The "Mother of All Migrant Caravans": A New Wave of Illegal Immigration

Mexican officials have advised the US Government that the "mother of all migrant caravans" is headed north to the US border. This will be the fourth such caravans over the past couple of years. Mexican officials estimate that there's approximately 20,000 individuals, mostly from Honduras, is gathering and expected to head our way in waves, with dozens or even hundreds joining along the way. However, the caravan which has already formed and is headed our way has approximately 12,000 members on the heels of another column of around 2,600. While many are from Honduras, others are from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, as well as Cuba and even Africa.

As with the previous caravans, no one really seems to know for sure who is behind them. After all, someone or some group has to be funding these mass movements. In fact, individual immigrants have been filmed and photographed taking money, often as much as $100.00 per person, from unidentified individuals (even when cornered, these individuals profess ignorance about where the money is coming from).

Naturally, suspensions fall on the usual cast of characters---the governments of Honduras or Venezuela, the drug cartels,or the all-purpose uber-rich Left leaning villain George Soros. Even the Russians and Chinese have been accused of being behind the massive influx in order to destabilize the US government by overwhelming the border patrol, ICE, court system, and, of course, the American social safety net. The influx has also served as cover for members of various drug gangs and even potential terrorists from the Middle East posing as migrants (last year, Honduras reported detaining approximately 12 individuals---pulled from a caravan--who were on a "Most Wanted" list of suspected ISIS members).

As an interesting aside, these individuals also seem to be reciting from the same script. They are immigrating in order to seek "asylum"; asylum from their respective countries high crime rates and to seek jobs and better living conditions. Interestingly, none could explain why they didn't apply for asylum at the local US consulate's office (there's a embassy or consulate in every capital; often times even multiple offices). Secondly, apparently none of these individuals could answer why they weren't seeking asylum in the next closest and most stable country as required under international law. Lastly, the UN does not recognize economic migrants, such as these, as bona fide immigrants, and therefore, under international law do not qualify as immigrants.

As if this is bad enough (and it's already pretty bad), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they were going to have to release as many of 100,000 detainees into the US on the promise that they will return for a future court date to determine their immigration eligibility (yeah, like that is actually going to happen). The reason is that government facilities are filled to beyond capacity, leaving government officials no choice.

Thus, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants could be released into the country based on little more than their "promise" to appear at some future date to see if they can remain or will have to be deported. To counter this, President Trump has ordered that detainees be held in Mexico until they can be processed, which obviously makes much better sense.

We also have another, perhaps even more serious issue to consider---infectious diseases. The vast majority of these so-called "immigrants" have never been immunized from diseases which the US has long ago eradicated; diseases like smallpox, the measles, mumps, chickenpox, or tuberculosis. These diseases are extremely contagious. With most Americans not being immunized, there's a serious potential that these diseases will spread, which could provide to be lethal to those with weaker immune systems, especially for seniors or young children.

You may recall that a few months ago, a young girl who was infected and critically ill was abandoned in the US, presumably, with the expectation that American doctors would treat the girl and her parents would later reappear and demand entry into the country in order to be reunited. However, the girl died. This, at least according to the corporate media, was somehow our fault. No one addressed the issue as to why the child wasn't taken to a doctor in a native country or even to a doctor in Mexico at some point during their weeks long trek through the country. Since then, there's been a couple of other similar instances where sick children were left abandoned, presumably with the hope that US doctor's will intervene.

To make matters worse, the corporate media has made the conscious decision to refer to these individuals as "asylum seekers", though they are clearly not. They've also taken to chastise anyone who refers to these individuals crossing into the US as "illegal immigrants" or "criminals"; thus to soften their image and make them appear to be more acceptable. In addition, many so-called "human rights" groups, especially those affiliated with churches, have been encouraging these individuals to come (some even illegally leaving supplies for them at various stopping points along with doctors and information to aid them in crossing illegally such as maps and where to find protection).

At present, we really don't know just how many illegal immigrants are currently living in the US. Some estimates put the number at about 12 million while others say the number is much less, only about 5.3 million. Of these, it's estimated that approximately 58% are believed to live in California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. In addition, Louisiana, Maryland, and Massachusetts have shown signs of growth while other states such as Florida, Alabama, Michigan, Nevada, and New Jersey have seen a decline. The majority of illegal immigrants appear to be employed in just four areas, farm labor, construction, hospitality and the service industry.

In terms of cost, it's estimated that while illegal immigrants have actually paid into the US economy in terms of taxes---around $19 billion dollars---they have taken out $116 billion in tax based services (combined federal, state, and local tax dollars). Thus they consume far more taxpayer dollars than they contribute. In Kentucky, the state cost to residents is $4635 per person while in Florida it's $4919 and $4429 for Texans. New Yorkers pay $6424 in state tax dollars per person. Californians pay $6517 per resident.

Meanwhile, the Center for Immigration Studies has stated over a lifetime, illegal immigration will cost US taxpayers $750 billion dollars, or to put it another way, it would be six times cheaper to deport the estimated 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants than to allow them to remain. Another interesting aside is that approximately 2/3 of all illegal immigrants have lived in the US for ten or more years, meaning that the majority of those now here illegally entered the country under President Obama.

There's no question that the massive influx along our southern border is not based religious, ethnic, or political persecution, nor are their countries the subject of ongoing wars, which would be legitimate reasons for asylum. However, this is nothing short of a defacto invasion, not entirely unlike the invasion that Europe is experiencing from the Middle East and Africa except that in Europe's case, it has become increasingly violent as migrants have increasingly demanded that Europeans conform to their religious based values and laws. Nevertheless, neither group of migrants have shown any willingness to assimilate. This could possibly trigger violence at some point in the US just like it has in Europe. Unregulated immigration has also crippled Europe's once famous social safety net and put a tremendous strain on their national economies, which could just as easily happen here as it has in Europe.

While there is also the question as to who may be behind the human invasion, the more pressing question is what to do with the massive numbers who are threatening to overwhelm our borders. It seems that regardless of how many are rejected and sent back, even more keep coming. So, what can we do, if anything? The majority of these migrants are coming from Central America. They are crossing the length of Mexico. Each time Mexican authorities have attempted to stop them, they've broken through the barriers and attacked local police and federal troops. In a few instances, Mexican police officers have been shot or badly injured. Despite this, Mexico has shown a great deal of restraint in dealing with migrants, especially considering its tough laws on illegal immigration (not to mention that the majority of illegal immigrants into the US are from Mexico), but how long will that last? We've already been told by two past Mexican presidents that the US had "no right" to prohibit individuals from Mexico to enter the US.

If we seal the 1,954 mile border (with or without a wall), we risk creating a negative impact on not just our own economy, but that of Mexico and other Latin American countries. In 2017, $558 billion dollars passed both ways just between Mexico and the US (Mexico is our third largest trading partner, behind Canada and China). In 2018, $424 million dollars worth of goods passed across the border by trucks alone; that's 69% of all truck traffic along the southern border. $78 billion in goods passed through by rail, $17 billion by air, and $5 billion via pipelines. So, while we need to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the US, we have to be careful that our actions don't impact trade between us and our trading partners south of the border.

America already spends billions of dollars propping up economies throughout Latin America and the world in the form of economic aid. Apparently this doesn't appear to be enough, judging by the number of migrates. We cannot continue to support the world on the back of US taxpayers anymore than we can continue playing the world's policeman. So, what can we do? First, we can reduce supply by eliminating demand. That means going after those who aid and support illegal immigration, be it businesses or non-profits, including churches and religious organizations.

We have to make the cost of hiring or aiding illegal immigrants prohibitive. That means automatically losing their business license or tax exempt status. That means jail time for corporate officers, priests, or ministers, plus hefty fines starting with their first offense. It means losing government contracts. It means cutting off federal tax dollars to any state, city, university, or other institution which offers "sanctuary" status.

While farmers and the like can continue to hire non-residents, the requirements to get a "green card" need to be tighter so that we know the whereabouts of anyone issued a work permit. We need to need to make citizenship a requirement for any benefits derived from taxpayer dollars. All government documentation should be printed in English only except documentation which deals with immigrants specifically. We need to increase the number of border patrol agents and expand their authority as law enforcement officers. We also need to deport illegal immigrates to the nearest consulate or embassy and let them foot the bill of sending them back. Alternatively, we can simply deduct the cost from amount we send them in aid. If we're seriously interested in stopping illegal immigration, we have to cut off the demand. We also have to stop their ability to obtain taxpayer based services. You do that and they will stop coming.

America has always welcomed immigrants, and hopefully we always will. However, we are a nation of laws like every other country. And like every other country, we have the right---indeed the responsibility---to secure and protect our borders. If someone wants to come to this country, then their first act should not be breaking our laws. Their country wouldn't tolerate it, so why should we? If they want to come to this country, great. We'd love to have you. We just ask that you do it legally. Is that asking too much?


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