LAWLESS SURGE

We are all cringing at the images of migrants, including women and children, LEEING tear GAS At THE southern CALIFORNIA Border. At THE same time, we have to separate the emotion of those images from the reality that a lawless surge at border checkpoints is going to draw a response from the law enforcement agents we have charged with keeping order. When dozens of migrants attempted to cross the border illegally and began hurling rocks at US Border Patrol Agents, the agents had little choice but to employ tear gas to disperse the crowd. If we take yet another step back and look at matters rationally rather than emotionally, we can see that from the Middle East to the northern triangle of Central America, we are witnessing one Humanitarian Crisis AFTER Another — people LEEING THEIR native Countries in search of a better life. Ebbing democracy, failing states and increasing desperation are leading people to seek better circumstances than those they face. In America, we need to be a light of hope for the world — deeply engaged in building better states abroad through the example of democracy, freedom and rule of law. That’s why it’s crucial for President Donald Trump and the new House leadership to work with GOP leadership in the Senate to ensure our foreign and trade policies in Central America and around the world are aimed at increasing freedom and prosperity in the same way the North American Free Trade Agreement helped lift a generation of Mexicans out of the worst grip of poverty.