Darin Harbick: Firsthand view of wide-open border

America’s Southern Border is Wide Open — a firsthand view
Darin Harbick for U.S. Senate

First and foremost, there is no wall.

While there are sections where the border wall exists, there are many areas where there are gaps in the wall. The cartels take full advantage of the gaps to traffic drugs and humans across the border.

The areas we visited are extremely remote. This means there is very little chance the cartel traffickers will be apprehended by US Border Patrol agents and the cartels know that. Therefore a tsunami of individuals and drugs are trafficked in these areas.

Secondly, the Biden & Wyden open border policy means that Border Patrol agents who would typically be monitoring these remote sections of border for both human and drug trafficking, are instead processing families seeking asylum in other areas on the border.

Next, due to the lack of support from the Biden administration, the administration’s open border policy and the vaccine mandates, many US Border Control agents are leaving their jobs for other opportunities. The area I visited is operating at about 50% staffing which creates another real challenge to stop the cartels from bringing drugs across the border

During the trip we had the opportunity to meet with Sheriff Lamb of Penal County, Arizona who shared hard facts on how drug trafficking over the US Mexican border are destroying our country.

We also met with a local Arizona rancher who deals on a daily basis with both illegal drug and human trafficking.

As if we didn’t already know, elections have consequences. President Biden was crystal clear during the 2020 election that he was going to open our border to whoever wanted to come. And the electorate heard it. The results of that failed policy is devastating families all across America. In Oregon the massive illegal grows in Jackson and Josephine counties are clear evidence of the massive failure of the Biden & Wyden open border policy.

Finally, as your next United States Senator, I will fight to finish the border wall and secure the border. I will fight to keep Oregonians and Americans safe from the flood of illegal drugs flooding our southern border. I will support law enforcement, both our dedicated US Border Patrol and local law enforcement who are on the front lines of this battle.

Darin Harbick for U.S. Senate