{"id":1531465,"date":"2025-04-21T03:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1531465"},"modified":"2025-04-21T03:20:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T07:20:00","slug":"defund-the-cartels-a-smarter-plan-for-the-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/defund-the-cartels-a-smarter-plan-for-the-border\/1531465\/","title":{"rendered":"Defund The Cartels: A Smarter Plan For The Border"},"content":{"rendered":"

Defund The Cartels: A Smarter Plan For The Border<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Mollie Engelhart via The Epoch Times,<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t fit neatly into a political box, especially when it comes to immigration. I\u2019m a wife to a man who came here illegally at 16. I\u2019ve taken legal guardianship of an unaccompanied minor and folded him into my family. I work in both hospitality and agriculture\u2014industries that rely heavily on immigrant labor. My views on the border don\u2019t align with any party line, and I\u2019m aware that people on both sides of the aisle might find something in this article to disagree with. But that doesn\u2019t make the conversation less necessary. It makes it more urgent.<\/em><\/p>\n

America needs labor. <\/strong>That\u2019s not up for debate. We\u2019ve raised a few generations of kids who are not equipped for hard, uncomfortable work\u2014especially those who came of age during the pandemic. I\u2019ve had over 350 employees at any one time in my businesses, and I\u2019ve watched the workforce shift dramatically in just 10 years.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

At the same time, I believe a border wall is not racist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A wall, like a fence or a locked front door, doesn\u2019t carry moral weight. Strong borders make good neighbors. But let\u2019s be honest: the southern border is already secured\u2014just not by us. It\u2019s secured by the Mexican cartels.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every person crossing is paying $10,000 to $13,000 to make that journey\u2014not including the pre-planned robbery that happens to nearly every person along the way, and sometimes additional financial extortion afterward.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re not just turning a blind eye to this\u2014we\u2019re funding it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our labor shortage\u2014our need for labor\u2014is creating a massive revenue source for the cartels.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many commentators scream, \u201cCome legally!\u201d\u2014but the reality is, there are almost no viable legal pathways for Mexicans to do so.<\/p>\n

Unlike people from other countries, Mexicans cannot easily claim asylum. <\/strong>Citizens of many Central and South American nations can claim asylum and stay in the United States while they await trial\u2014a process that often takes five to 10 years. Even if their claim is denied, most never leave. Mexicans do not have this option. We are effectively prioritizing other nations over our immediate neighbor, and it makes no sense. We should be prioritizing Mexico first, and then Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.<\/p>\n

The humanitarian crisis is not what the media portrays. The real crisis is what happens before these people arrive – the women and children abused, trafficked, and disappeared in cartel territory.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the man who hasn\u2019t seen his mother in 20 years, or the woman who has children on both sides of the border and cannot return to see her children or grandchildren. She may never see her children here again. These are real stories. I live with them in my family and in my community. My husband didn\u2019t see his mother for 12 years prior to marrying me and becoming an American citizen.<\/p>\n

Yes, America is a melting pot. Yes, we welcome the tired and the poor. But no, we cannot take everyone. It\u2019s not sustainable. And pretending otherwise only perpetuates suffering.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s create a 10-year low-skill work visa. It would cost $10,000 – money that currently goes to cartels. Workers would be permitted to come and go, visit family, and live with dignity. Employment would be mandatory; workers could not remain unemployed longer than three months. Applicants must have no criminal history. This visa would never lead to citizenship, even through marriage. The best case would be a green card, but not a vote. Workers would pay taxes and contribute $10 per paycheck to Social Security, which they would never draw from. After 10 years, the visa could be renewed once\u2014or the worker could return home.<\/em><\/p>\n

We would prioritize Mexico, and then Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras\u2014because a strong neighbor is national security. If your neighbor\u2019s house is burning down, your own home is at risk.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

A strong, thriving Mexico makes for a safer America.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A healthy economy and stable society in the countries closest to us reduces pressure on our border and increases mutual prosperity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This plan would dismantle the cartels\u2019 business model, reunite families, end the incentive to bring children as props for border entry, and redirect billions of dollars from crime syndicates to the U.S. government. Migrants could fly directly into cities where jobs await\u2014no more treacherous desert crossings or predatory smugglers.<\/p>\n

One side of the aisle screams that we don\u2019t want them\u2014but still enjoys the literal fruits of their labor. The other side screams \u201chumanitarian crisis\u201d and \u201cracism\u201d\u2014but takes no meaningful action, even when in power.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In closing, I believe there\u2019s a solution that supports integrity for our border, for our businesses, for our families, and for our neighbors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But both sides of the aisle have not been interested in real solutions for a long time\u2014and that begs the question: why?\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is the benefit of the gray? What is the benefit of a system that is clearly broken and leads to drugs, rape, murder, and chaos?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nSun, 04\/20\/2025 – 23:20<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/geopolitical\/defund-cartels-smarter-plan-border<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Defund The Cartels: A Smarter Plan For The Border Authored by Mollie Engelhart via The Epoch Times, I don\u2019t fit neatly into a political box,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1531466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1531465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1531465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1531466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1531465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1531465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1531465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}