Regardless of their location or political affiliation, Americans are concerned about the situation at the border. You are rightly concerned about the alarming figures of the last few months.
There is no denying that the problem is worrying and requires a rapid response and a better medium and long-term strategy.
However, in this and other cases, Washington politicians are at least as concerned with finding a workable solution as they are with reclaiming the problem for political purposes.
Immigration and the southern border will be election issues in 2024, and to the chagrin of concerned citizens, the compromise currently being negotiated in Congress could fail.
An all-too-rare bipartisan effort
Faced with an alarming situation, senators from the two major political parties worked on a project that could mobilize the majority of elected officials.
Concrete measures such as the president's authority to close the border and reform of asylum seeker management seemed to point to a possible outcome of the negotiations on which aid to Ukraine was tied.
If we agree on the border, Ukraine will get the support it desperately needs. European allies are growing increasingly impatient as President Zelensky wonders how the “beacon of democracy” can be paralyzed in this way.
While we thought the deal was done, Donald Trump took it upon himself to push his opposition further truth social and put pressure on Republicans who support the deal.
In his usual style, he did so without regard to the facts, conjuring up what looks like an apocalypse: “Terrorists are pouring in unhindered from all over the world. The probability that major terrorist attacks will occur in the USA is now 100%. CLOSE THE BORDER!”
One of the harshest condemnations of Trump's role in the current negotiations came from a newspaper that wouldn't be labeled “woke” or “progressive.” Wall Street Journal.
In an editorial published Thursday, the WSJ denounced the stalemate on both aid to Ukraine and the border issue. It says that Donald Trump cannot hope to do better when he returns to the presidency. We even go so far as to suggest voting for someone else.
Fear of saving Biden
Managing the border is a real burden on the Biden administration, and we have a feeling the current president is willing to snub the most progressive Democrats to soften the criticism weighing on him in the polls.
Biden's mention of his desire to close the border represents an important shift that reflects his desire to appear stronger and more steadfast.
Immigration and border security are probably Donald Trump's two most dangerous weapons. We understand that he doesn't want to give up even a few poll points, but his current stance contradicts his country's interests.