Chris Salcedo didn’t whisper this warning — he shouted it: Democrats have effectively opened the gates and allowed vast numbers of unvetted foreign nationals into the country, then pretended the problem doesn’t exist while lecturing anyone who wants to enforce the law. That’s not mere rhetoric; it’s the story of four years of policy choices that prioritized political optics over public safety and sovereignty. Conservatives are right to demand answers about how so many people were allowed in without proper vetting and why taxpayers are left to pick up the tab.
The numbers make the point plain: Customs and Border Protection recorded nearly 2.9 million enforcement encounters in Fiscal Year 2024 and Congress’ own fact sheets point to more than 10 million nationwide encounters since FY2021 — a scale that overwhelmed local communities and federal systems. These are not abstract statistics; they represent individuals who entered without thorough vetting, and the strain on border towns, social services, and law enforcement has been real and measurable. The American people deserve the unvarnished facts so policies can be fixed, not excuses handed down from Washington.
Meanwhile, reports of fraud and abuse — from welfare programs to refugee resettlement dollars — have surfaced in communities across the country, fueling righteous anger among taxpayers. Senators and lawmakers on the right have pointed to specific instances where refugee programs and benefit systems were exploited, arguing that lax policies under Democratic leadership invited predictable corruption. If public funds are being siphoned off because of ideological softness on enforcement, that is a betrayal of every American who earns a paycheck and pays taxes.
Yet Democrats respond with indignation when anyone suggests enforcing immigration laws is the solution, insisting instead that enforcing sovereignty is somehow cruel or un-American. That partisan deflection is becoming the default playbook: when responsibility for chaos is established by the facts, point fingers at conservatives who demand the law be upheld. Even neutral fact-checkers and mainstream outlets have noted exaggerations in political claims on both sides, but that doesn’t absolve the hard reality that our borders and benefits systems were strained to breaking by policy choices.
History shows decisive enforcement and clear policy reduce illegal crossings and restore order; recent federal moves to tighten enforcement have been followed by significant drops in monthly encounters, proving deterrence works when leaders have the will to act. Restoring the rule of law is not about cruelty — it’s about preserving the social contract that binds us, protecting communities from criminal elements and ensuring scarce resources go to Americans who truly need them. The White House and congressional Democrats must stop playing politics with national security and start doing their job.
If Washington refuses to act, voters will remember who defended the borders and who defended open chaos. Conservatives will continue to push for accountability, stronger vetting, and common-sense limits on benefits for those here illegally, because defending the rule of law is the only humane and sustainable policy. America was built on order, not surrender — and it’s past time our leaders returned to that basic truth.
