Rick Perry: What Obama Missed on the Border

In 2012, I alerted the federal government to the growing problem of unaccompanied minors making the treacherous journey across Mexico to reach the United States. At that point the minors could annually be numbered in the hundreds or thousands.

In recent months, tens of thousands of children have come across the border and are now housed in federal facilities across the U.S., the result of failed federal policies and Washington's indifference to securing the border.

I visited one of these facilities in June and saw these children, frightened and alone, who left their homes and families, survived a harrowing trip, and are now facing an unknown future. It was staggering to realize that this humanitarian crisis is not the result of a natural disaster, but of our nation's own misguided laws and misplaced priorities. It's nothing less than a moral outrage.

President Obama last week proposed $3.7 billion in spending to deal with the continuing crisis. But only a small fraction of that money would go to the actual core of this problem: the lack of sufficient resources to secure the border. The majority of the billions he proposes to spend—including on housing and transporting the minors around the country—is treating the symptoms of the problem instead of addressing its root cause.

When I met with President Obama last Wednesday to discuss this crisis, I reminded him that securing the border is not only one of the core responsibilities of the federal government, it's also an attainable goal.

I made clear that this is not just Texas' problem. The effects of a porous border are felt everywhere. In the case of the children, many will ultimately be released on the condition that they appear—after waiting many months or even years—for a hearing to determine whether they should be deported. Experience shows that many simply won't show up, vanishing into cities across the country.

The porous border also leads to increased crime, a stronger drug trade and the specter of international terror. There have been numerous instances of illegal border crossing by people from countries with ties to terrorism, including Somalia, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Albania.

Read the rest of Rick Perry's op-ed HERE.

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