Remember Sept 12 unity as we tackle the border, our new national security imperative

Sept. 12, 2001, is a day I remember almost as clearly as Sept. 11.

I’d been working in downtown Washington, DC, overnight, covering the historic events as they unfolded for Reuters North America. We covered the terror attacks on Washington, DC, and New York City, telling the stories of children, mothers, and fathers who never came home and stories of selflessness and heroism that, over the last 23 years, have made legends of ordinary people put in extraordinary circumstances.

What I remember more that anything about that day was how eerily silent it was. All planes had been grounded, and most people were home from work as the nation grappled with what had happened. We all wondered what was next. As I walked to a park with my children, I couldn’t help but notice the sudden appearance of American flags waving defiantly in front of every house against the bright blue September sky.

It is time to tap into that unified defiance once again.

Presidential candidates and New Yorkers gathered in lower Manhattan to honor the fallen Wednesday, and I couldn’t help but recognize the trauma that also unfolded in the Washington, DC, House Judiciary Hearing room this week. The families of Americans lost to a different kind of terror told their tearful stories to lawmakers. They called for an end to open-border policies that led to the deaths of their loved ones.

At the witness table were mothers whose children died of fentanyl poisoning or were brutally murdered by illegal immigrants. The stories of how their children died were horrifying. But instead of the Sept. 12-style unity and commitment to ending the violence, they were insulted by lawmakers, who accused them of allowing themselves to be exploited for political gain.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, got into a heated exchange with one witness, pointing to last year’s border security bill as evidence they were trying to do something. That bill did not have enough support from Democrats or Republicans to move forward.

“I find it very interesting that all five minutes for both of your testimonies on the left have not had any questions for us up here, but instead a speech,” said Anne Fundner, whose son died of a fentanyl poisoning. “I’m getting tired of hearing about the ‘most comprehensive border bill,’ which did nothing for immigration, I mean, for American citizens. It gave visas to people who needed to extend their visas, and it gave asylum to people coming over, and it did zero for an American citizen.”

As a parent, I send my young-adult children out into American society with a prayer and trust that our elected leaders have our best interests at heart and that people are basically good. Sadly, that is not always the case.

The ongoing US border crisis has escalated into a serious national-security threat that is quickly developing into one of the next generation’s defining crisis, just as 9/11 was ours. It is driven by policy failures that have led to all-time highs in illegal crossings, drug smuggling, and violent crime across the country.

From February 2021 to November 2023 alone, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded over 8.1 million encounters with inadmissible individuals at the nation’s borders, with more than 6.7 million occurring at the southwest border. In addition, more than 1.8 million “gotaways” have evaded detection, creating significant security concerns since the authorities lack any information about these individuals, including potential criminal histories or affiliations with terrorist groups.

The influx of drugs, particularly fentanyl, has been linked to an alarming increase in drug-poisoning deaths nationwide, killing tens of thousands of Americans each year, including more than 40,000 North Carolinians since 2020. The federal Drug Enforcement Agency lists North Carolina as a key “hotspot” in drug trafficking.

The influx of unvetted individuals — including nearly 300 known or suspected terrorists encountered at the border in 2023 alone — poses a grave threat to US security. FBI Director Christopher Wray warned Congress that the agency’s field offices, even in non-border states, are increasingly consumed by threats stemming from this border crisis, as these individuals potentially pose risks to national security.

Beyond the public-safety costs, the fiscal costs are very real in a time when the nation cannot afford the strain. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Americans now pay $182 billion annually on public services, such as policing, K-12 education, and emergency services.

The failure to enforce border security also puts a strain on local law enforcement, and sanctuary-city policies that prevent cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities create safe havens for criminals who should be deported. North Carolina’s state legislature is currently considering legislation that would require sheriffs across the state to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but it is a policy that Gov. Roy Cooper has publicly opposed and could veto.

The left often argues that immigrants, legal and illegal, are statistically less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens. However, this argument misses the point. The key issue is that every crime committed by an illegal migrant is a preventable crime. The loss of even one life due to policy negligence is unacceptable.

The current approach to illegal immigration is not sustainable.

It is time to view the threat to public safety posed by poor border security with Sept. 12 patriotism — unbound by political party or geography and with a commitment to future generations. Our children deserve to know that we will take very real and dramatic steps to ensure that American streets will be safe for everyone and that this will once again be the land of opportunity for those willing to follow the law and build a life here for future generations.