On December 13, Tucson-area Border Patrol was drawn to a commotion. A gun battle had erupted between two rival cartels over a gap in a ranch fence. This particular gap had become a hotspot for illicit border crossings, drug running, and other nefariousness.

On the U.S. side of this dispute, only one perp was arrested. According to Fox Business, that person “had a loaded AK-47 rifle, two loaded AK magazines, loose rounds and a handgun.” On the Mexican side, 10 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found by the Mexican military.

Now U.S. Border Patrol officers are on high alert for other such devices actually entering the country.

This discovery, along with heightened warnings from the likes of FBI Director Christopher Wray earlier this month, should be the catalyst for change vis-à-vis this administration’s lax border policies.

Everyone knows that the Biden administration’s current border policies are a dereliction of duty and a facilitator of massive human-rights violations. Under President Joe Biden’s watch, the number of migrants crossing the border has exploded. One report puts the number of “gotaways” as high as 13 million. Only California, Texas, New York, and Florida have populations exceeding 13 million. Put another way, 13 million is greater than the combined population of Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

A slow mutiny amongst Democrats has been building ever since New York City Mayor Eric Adams started shouting about the devastation that Biden’s policies are having on sanctuary cities. Adams has been under FBI scrutiny about minute campaign contributions from an entity associated with the Turkish government, which seems like a shut-up tactic based on the amount of funds they are quibbling over. It’s hard not to think that Adams’s vocal objections to federal border policy aren’t the reason for this sudden interest in his campaign.

This week, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) remarked: “You have to stop the influx of people coming and the incentive for people coming from all over the world to this country. It’s very, very dangerous, very dangerous. And I think you have seen the numbers and the countries they’re coming from. I have seen them. I’m very much concerned. It has to stop now.”

Manchin is hardly a stranger to breaking ranks with Democrat Party positions that are controlled by the radical flank. He is not alone, though.

Democrats in border states and border towns have had enough. Governor Katie Hobbs of Arizona has joined with other border-state governors in taking action through executive orders to secure her citizens’ safety and the integrity of her state’s border. She stated: “I am taking action where the federal government won’t. But we can’t stand alone, Arizona needs resources and manpower to reopen the Lukeville crossing, manage the flow of migrants, and maintain a secure, orderly and humane border. Despite continued requests for assistance, the Biden administration has refused to deliver desperately needed resources to Arizona’s border.” The National Guard has been called in to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection to diffuse the Arizona border crisis.

Other border state governors have already been taking action. Republican Governor Greg Abbot of Texas has announced that his state will be funding and building its own border wall. Texas has also tried to empower its law enforcement to detain illegals and deport them. This, however, is a tenuous proposition, as SCOTUS has already declared that immigration is a province of the federal government.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is trying to get Biden and the Democrats in Congress to get on board with a funding bill stipulating that the borders actually be secured and a return to a Title 42-type regulation to stem the flow of illegals and take away an incentive for migrants to try to cross the border. It’s being stymied by the Democrats because Biden doesn’t like that money for Ukraine is contingent on this bill’s passing. He wants to have his cake and eat it too.

It seems that it’s only a matter of time before something breaks. One can only hope it doesn’t claim the lives of thousands of Americans like 9/11 did.