U.S. borders and ports: 7 clear and present dangers

In commemoration of the 17th anniversary of 9/11 and our promise to "Never Forget," I want to address seven current threats that remain at U.S. borders, and then lay out my plan for a better immigration system – one that welcomes emigrants from all over the world yet protects our ports and borders.

Anyone who knows me knows I love and respect all peoples around the world. I’ve filmed my major motion action films in so many countries, and have had such great experiences in doing so.

Of course I love America, what our founders established, and that we are truly a great melting pot of immigrants from all over the world. I join the host of Americans around the country who are truly colorblind, and treat all people with the respect and dignity that they deserve as children of God.

At the same time, I believe in law and order. I believe without it there is chaos and anarchy. And right now, that is exactly what is still happening at our borders.

Immigration is a big, hot issue right now. I’m not interested in pushing anyone’s politics. I’m only concerned in doing what is right and best for our country and people everywhere. We need to welcome immigrants the way our founders did, and leave our prejudice at the door. But we need to do it in a way that is not breaking our laws, dismantling our republic or jeopardizing the safety and health of our citizens.

We need to welcome people into America from all over the globe, but we need not fear or avoid better vetting of immigrants to make sure we are not allowing criminals and more crime into our country … because it’s happening far more than most people realize.

In our pursuit to be open to everyone, we are also enabling criminals and criminal activity to pour into our country at a rate unprecedented in American history. International crime rings, human trafficking, drug and gun smuggling, and even heinous killers are virtually walking right into our country and most communities.

While mainstream media outlets continue to focus upon the couple thousand immigrant families separated at the border, who are indeed a concern for me too, what they’re not telling you about are the hundreds of thousands (even millions) of crimes being committed by those who illegally cross our borders nearly every day. Most won’t believe what I’m about to share with you, but the facts are true. The statistics are what mainstream media are not telling you, but you need to know.

I implore you to read the following links and investigate on your own how overly open borders are literally destroying our nation through the floods of criminalities which follow. As you read each, ask yourself: Is this the type of border and port control you want your country to have? And if these crimes are occurring right now under our present immigration system, what needs to be change to stop them? And are there laws on the books that are not being enforced that would diminish their numbers?

1. One negative impact of illegal immigration that is rarely reported and often overlooked is that of identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year.

Jessica Vaughan, policy director at Center for Immigration Studies, explained that between 30 to 60 percent of all identify fraud is done to obtain employment, including nearly all illegal immigrants and even for 43.9 percent of all DACA recipients And believe it or not, illegal immigrants are stealing children and youth’s Social Security numbers at even a higher rate than the elderly’s.

The Cato Institute reported: "One survey-based paper found that immigrant farmworkers estimated that 50 to 70 percent of their coworkers used loaned [false identity] documents whose procurement is usually arranged by a supervisor, friend, colleague, or a fourth party."

Fake identity mills steal information from millions of law-abiding American citizens each year and sell (or loan) it to anyone that has the money. Many of these mills are operated by illegals themselves, gangs and cartels. Illegal aliens and others are willing to commit felonies to make well beyond minimum wage. And in the process, they destroy the financial and even family lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.

2. Another battleground at the border is the continued fight against drug trafficking. The Business Insider reported that, while marijuana and cocaine smuggling is down to roughly 1.5 million pounds annually (roughly 12,000 seizures of marijuana and 10,000 seizures of cocaine), smuggling of heroin and methamphetamines have risen over the past several years, reflecting changing drug-consumption habits in the US.

On a single typical day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported in August of 2018 that they seized 5,863 pounds of narcotics and disrupted 222 pounds of narcotics. Each year, 8,000 to 10,000 ounces of heroin and over 6,000 pounds of methamphetamines are seized. In fiscal year 2017, the U.S. Customs and Protection’s El Paso Sector alone seized more than $35 million in narcotics. (The DEA also reported that 30 percent of the drugssmuggled into the US by sea routes were transported on narco submarines).

Since 2001, the San Diego Sector’s Tunnel Task Force, which falls under the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, has found more than 60 smuggling tunnels in San Diego county alone. Approximately 70 percent of all the methamphetamine shipped to the United States passed through the San Diego-Mexican border. Just imagine how many more tunnels the other states of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas have running through them. In fact, just this past month, U.S. Border patrol agents uncovered a tunnel leading from the kitchen of an old abandoned KFC restaurant to a trap door in a bedroom in Mexico. Imagine how those underground corridors are also used for illegal immigration, human trafficking, gun smuggling, MS-13 and terrorist routes, etc.

Couldn’t enhancing better border security diminish these drug runs?

3. It is estimated that 2,000 illegal weapons cross the US-Mexico border each day. Just imagine how they are used, and the type of people who purchase them.

Larry Hatfield, president of Eagle Investigation and Protection Services as well as a veteran board member for Crime Stoppers of Houston, put it well: "Some of our citizens want to minimize or eliminate our Second Amendment right to bear arms, while advocating little or no immigrant regulation on our southern border. Shouldn’t they be more concerned with the smuggling of illegal weapons, the horrors of human trafficking and the scourge of illegal drugs?"

Enough said!

4. Despite 17 years since 9/11, it is a proven fact that terrorists are still trying right now to invade our country. As Rep. Mark Wayne Mullen (R-OK), businessman and former professional mixed martial arts fighter, explained: "Al Qaeda had a vested entrance in illegally sending terrorists into our country over our northern and southern borders, according to a declassified Counter Intelligence Agency (CIA) report. ISIS propaganda material was found encouraging illegal crossings on our southwest border. ISIS knows of our nation’s immigration loopholes and is actively seeking to utilize them. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2012 that Osama Bin Laden pursued recruiting terrorists with Mexican passports to plan another attack on the United States. DHS announced that in 2017, they came across more than 2,500 individuals on the terrorist watch list with plans to travel to the United States. This means that on average, seven suspected terrorists are stopped daily attempting to enter our country and harm our citizens."

How can we genuinely care and protect those who reside (citizens) and will reside (immigrants) in our home called America if we do little to counter these above criminalities? If we continue to allow and enable foreign criminals to invade our country and not be more diligent about deterring them, are we really committed to "Never Forget" the threats of 9/11?

President Ronald Reagan was right about this more than anything he probably said: "A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation."

(Next week in Part 2, I’ll address the last three of my "Seven clear and present dangers at U.S. borders and ports.")