November 27, 2018
Many in the media predicted that the migrants known as the “caravan” would probably never make it to the United States, and if they did it would take months. Well a few weeks later 7,500 of them are here, camped on the outskirts of San Diego in Tijuana, Mexico. President Trump was also demonized when he referred to the Honduran migrants as an impending invasion, rather than peaceful asylum seekers. Former President Obama even mocked Trump for adding additional troops along the border. However, Sunday, Trump’s actions and predictions proved prescient when a thousand migrants attempted to storm the border into San Diego, some waving their home country’s flag and others throwing rocks and bottles striking border agents. During the chaos 69 migrants actually made it through onto U.S. soil, and are facing prosecution.
To quell the situation and prevent the migrants from inflicting harm, U.S. agents released tear gas. The way the media has covered this story you would think that the border agents used a lethal chemical warfare agent such as Sarin gas, against the migrants. Tear gas is an non-lethal irritant similar to pepper spray. Although it can be painful if sprayed directly in the face, it causes no lasting harm, and is often used by law enforcement in riot control.
In fact pepper spray was used during the Obama administration in 2013 in an almost identical situation, at the same border crossing. The exact action, that was a non- story under Obama, had media anchors and pundits, and almost all of Hollywood decrying the inhumanity of Trump’s administration. Adding further to the ignorance and hypocrisy, while Obama was president tear gas was used at the border to repel migrants almost 100 times.
In spite of the pictures and videos taken by those reporting on the ground evidencing that the overwhelming majority of the migrants are males, including those that were sprayed with tear gas, almost ever media outlet focused on one picture of a mother running with her two children, inexplicably shoeless and well past the age of diapers, yet diaper-clad. Never mind that in the background of the picture can be seen dozens of men, some posing for cameramen, no other women with children in sight. Yet, this woman, who chose to put her children in danger by being among the rock-weilding migrants rushing the border, is being used by the media to demonize Trump and accuse him of gassing women and helpless children.
No matter that during the melee four agents were struck with rocks (they were unharmed due to safety gear),and numerous government vehicles were vandalized, as a thousand migrants tried to breach the border fence, the narrative from the media was the Trump administration gassed innocent women and small children. If women and children actually were in the Border Control crosshairs, why is this one woman and her children the only photograph of a woman with kids fleeing the tear gas?
Rather than being given credit for foreseeing this crisis at the border, and for safely defusing the situation, without a single injury, Trump and the U.S. Border Patrol agents were vilified. The hyperbolic tweets by Democrat lawmakers, media pundits and celebrities were disturbingly true to their Never-Trump form.
These children are barefoot. In diapers. Choking on tear gas.
Women and children who left their lives behind — seeking peace and asylum — were met with violence and fear.
That’s not my America. We’re a land of refuge. Of hope. Of freedom.
And we will not stand for this. https://t.co/1APpeHIq6v
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 26, 2018
Don’t know how you get lower than tear gassing babies. But if anyone can, Trump will find a way. We must never get used to the horror that is this President.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) November 26, 2018
An interesting twist to the story behind the woman, Maria Meza, photographed fleeing with her two children, is her claim that she wants to enter the United States to find a job and to be reunited with the father of her children, who is living in Louisiana. As no mention was made of her children’s father immigration status it can be assumed that he is residing in the United States illegally.
During her interview with BuzzFeed News, she said:
I brought five of my kids with me yesterday. I was there with them at the wall. I felt sad, scared, and wanted to cry. Thats when I grabbed my daughters and ran. I thought my kids were going to die with me because of the gas we inhaled. We started running, and we fell in the mud, but when I wanted to rise and get up, I couldn’t. Another guy grabbed me by the hand and helped me get up. They know we are human beings just like them. It wasn’t right that they acted that way with kids. They have kids too, and they should’ve thought about their own kids, just like they should’ve thought about ours. It wasn’t right what they did, to throw [tear gas] bombs. I’m praying to God. I know that he will open the doors so that we can enter, or if we stay in Tijuana, he’ll open the doors so they will be able to give us, maybe, some sort of papers so that we can stay and work here. Like I told you, I’m a mother who needs a job. I work to help my kids move forward and give them the best.
Like the majority of her fellow migrants traveling from Honduras, Meza does not appear to qualify for asylum. Looking for economic opportunity is not a sufficient reason to claim the need for asylum. Most of the migrants from this caravan, when asked why they want to come to the U.S,. site economic reasons. Some also state that they are fleeing the violence in their country. Neither are grounds to claim asylum. If they were the entire country of Honduras would qualify, along with every other impoverished crime ridden country. As further proof that these migrants are looking for economic rewards is that they were offered asylum by the Mexican government, but the majority declined. If they truly were seeking refuge from persecution in their home country, which is the statutory standard, they would have gratefully accepted this offer from Mexico.
Most of the migrants in this caravan have little education or job skills, and do not even speak English. Not incidentally, there are 600 known criminals among them. It is undeniable that if granted entry into our country the vast majority would need to be supported by the American taxpayers. A study by the Center for Immigration Studies published in 2015 found that 73% of Central American immigrant households living in the United States receive at least one form of welfare.
Our immigration laws are an invitation to foreigners to come and exploit them. The system is so overwhelmed that currently almost 800,000 migrants are residing in the U.S. while awaiting their immigration hearing, which can take three years from the time the hearing is granted. Anyone that comes to our border, using the correct phrases claiming that they are victims of persecution in their home country are granted an asylum hearing. Undoubtedly, the organizations and individuals aiding the Honduran caravan are coaching them on the correct language.
As evidence of the dysfunction of our laws 90% of those granted hearings are deemed not to meet the requirement when years later their case is finally adjudicated. Problematically, many never appear for their immigration hearing, joining the ranks of the illegal population “living in the shadows”.
Our asylum laws are so inane that the 69 migrants who stormed the border onto U.S. soil, in spite of facing prosecution for illegally entering our country, are still eligible to apply for asylum! Trump tried to amend the law so that only those who legally enter our county through one of the over 200 legal ports of entry could apply for asylum. However, this action was blocked by a federal judge from the notoriously far-left 9th circuit in California.
The left often asserts that legislation and tax laws should be changed to ameliorate the income inequality in the United States. Paradoxically, they advocate for de facto open borders allowing every destitute migrant entry into our country, ensuring a permanent underclass. Immigrants are often impoverished and predominately vote for the redistribution policies the Democrat party espouses. Allowing a constant flow of uneducated, impoverished migrants ensures the Democrat party’s relevance and power. If only immigrants voted majority Republican the wall that is proving to be badly needed along our southern border wouldn’t only be fully funded by now, it would be constructed. Until it is, along with the passage of immigration reform, this latest caravan of migrants demanding entry, is only the beginning.
