confirm that it is not on TV, unafraid of any consequences as the emphatically admit they entered illegally. The Border Chief is venting frustrations that they are under resourced and constrained from doing their job. Biden is fighting an effective EO by Trump to require remain in place policies for Asylum seekers. This is the only accurate and correct statement you made in this post. It is deteriorating and maybe you need to look to the expert (the border chief) to explain why and maybe demand that Biden actually do something significant about it. Thus far he has only encouraged more of it and has realized record numbers. Why?

This doesn't have to be as complex as it's being made out to be. Democrats and Republicans both desire to have immigrants coming into this country. But it seems like the Democrats do not want this process to be regulated and enforced. Why? Currently, the last I read, we allow ~1 million people to immigrate into this country legally. Democrats want more and so do Republicans, so this is simply a matter of making a new law. The problem is, Democrats demand that the millions who are here illegally simply be handed amnesty before we create and/or enforce any laws. We went down this road once under Reagan and what happened? Amnesty was granted and Democrats continue to push back on the laws agreed to for this amnesty. Not doing this again. Fool me once, shame on you... Fool me twice, shame on me, as the saying goes. The thing is in my humble opinion, Democrats want virtually anyone to be able to come in and take credit for it because it means they are likely have masses of uneducated and controllable people coming in to appreciate what Democrats have done for them. Make them citizens and now they have a stronger voting base. On the GOP side, we want to profile people to ensure they are coming into this nation to be a part of it, and to ensure they are likely to be productive citizens for this country vs those who will drain our public resources. I agree with that. I don't care what race, color, sex, religion, etc they represent. Are they coming to the US with skills we need, and do they want to embrace this country vs creating a microcosm of the place they came from? However, before we increase numbers for legal immigration and even provide guidelines to increasing or decreasing based on the needs of this country, we have to secure the border and make it more manageable. We simply cannot take everyone in. This also means we have to update our laws to encourage only those who have legitimate issues, consistent with the numbers we're able to sustain and our generous nature to help those who displaced or are truly being persecuted by the government of their home nations. But public services need to end other than treating people humanely when caught, ship them back home, deny them of schools, welfare, extended housing etc. It may sound harsh, but again, we cannot take everyone in and by not implementing/enforcing any sort of criteria for those who want to come here, we are building on a highly unsustainable situation.
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Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
>1 y
A simple search (i.e. the research I referred to in my post) has plenty of articles speaking to this.

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-02-07/how-much-of-president-donald-trumps-border-wall-was-built

So essentially, your premise is wrong, and it leads to the wrong conclusions. The border is not secure, and the Biden admin has in fact paved the path to making it less secure. It makes no sense and right now the Biden admin, save his Border Patrol Chief, is lying to us when they say the border is secure. If it were secure, why is the border patrol chief saying otherwise and why is the president forming a group to determine the response to Govs Desantis and Abbott's efforts to transport a small fraction of these illegal immigrants who managed to cross a secure border to NYC, DC, Chicago, and Martha's Vinyard? The Democrats are going ape shit crazy right now as they get to experience what we deal with in Texas all the time while they ignore us. But how can they? They are the ones who declared sanctuary city status? Was that all show? Politics? They are reaping what they sowed and it's about time. Now instead of bitching about this, they could instead concede there is a problem and pressure the White House to secure the border.

This back and forth between the Democrat and Republican leaders is getting tiresome, but in my opinion, the Republicans are aligned more on the right side of this issue than the Democrats can claim. Most Republicans want a managed system where some, not all, of these people can come into the country through various types of visas, allowing them to legally work, pay taxes, and if they want, pursue becoming an American. That can't happen through simply granting amnesty, which will only enable the cycle of more illegal immigrants coming to wait us out for the next amnesty round. This leaves me to conclude one thing... It's more about gaining/retaining political power for the Democrats by taking advantage of people who might be grateful to them for ignoring their unlawful entry into this country.
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Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
>1 y
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana here some more information on the so called “secure border” as stated by our VP and the Press Secretary. Coming from TX Democrat Rep Cuellar.

Texas Democrat slams Kamala Harris’ border claim: ‘If you call that secure, I don’t know what secure is’

https://www.foxnews.com/media/texas-democrat-slams-kamala-harris-border-claim-call-secure-dont-know-secure
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
>1 y
Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin, I don't trust Fox News to be a neutral media powerhouse because during the Trump administration every information from the White House was carried by Fox, since Trump preferred Fox over the other media outlets. Fox news is a Republican biased media house, in my opinion.

To answer your question Mac, yes, I did research the information prior to sharing it on RallyPoint. I am researching and learning all the time. In your post, Fox claims that the our Immigration System needs an overhaul too. After research, it is my opinion that fixing our immigration system is top priority followed by a wall, because having a wall means nothing with a properly regulated immigration system in place.

Further Mac, from my own observations, the illegal immigrants are not using conventional routes into the U.S. I have observed illegal immigrants coming out of drainage tunnels behind a Border Security checkpoint along the U.S. - Mexico border in Arizona. Yes, as a good citizen, I informed the check post of my observation and left it to them to act, enforce, and stop the illegal movement. In another incident, driving towards the border, we observed a Jeep out of nowhere, full of dirt, approaching the intersection from the southeast, where the border stretches. At the border, we informed the immigration personnel and left. The Immigration Officials at the border should have communicated the information to the Border Patrol, yet we cannot verify whether the information was shared at that time.

No doubt our borders need to be improved and illegal immigration needs to be curbed, Sir; however, fixing our immigration system is paramount to construction of a wall and blocking all unconstitutional entry points from across the border. The Border Patrol needs to be beefed up as well, whether electronically or with personnel. The Administration needs to revamp our Immigration System first; construct the wall and block every unconstitutional entry point from across the border; add electronic border patrol systems and beef up the Border Patrol tied in with both Immigration Services, and Customs, which are equipped with properly enforced Border Security legislation.
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Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin
>1 y
The fact that you simply looked at the source and did not even consider the fact that this is a report quoting the Representative demonstrates your refusal to consider all of the points and perspectives on this issue. Feel free to search Rep Cuellar's words on this subject and if you happen to not find it on your preferred source, maybe you should ask why, because it did happen. I live in Texas, and I watched him on TV say it. So, Fox or not, the source in this case is beside the point. I know they lean right, just like most of the MSM lean to the left. Knowing that when I go in, I look for factual information vs opinion and I consider what they might be leaving out, prompting me to look for more sources. In this case, Rep Cuellar has consistently come out recently to highlight the problem we have on the border. Some would say this is political as he is trying to retain his seat, but it still is a reflection of what the people who live on the border are taking issue with, leaving him no choice if he wants to keep that seat.

I don't think you did the research. You won't even consider Fox as a source and your premise in your initial post was very telling. You point out where you've seen possible border crossings in two small instances of your observing it. Think about that. It is not a non-conventional route. This has been going on for decades and the only thing I would argue that they are doing different, is stepping up the masses to overwhelm our Border Patrol.

You and I agree that Immigration needs to be improved, but what that looks like I would imagine is very different. That's part of the problem because to come to the desired outcome of controlling the border, de-incentivizing illegal activity, and maximizing the number of immigrant while maintaining a sustainable number, several steps have to take place. So, we need to look at what was tried and what has/hasn't worked. Revamping the immigration system doesn't have to be and shouldn't be the first thing they take on. Take it ALL on at once, and build milestones into the laws allowing this country to fix the problem. If there is a leak in a damn causing unsustainable amounts of water to harm or overwhelm the communities in its wake, do you deal with all the water or plug the leak first? You plug the leak! And while you're doing that, you make plans to rebuild and strengthen those communities in its wake. I mentioned the past, so let's look at what happened in the 80s. Democrats and Republicans agreed to grant amnesty to roughly 2 million people and enact laws denying government assistance and making it illegal to hire those who are here illegally. Is this really happening? No. Now we're way over the 11 million people some sources will attempt to suggest are here illegally. Masses of highly dangerous drugs are rolling into this country and more criminals are constantly coming here too. And not just by people from Central and South America.

So, what do we do? Sure, immigration is one part and no, it should not be the first by itself. We need to fix the border and plug the holes to a sustainable level (note, I am not saying we can plug it 100% as this is not realistic). This requires walls where they make sense, technology to support, and surges of border patrol personnel who are allowed to and encouraged to do their job. Along with that, our laws need to qualify asylum laws better, and continue Trump's position to require asylum seekers to do so in any one of the countries they traversed leaving their own (assuming they cannot go to the US Embassy with their own country) or to remain in place (Mexico / Canada) if they are attempting the border route. This has nothing to do with whether I like Trump or not (I don't), it simply makes sense. In the same bill in which we fix asylum (and similarly displaced immigrants) laws, we can also build in milestones to consider and grant amnesty to those already here (so long as they establish this presence on a specific date). But this has to be centered on whether they intend to become citizens or request permanent work visas and it is all subject to whether they are productive members to this country, not breaking the laws, and are not draining our government services. Finally, that same bill can also increase the numbers of immigration/work visas/citizenship, predicated on how much control we are maintaining at the border. Meanwhile, all government services, other than taking care of people on their way back to their country, ends. No more access to schools and persistent subsidized housing. Remove the incentives and encourage those who want to get in line and do it legally.
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Maj John Bell
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Edited >1 y ago
Who told you the wall is up?
Of the 1,933 miles along the border, 1,279 miles is unfenced. Most of the barrier that currently exists, and that the Trump administration has built, isn't the high concrete wall Trump talked about on the campaign trail, and instead resembles a fence. Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/us-mexico-border-wall-photos-maps-2018-5#but-border-patrol-announced-this-year-the-door-will-remain-closed-6
_As of my last trip to visit a relative in Texas, who owns land that borders Mexico, the border wall is six strings of barbwire on metal T-posts. He, his wife and kids live in a remote fortified concrete home with steel reinforced doors and diamond mesh over the windows. To protect themselves from border crossers at night. Not every border crosser bothers them. Before he fortified his home, in the late 70's, they were robbed or molested handful of times a year.

Just because the Border Patrol is patrolling the boarder, that does not mean it is effective. There are (in round numbers) 2000 miles of border and 20,000 Border Patrol agents. Presumably, the number of agents actually engaged in patrolling the borders is less than 100%. Presumably, they don't work 24/7/365. Is it unfair to assume that at any given time somewhat less than 5000-6000 agents are actively patrolling 2000 miles of border? Somewhere between 1.5-2 million immigrants cross the border in a given year. Most of those who are caught are subject to catch and release.

The problem will NEVER stop until the political will develops to prosecute those who facilitate illegal entry, employment, and remaining illegally in the U.S. Those penalties should include draconian fines, imprisonment, forfeiture of assets (businesses, real and personal property) used in support of illegal immigrants.

The Biden administration is not guilty of creating the problem. They are guilty of throwing gas on the fire by a demonstrably weak-willed response. and a promise of government assistance. Many states and local governments are co-conspirators in these policies. They are tacitly giving illegal immigrants a "wink and a nod" and a welcome aboard.

The crisis continues and deteriorates because there is a lack of political will by both politician's and the electorate. The electorate are not sophisticated enough to realize the damaging effects (on both sides of the border) of unchecked illegal immigration.

And, unfortunately, we've reached a time in political discussions where I have to head nonsense (personal attacks) off at the pass.
_I am the son of a LEGAL immigrant from Mexico.
_I have relatives living on both sides of the border.
_Some of those relatives have severed family ties with me, precisely because I believe in the rule of law. I have and will continue to report the presence of any known illegal immigrant, regardless of blood-relation. Disrespect for a nation's laws is what drove my mother to seek legal immigration and citizenship within the U.S. She taught me that. On every family trip into Mexico, she showed me the ugly truth of weak-willed and corrupt law enforcement that will not enforce the rule of law.
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CMSgt Marcus Falleaf
CMSgt Marcus Falleaf
>1 y
The border is open. Our country is not in control of the border. The siege is on! A democrat led insurgence.
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CMSgt Marcus Falleaf
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The border is open, dangerous, illegal and costing US a fortune in money, manpower and loss of life. It is a plot the obiden administration has to make the people of America more government dependent. Why do you think the IRS is exploding in size? Government will now "own you".
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CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
CPT Gurinder (Gene) Rana
>1 y
We own the U.S. and, not the other way around Chief Master Sergeant Falleaf. We, the People, elect the Government and the Government works for the People and delivers to the People a better Country. If we begin believing that Government has the power to own us then, soon we will be living in an Orwellian world.
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CMSgt Marcus Falleaf
CMSgt Marcus Falleaf
>1 y
Exactly my point. The people do not want the obiden agenda, they just didn't like Trump.
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