Last month, in the quiet towns of Kaysville and Herriman, the border crisis reared its ugly head.
On September 18th, a mother and her kids were terrorized in their own home. A video they took shows a man stalking their home, but before he could break in and harm anyone, the police caught him. He turned out to be an illegal immigrant wanted by ICE.
That same weekend, gunshots rang out in Herriman, leading to a car crash and an injured person. Police later confirmed the shootout was tied to Venezuelan gangs. These incidents followed reports out of Aurora, Colorado, where videos showed Venezuelan gangs taking over an apartment complex with weapons drawn.
This crime didn’t just happen by chance. The people of Utah didn’t ask for this—our broken border brought it to them. And you don’t have to rely on just these stories to see the bigger problem, the numbers from the border make it clear:
- 11 million illegal immigrant encounters
- 2 million “gotaways”—those who crossed undetected
- 525,000 unaccompanied minors, many trafficked or exploited by cartels – DHS has lost track of 90,000 of these kids
- 435,719 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions are in the U.S.
- 13,000 convicted of murder are still here
These individuals are not staying near the border, they’re being bussed and flown into cities and towns across the United States, presumably into your nearby Herriman or your own Kaysville. No state is safe from the effects of an open border. What happened in Kaysville and Herriman is just scratching the surface. More and more illegal immigrants, unconcerned with law and order, are entering our communities.
The solution is simple: we need a secure border that turns away those who abuse our system. We need institutions that can protect Americans, deport criminals, and rescue trafficked minors. What we’re seeing now is the result of three-and-a-half years of neglect. Some will say it’s un-Christlike to turn these people away. Is it Christlike to let criminals into our towns? Is it compassionate to let traffickers exploit our children?
The family in Kaysville didn’t feel safe. The people of Herriman feel their town changing. Ignoring these facts doesn’t make you kind; it makes you blind. Your passivity is to the detriment of the families and individuals hurt by this border.
Written by: Jax McKinney
Senior Contributor at the Cougar Chronicle
The Cougar Chronicle is an independent student-run newspaper and is not affiliated with Brigham Young University or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Cover Photo Source: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ice-citizen-arrest-20171129-story.html
