Democrats’ border stance doesn’t qualify as smart

“We Democrats know so much, that is true, and we have, kind of, have to tell everyone how smart we are.”

This was Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono explaining what she learned at a recent Democrat retreat. Really? First of all, if you are really smart, you do not have to tell everyone how smart you are. Secondly, with between 3,000 to 6,000 migrants camped out around Tijuana, many already trying to storm our border (600-plus identified convicted criminals or MS 13 gang members among them), reportedly 680 illegals per day being arrested in the Rio Grande area with more coming, according to Border Patrol and congressional Democrats refusing to fund the border wall, I don’t see any of them as very smart.

And they are not alone. Sadly a few Republicans also aren’t keen to protect our southern border. FAIR has estimated the cost of illegal immigration at $135 billion a year and that estimate was assuming only 12.5 million illegal aliens residing in the U.S. Clear back in 1995 the GAO estimated the annual cost at somewhere between $2 billion and $19 billion. In September 2018, The Hill estimated the annual cost to be $116 billion annually. Most of these studies were calculated with estimates of only 11 million to 12 million illegals in our country. In September 2018, a study by Yale University professors estimated the real number in this country could be as high as 22 million, but at least somewhere around 15-17 million. The projected cost of the border wall was somewhere around $20-25 billion.

President Trump has only asked for $5 billion this year and the Democrats say no. It doesn’t take too much “smart” to see a border wall as a good return on investment. I hate to think what illegal immigration is going to cost our kids and grandkids in a few years. Email Congress today and demand they build the wall.

RALPH PATTERSON

Bella Vista