OP-ED: Asm. Marie Waldron Weighs In On Illegal Immigrants and Murrieta Border Patrol

The following was submitted for publication by Assemblywoman Marie Waldron, AD 75:

 
"Texas to Murrieta; a symptom of failure"

Illegal immigration is a frequent topic of debate at both the state and federal levels. In recent weeks, concerns over the impact of illegal immigration were heightened locally when plans by the Border Patrol to process 500 illegal immigrants from Texas at the Murrieta station were made public.  

The Murrieta station was reportedly ill-equipped to handle this large influx of illegal immigrants. Fortunately, local Border Patrol officials indicate that they are not currently transporting undocumented immigrants from Texas to this region and that a proposal to do so was an option that was never implemented. Of course this begs the question; why are large numbers of illegal immigrants in need of processing or transport across the Southwest United States in the first place? 

The situation in Murrieta, though apparently resolved for now, exemplifies California’s illegal immigration problem. It is the constitutionally mandated responsibility of the federal government to secure our nation’s borders. The proposed transfer of large numbers of illegal immigrants from Texas to Southern California is further evidence that the federal government is derelict in its duty to the people of this country through its failure to secure our borders. This situation is further compounded by the negative federal reaction when states attempt to enforce laws locally that the federal government refuses to enforce nationally.  

Transporting illegal immigrants across state lines will not resolve this problem. The growing illegal immigration crisis must be resolved at the federal level, sooner rather than later.