by Jeffrey K. Moore, II

How does a nation truly exist if it lacks effective borders? A porous, ineffective border, threatens our nation’s very sovereignty, and thus the inherent sovereignty of every individual citizen of the United States. We MUST secure our border and finish building the wall

The federal government’s core purpose is to secure the God-given rights of each one of its citizens, but it fails to do that on a very fundamental level if it cannot account for, and confidently regulate, entry across our national borders.

This is not an intangible problem; it is very real, with sometimes horrible consequences. Organized criminal gangs, murderers, even child predators, have been taking advantage of our insecure border to illegally enter our country and subsequently commit crimes against our own citizens. Crimes that would never have befallen those citizens had our border been properly secured. North Carolina has an estimated 325,000 unauthorized illegal immigrants. If even one half of one percent of those are criminals inclined to violate the rights of us or our children, it means that 1,500+ criminals could commit crimes that are 100 percent preventable through proper border security.

As such, it is of the utmost importance that the federal government act immediately to secure and reinforce our border to reestablish our sovereignty and fulfill its core purpose – to secure our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That is why I find merit in President Donald Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency in order to better protect the border from illegal and unaccounted for immigration. As chief executive of our nation the president doesn’t just have the authority to enforce laws, he has a duty to do everything within his power to ensure national security. National security doesn’t always mean military attacks from foreign enemies; our national security is made up of the collective security of the citizens of our nation. If citizens are not secure due to unchecked illegal immigration, and congress repeatedly fails to fund security measures due to partisan acrimony, the president has an obligation to act.

Just this week it appears there are enough votes in congress to challenge President Trump’s declaration and, however frustrating that may be to some, it’s okay. Congressional challenges to unilateral presidential actions, (redirection of allocated funds in this case) are part of a checks and balances system designed by our founders. So is the presidential veto.

What is altogether more frustrating is the fact that a split congress can muster the votes to oppose a bold executive action from a controversial president, but they cannot unite behind putting a stop to the human and fiscal costs that result from unfettered illegal immigration. It’s disheartening, really, to see them so committed to handing President Trump a political loss, yet apathetic to the plight of those families that have lost loved ones to evil actors that never would have been in this country if it weren’t for congress’ collective lack of a spine.

It matters not that a great many of those crossing our borders illegally are doing so merely to make a better life for themselves and their families. The United States government, and we, the people, are under no obligation to blindly accept immigrants if it means risking the safety of our own citizens. There is a clear distinction between legal, and illegal, immigration; the former actually allows us to honor that duty to protect citizens rights. We are a nation of laws, and so we must never reward those that knowingly violate the laws with amnesty, and least of all citizenship. To do so would incentivize more illegal immigration, and represents the ultimate insult to those that followed proper procedures to enter and reside in our country legally.

If we have organized a government to protect the rights of the men, women and children of our nation, and illegal immigration demonstrably threatens those rights,  then it is only proper that the federal government should make every effort to secure the border and immediately. As Eastern North Carolina’s congressman I will not hesitate in the least to vote for funding to build the wall, augmenting that wall with cutting edge security measures, thoroughly enforcing immigration laws through out the union, and I would never support any form of amnesty as a part of immigration reform. The Third District cannot afford a representative that will simply bow to the powerful lobbies that helped this problem fester in the first place, or buckle to the pressure of a social justice campaign when the Left turns up the heat. This issue is not about politics; it is about principles. The way forward is clear.