A nation without control of its borders is no longer sovereign. We must have enforceable and protected borders just like every other nation in the world.
By Marc Whyte, Grant Moody, For the Express-NewsFeb 15, 2025
One critical aspect of our nation’s legal framework is the enforcement of immigration laws, particularly when it comes to unauthorized immigrants who commit crimes against Americans in the United States. There is a clear and undeniable duty to remove violent criminals who are in the country illegally.
And, in fact, over the past few weeks ICE agents, in conjunction with local and state law enforcement agencies, have been conducting targeted raids around the country to fulfill that duty and apprehend criminals who are in our country illegally.
Immigrants who break the law — not just by being in the country without authorization but by engaging in violent or dangerous actions — pose a threat to the safety and well-being of American citizens.
But this is not just a public safety issue. A 2019 report from the Department of Homeland Security revealed that individuals who are in the country illegally and are convicted of crimes cost taxpayers significantly.
In fact, it costs the U.S. billions of dollars a year to detain and incarcerate unauthorized immigrants who have committed crimes. These costs are largely shouldered by state and local governments, diverting resources that could otherwise be used for infrastructure and other core services.
Here locally, over the course of 2022, more than 1,000 unauthorized immigrants were on ICE holds in the Bexar County jail. These inmates cost our taxpayers more than $2.5 million that year.
In the last week of January, 300 unauthorized immigrant inmates already were in the Bexar County jail, and thus it is not a stretch to assume that over the entire calendar year, there will be upward of 1,000 ICE holds in our jail again.
The public strongly supports the enforcement of immigration laws, particularly when it comes to the removal of criminals.
A recent survey conducted by AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 83% of respondents believe that the U.S. should prioritize deporting unauthorized immigrants who have committed violent crimes, and a separate poll by the New York Times found that nearly 87% of Americans held those opinions.
These are clearly not fringe opinions, but rather those of a supermajority of Americans across the political spectrum. A nation without control of its borders is no longer sovereign. We must have enforceable and protected borders just like every other nation in the world. By simply following the immigration laws already on the books, this problem will be reduced dramatically going forward.
Critics often argue that enforcing immigration laws in this manner would lead to mass deportations of innocent, law-abiding individuals. Such fearmongering is misleading and harmful, and recently a local ICE agent at a community meeting confirmed that it is simply untrue.
The focus of any reasonable immigration enforcement policy should be on violent criminals and individuals who represent a true danger to public safety.
We must uphold the rule of law, and if we allow illegal immigration to go unchecked, we will be sending a dangerous message that the laws of our nation, which are enacted by the will of the American people, do not matter.
A second argument made by some against enforcing immigration laws is that doing so will harm our economy. By focusing on criminals, we are protecting the safety of our citizens and businesses, and ensuring that our resources are used where they are most needed. Doing so will only enhance our economic interests.
Comprehensive immigration reform is certainly needed in our country. But until Congress can get that done, enforcing our current immigration laws and removing violent criminals from our communities is just common sense. It’s what the majority of Americans clearly want. It’s what safeguarding our neighborhoods requires. And it’s what being a nation of laws means.