Congress Shouldn’t End Shutdown Until They Shut Down the Border

One month before Election 2014, I was talking with a liberal
couple. Working-class parents with a developmentally disabled son, they
believed in government-run programs, but also prided themselves on working for
a living. Our sharpest disagreements revolved around the proper role of
domestic spending. They were committed Democrats, except on one issue, they
told me: “We will vote for a Republican if he promises to secure the border.” In
2016, Democratic voters may have re-elected liberal US Senators and House Reps
back to Washington, but they crossed party lines to put the businessman,
celebrity mogul in the White House. “That Republican” they wanted was President
Donald Trump.

Today, Trump’s pro-American nationalist agenda has
transformed the country’s discourse for the better. Not its coarseness, which emerged
during Obama’s relentless transformation of our country, but its sharpened focus
on illegal immigration. Keenly aware of his campaign promises, Trump has drawn
a big red line in the sand for the budget: a big beautiful wall. The outgoing
Republican House majority voted to fund the wall. Senate Majority Leader McConnell
signaled his readiness for the budget. Before (and after) the January 3^rd
transfer, however, Democrats had enough Senators to filibuster the legislation.
The resulting shutdown has lasted since the Christmas Holiday, and this impasse
belongs to the Democrats, root and branch.

Some will argue that President Trump’s unrepentant demands
are unrealistic. This criticism may have some merit. Presidents with
predominantly private sector or military experience often find Congressional
law-making in particular, and federal politics in general, daunting and
frustrating. There is no clear chain of command for accomplishing goals. In private
organization with goals and outcomes, the people in charge ensure that their
directives are carried out. In Washington, vote-trading, log-rolling,
compromise are essential.

However, our government exists to protect our rights and to
secure our borders (consult Article Four, Section Four of the United States
Constitution for details). Border security is not up for debate, nor should the
government’s role by compromised away. Besides, the gridlock overwhelming
Congress is not a fault or an askance detail of our constitutional framework.
The rigorous clash of power between today’s Democrats and Republicans reflects
a fundamental divide which has forever shaped the two parties. One believes in
a secure sovereign America. The other does not. There is no room for compromise
on this. Trump is right to take this fight, and die on this hill if necessary
(although he won’t).

Democrats have pointed out that Trump’s originally promised that
Mexico pay. Why tie up Congress? No one should spin Trump’s pledge as if he suggested
that he would secure funding from our southern neighbor first, then construct
the wall. Businesses don’t function like that.  Most firms will take out a loan to fund their
enterprise, then pay back what they borrowed after turning a profit.

Congress, especially Democrats, should have provided the
funding by now. After all, a majority of legislators, from both parties in both
chambers, voted to fund the wall. In fact, a decade ago more Democrats than
Republicans had voted against immigration reform (amnesty), since Democrats were
willing to play both sides of this issue: appeal to working-class white voters,
but also promote their multicultural compassion, stating that they want
amnesty, but they want to make sure that their proposal works for everyone.
Secure the border, then plot an amnesty pathway.

The Democratic Party turned sharply to the left under President
Obama, but even then for the first two years of the Obama Administration, the
Democratic majorities in Congress did nothing on immigration, as they were
still intent on keeping some semblance of integrity with white working class voters,
which had voted Democratic since the FDR Administration. After the 2012
election, Democrats decided that working class voters, particularly white one,
are not coming back. They have invested in identity politics, amnesty at all
costs, and open borders as their new power grab.

President Trump is exploiting this Democratic about-face. He
is picking the right fight to reject any budget without his—our–wall. This is what
he was elected to do as President. Our country cannot survive open borders and the
Democrats’ dedication to the unipolar Big Business-Big Labor-Big La Raza Lobby.
The people who elected Trump, or rather the electors who elected him, were sent
by a wide swath of working Americans of all backgrounds, from both parties, who
want the border secure and who want illegal aliens deported for safety as well
as economic reasons.

Desperate detractors now cry out that this extended shutdown
is hurting federal workers, i.e. “It’s slowing airport security, etc.” First of
all, it’s a partial shutdown. The TSA is A-OK. National parks are open. Government
essentials still have funding. Secondly, the non-essential federal employees
have been furloughed. Once again, the government’s job is to protect our rights
and secure the border. Why does Washington DC have so many bureaucrats? If those
employees want work, they should find essential labor in the private sector.
Too many people are living off the federal teat as so-called civil servants,
and some of them are actively undermining out President’s federal mandates.

In a last ditch effort, some conservative US Senators have
floated legislation to end future shutdowns. Ironically, one of its sponsors is
US Senator Mike Lee, who has erstwhile served as one of the most consistently
constitutional members of the upper chamber. Congress is required to budget our
monies. They cannot put federal funding on autopilot during protracted budget
negotiations. Besides, the 2013 sequester cuts did not affect me, and this
shutdown has not affected me or millions of Americans across the country who
are living their lives freely and abundantly as never before.

What does affect all of us, however, is an open border with
law enforcement thinly spread across among hit-and-miss barriers. No one should
discuss ending the shutdown until the southern border is shut down for good:
legal loopholes closed, funding provided for the wall, and ample resources to
hire, train, and direct more border patrol.