When penalties are far off, it’s easy to adopt provocative views that please the political base. Busloads of repercussions alter everything.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, angered by the detrimental effects of nearly free access to his state’s southern border, sent busloads of migrants to Denver recently.
Abbott, DeSantis, and other Republican governors have sent migrants to “sanctuary cities” including New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. DeSantis, not to be outdone, despatched an aircraft full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, the liberal enclave off Massachusetts where President Barack Obama maintains a multimillion-dollar mansion.
Denver now.
Of all, leftist politicians were pleased to become “sanctuary cities” and states when the risks were minimal. They passed municipal and state legislation that limited federal immigration enforcement. In 2019, Colorado’s left-leaning legislature banned police enforcement from collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on “detainers” to hold suspects for ICE.
The laws effectively handcuff ICE, placing local and state governments behind illegal immigration.
Gov. Jared Polis signed the 2019 sanctuary bill, but his administration now publicly disputes the term “sanctuary state.” In 2017, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock accepted the “sanctuary city” label.
As Colorado Politics reported earlier this year, numerous national migrant rights organizations label Denver, Boulder, and Colorado as sanctuary cities. Colorado officials may have requested removal from these listings.
For all sides of the immigration argument, “Welcome to Sanctuary Colorado” is reality.
To be honest, sanctuary policy proponents are zealous about protecting migrants from ICE, especially those who should be deported because of their high risk of violent crime. They prioritized safeguarding migrants over promoting public safety.
That’s why Denver attracted migrants before the bus left Texas. Gov. Abbott highlighting Denver was expected. He was accurate.
Officials in cities and states that have received busloads of migrants from Texas have sputtered and harrumphed in fury that they aren’t prepared. No way. Nor are Texas and other border areas.
That’s it.
The southern border is being mismanaged by the Biden Administration, led by a brittle and confused president and a confused and un-serious vice president. Texas and other states receiving an inflow are not prepared to handle this apparently endless surge humanely.
The Texas governor should call out proponents of various degrees of unrestrained protections for undocumented migrants and show the repercussions of several of their programs.
New York, Philly, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Denver people are free to support sanctuary cities. They must also realize that supporting these measures is not an academic exercise for virtue signaling over brie and chardonnay (or Bud Light) at the next Democrat gathering.
Laws and ideas have effects. Migrants, taxpayers, and communities.
Gov. Polis was right to mention “secure the border” in his response to the Texas migrants. I hope he called the president and vice president to vent.
Pro-sanctuary politicians may slam Greg Abbott for media consumption, feeding their deep-blue base. They realize the true issue.
