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“Thousands of homeless illegals crossing our southern border every day; the worst situation in 15 years.” So says Justin Hale in finding fault with the homeless encampment at the Jefferson County fairgrounds. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris have been in office all of three months, and I think it’s a bit soon to be judging them on this handy distraction from the pandemic.

Let’s see; “15 years ago. ”That would have been the early months of the second George W. Bush administration, May 2106. George W, reigned from Jan. 20 2001 ,through Jan .20, 2009—and 15 years ago would have been well within that.

Here’s how things looked 15 years ago (2006) under Republican President George W. Bush.

“As of March 2006, the estimated unauthorized population in the United States was 11.5 to 12 million, of which 4.5 to 6 million entered legally with inspection and 6 to 7 million entered illegally without inspection. Those who entered legally with inspection include nonimmigrant visa overstayers (4 to 5.5 million) and border crossing card violators (250,000 to 500,000), while those who entered illegally without inspection evaded immigration inspectors and the Border Patrol. On average, there are 700,000 to 850,000 new unauthorized migrants arriving annually by all modes of entry. An estimated 6.2 million (or 56 percent) of all unauthorized migrants are from Mexico. (Sources: Pew Hispanic Center Estimates based on March 2005 Current Population Survey; DHS reports) . . .

“Two of the 10 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States, Laredo and McAllen, are located on the Texas-Mexico border. Estimates indicate the population of many border cities will double in 30 years. The population along the Texas border region is increasing at twice the rate of Texas as a whole. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)”