On Fox News “Cavuto Live,” Rio Grande City, Texas Mayor, Joel Villarreal discusses the overwhelmed U.S.- Mexico border situation, and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to roll out new enforcement rules. Villarreal purports in this segment that Biden is finally following “Trump’s lead” on border policy. What a novel concept.
Though they happen to be addressing the vast numbers of Venezuelan’s, (almost 154,000 now) who are rushing to the U.S. southern border for asylum, - it would appear that the Biden administration is finally taking Trumps lead, of keeping illegal migrants in Mexico, until their cases can be adjudicated.
That the DHS is dealing with this at all, is astounding, given the long months of ignoring any, and all who have been crossing illegally.
Villarreal adds that this remain in Mexico policy, is highly effective for “handling large groups of migrants” but is not a definitive answer to the problem of our current immigration laws that have not, he says, been addressed as a “priority” by either side of the isle in Washington.
He states we need real reform that addresses: asylum laws, immigration laws and visa over-stays. The Mayor goes on to say, that Visa over-stays actually account for “at least half” of the illegal immigrants that are in the U.S. today, estimating them occurring “at least one-million annually”.
Urging “action” not rhetoric, he goes on to state that we need to address this not as races, ethnicities or politicians but-
“as Americans – carefully managing the balance between immigration and border security, which can mutually co-exist, we just haven’t found the middle ground”
- Rio Grande City, Texas Mayor Joel Villarreal
He purports additionally that talks with Mexico, who he claims are willing to work towards a mutually effective policy, regarding holding immigration and reducing human trafficking, for both countries should be ongoing. This is in light of the billions of dollars of trade at stake, tourism and other areas of collaborative exchange. He also says that he encourages Washington to address the upcoming Bureau of Labor Statistics estimation of 12 million U.S. jobs that will need to be filled. An agent of change himself, Villarreal, shares his hope for Washington to take real action on these issues.
This session is a good overview of the facts from someone in authority, who lives and works on the border. Mayor Villarreal makes a good case for how doable change might be, if we as Americans really made this a priority, and sat down to decide how to take real action, not giving lip service to a time critical issue facing our nation.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”
-Helen Keller