Without Facts a Nation will be Lost

In today’s world everyone seems to think they are an expert on everything.  What is troubling is that people are expressing, asserting, and voting based on opinions that are woefully uninformed.

Take for example illegal immigration.

A recent Harvard-Harris Poll of 1,536 registered voters (conducted between April 30 and May 1) revealed that only about 13% (less than 2 of 15) Americans could answer correctly about the number of illegal aliens arriving at the US-Mexico Border when asked “About how many people do you think are caught trying to enter through the southern border each year?”  76% of respondents gave answers well below the current levels which are between 250,000 to 500,000 border apprehensions each year; instead, more than 75% incorrectly stated there were between 0 and 250,000 apprehensions. 

(The full results  of the Harvard/Harris poll (which deals with other topics as well as immigration) can be found HERE; the questions relating to immigration begin on page 155) 

In the same study, when those polled were told there were more than 100,000 apprehensions in the last month, 52% said they supported the Presidents declaration of a national emergency at the southern border.

Now, this poll can be found on some major media sites (e.g. The Hill), but not those that are primarily referred to as the main stream media– the media from which most people get their news (e.g. ABC, CBS, NBC none of which, at the time of this writing, had reported on this poll – perhaps they were still considering how to spin it, or were simply embarrassed since it reflects the lack of information that they are providing to their audiences). 

Yet people are vociferously voicing their opinions on the border without any or with only incomplete facts.  Facts that are incredibly relevant and very likely might change the opinions voiced.

For those who are interested in basing their positions on facts, here are some to get you started:

·        109,144 individuals were apprehended at the border in April alone.

·        103,492 illegal and inadmissible aliens were apprehended during the month of March alone.

·        76,325 apprehensions occurred in February.

·        Border arrests have reached their highest point in 12 years.

·        February numbers showed a 1,744% increase in asylum claims.

·        Family unit apprehensions by Border Patrol jumped 311% during the first five months of this fiscal year over the first five months of last fiscal year.

·        4,117 migrants were apprehended on a single day in March.

·        Just 6% of the people crossing the border are expressing a credible fear and requesting asylum in one sector, according to an immigration official.

·        A recent survey found that one-third of Guatemala’s population wants to come to the U.S.

·        There are at least 1.9 million known criminal aliens sitting in U.S. jails.

·        Human smugglers are running radio ads in Central America, according to a Border Patrol official.

·        ICE is having to reallocate resources to deal with “fake families” trying to manipulate border policies.

·        Now Border Patrol reports that children are also being rented and “recycled” to defraud immigration officials.

·        Border Patrol agents in Texas over just the last week apprehended 5,500 migrants per day.

The assault on our southern border is flooding our country.  Catch and release polices result in illegals along with questionable asylum seekers being released into various locations around the country.  While the border states are suffering most, the release locations are moving further and further north.   (Interestingly, 66% of the survey respondents answered that those with questionable asylum claims should immediately be turned back to Mexico for staging).

The survey shows that a slight majority of respondents view the border as a growing humanitarian and security crisis.  Let me suggest that the humanitarian aspect of the crisis stems from the refusal of many to acknowledge that there is a security crisis and the Democrats refusal to work with the President to control our borders.  With the knowledge that many within this country will assist those seeking entry in thwarting our laws, why shouldn’t more and more arrive at our borders with the belief that they will easily gain entry, whether legally or illegally? 

As a result of the ignorance of what is going on at the border, and in a false belief that the immigration laws should not be enforced, more and more children are placed into the humanitarian crisis that even some Democrats will now acknowledge.  Then we are told that we must take tax dollars and benefits from American citizens and give them toward helping these people in the humanitarian crisis that our own refusal to enforce our laws has created.  

            (One example:  4-H clubs of New Mexico have had to cancel two annual events normally held at the State Fairgrounds so that the dormitories that they had reserved for these events can be used to house migrants seeking legal entry into the U.S.; while the Democrat governor of New Mexico and mayors of the state’s major cities state that there is no border crisis, tax dollars are allocated from programs that would help impoverished or otherwise suffering legal residents to help transient migrants instead.)

Those who are ignorant of the actual statistics relevant to the border, further show their ignorance as they try to shame those who would enforce border laws and security by claiming that the Bible requires everyone to “help their neighbor.”  While that is, indeed, a Christian directive, there are many ways to help one’s neighbor, including perhaps not encouraging our southern neighbors to enter the dangerous migrant caravans with false hopes for what their life will be in the U.S.  

One must also wonder whether helping one’s neighbor, as interpreted by those using that phrase to shame those who oppose open borders, means ignoring your actual neighbors who live here legally in order to help others who may or may not have the best intentions for you or your current neighbors.  Yet we see many regularly giving a political interpretation of Biblical phrases and using that interpretation to shame those who do not agree with their political agenda.

The point is that there are too many people who use only the facts that are convenient, sometimes even twisting those to their purposes or using them out of context, while remaining ignorant of all the facts about a given situation.   Ignorance may be bliss, but only if one keeps that ignorance to oneself.  When one begins to advocate a position based on incorrect or incomplete facts, then the rest of us potentially suffer. 

It is more difficult in this day of overwhelming information to not be misinformed.  Being well and fully informed is a key duty for those who live in a democracy.  What we often hear called fake news is really news that is empty of key facts. 

It is crucial that everyone be aware of those voids in the news and if they care to be involved in important issues (which means if they care to exercise their civic duty to vote) then it is essential that they take the time to discover what is and is not being reported to them by their usual sources and take the time to fill in the missing information from elsewhere.  Only then can we have realistic discussions and proper solutions to problems and crises, including the crisis on our border, that are facing our Nation.