When I was growing up, my dad would put together puzzles of 500-1,000 pieces. He would have extra lighting to make sure he could see the myriad of colors and patterns in the picture on the box. He taught me how to piece a puzzle together and it all began with the borders. This was the most fundamental aspect of putting a huge puzzle together. He taught me to secure the border first so the puzzle had a frame within which to work. Yet for some odd reason, securing the borders of our country has turned into a debate when it should be a central theme to our American society.

Illegal immigration didn’t begin to be controversial with the election of President Donald Trump. It has always been on the political radar. Let me give a basic view of it. Men and women, boys and girls risk their lives to migrate to America. Hundreds of thousands at a time ride on top of trains for miles as they strap themselves on by rope. Some fall off and their legs are amputated or they plummet to their death. Others are raped (often numerous times) or harassed by gang members threatening their lives with extortion. Young girls are sex trafficked and pregnant women are looking to have their babies born as U.S. citizens. The journey to the southern border is so dangerous that many turn back, get sent back by customs, or are killed. With all these factors and others to consider, why wouldn’t our government want to secure our borders?

Even our 44th president, Barack Obama, had some very sharp comments in the spring of April 2009 about illegal immigration. He said, “This is not going to be a free ride. It’s not going to be some instant amnesty. What’s going to happen is you’re going to pay a significant fine. You are going to learn English! You are going to go to the back of the line so that you don’t get ahead of somebody who is in Mexico City applying legally. But, after you’ve done these things over a certain period of time, you can earn your citizenship.” He would go on to say, “[Americans] can’t have a situation where you just have a half a million people pouring over the border without any kind of mechanism to control it.”

Is it me or does 44 sound just like 45? Where were the protests when Obama was saying the exact same things about illegal immigration as Trump? In the State of the Union address in February 2019, President Trump said, “I want people to come into our country in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally.” Why wasn’t Obama’s approach to illegal immigration taken as insensitive or intolerant? What’s the difference? Enter the Fake News media outlets.

The Left and its media outlets don’t care about illegal immigration as it relates to the fiscal or social health and security of our country, but they do have a political agenda. Some of the loyal Left voters within the Black American community are beginning to challenge the Democrat status quo, so party leaders need a new demographic to use for political gains. Without the minority vote, there is no Democrat Party. They are desperate and see illegal immigration as a numbers game. For them, the more illegal immigrants, the merrier. As the Black population of voters exits the stronghold control of the Democrat Party, the illegal immigrant Hispanic population becomes their new prey. I support immigration, but there must be parameters in place to make the transition fair to those who come legally. Besides, the safety and security of our nation depends on steps taken today by this administration. Piece by piece, our borders need to be secured first. The wall is a huge step in the right direction. Build that Wall! Build that Wall!