Was Hillary Clinton a stand-up comic in another life? She told an Arizona radio station in an interview that our southwest border was “secure” because “net illegal immigration” had been cut to zero.
In an interview with KTAR radio in Phoenix, Mrs. Clinton said improvements under President George W. Bush and President Obama, including several hundred miles of fencing, have cut net illegal immigration from Mexico to zero.
“Now I think it’s time to turn our attention to comprehensive immigration reform,” she said, using the term immigrant rights advocates use for legislation to legalize the 11 million illegal immigrants now in the country.
Her evaluation of the border stands in stark contrast to Republican presidential candidates who say the border is not secure, pointing to increasing seizures of drugs and to the renewed surge of Central American illegal immigrants.
But Mrs. Clinton said they’re ignoring how bad it used to be during her husband’s administration.
“I think we’ve done a really good job securing the border and I think those that say we haven’t are not paying attention to everything that was done for the last 15 years under both President Bush and President Obama,” she told KTAR. “We have increased dramatically the number of border security officers, we have added physical obstructions like fences in many places, and in fact the immigration from Mexico has dropped considerably. It’s just not happening any more.”
Looking over the last 20 years of illegal immigration from Mexico, Clinton may have a point. Apprehensions at the border are way up and net immigration from Mexico has fallen.
But that’s hardly the entire picture:
But the number of Central Americans attempting the illegal crossing has surged over the last three years, leading some experts to say the border problems have shifted, not gone away.
Border Patrol agents say the new illegal immigrants are drawn by the chance to take advantage of lax enforcement of immigration laws within the U.S., which gives them the opportunity to disappear into the shadows with the 11 million other illegal immigrants already here.
Mrs. Clinton, who will face voters in the Democratic primary in Arizona next week, has come under fire from some Hispanic activists for having voted as a senator for the Secure Fence Act, which called for building 700 miles of double-tier fencing along the southwest border.
The first line of defense of our borders has a much different view of the matter. Border agents are supporting Donald Trump for his strong stand against illegal immigration:
The largest U.S. Border Patrol union local is praising Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for being the “only candidate” to support their tough mission, an almost endorsement that is the latest boost for the front runner’s campaign.
“Mr. Trump is the only candidate that has publicly expressed his support of our mission and our agents. He has been an outspoken candidate on the need for a Secure Border and for this we are grateful,” said a statement from Art Del Cueto, president of Local 2544 of the National Border Patrol Council, the representative of 18,000 agents.
Perhaps before the next time Hillary Clinton makes a fool of herself spouting immigration nonsense, she should consult the people who know the situation best: those charged with defending our borders from illegal aliens.
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