Why is Joe Biden prosecuting Texas instead of sanctuary cities? On one hand, Texas has the audacity to defend itself, and America’s border in the process. On the other hand, sanctuary cities are undercutting federal immigration law enforcement efforts. It shouldn’t be a hard choice — unless you’re Joe Biden. The Biden administration’s illogical response to the illegal immigration assault on America tells us all we need to know about what the president’s priorities are.
America has had an illegal immigration crisis since Biden became president. According to a recent estimate, 7.2 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S. during Biden’s presidency. That’s larger than the populations of 36 states and all American cities except New York. If you thought that news couldn’t be worse, you’re wrong: The numbers have been going up. December’s 250,000 arrests for illegal crossings marked a new record — that’s up 31 percent from November and 13 percent from the previous December’s 222,000, which had been the old record.
This historic surge happened not by accident but by actions — Biden’s. In its first 100 days, Biden stopped border wall construction, ended the “Remain in Mexico” protocols, terminated cooperative asylum agreements, and terminated the prompt review of asylum claims. And that was just the beginning. His actions have also hamstrung America’s internal enforcement tools of DHS and ICE. In short, his every step has been a misstep for America’s border security.
In the face of onslaught, Texas took action. In response, the Biden administration took Texas to court — on several occasions — over Texas’ border barriers. The state’s latest actions include an upcoming law (to take effect on March 5) that will allow Texas to arrest and deport those who cross the border illegally and to build a base camp near the border for its National Guard troops. Biden’s Department of Justice is suing to block the March 5 law.
In contrast to Biden’s aggressive actions against Texas, sanctuary cities continue unchallenged by the administration. Sanctuary cities are not new. They are generally considered to have started — not surprisingly in San Francisco — in 1989. There is no definitive count, but one estimate in late 2022 identified that 180 cities and counties and more than 10 states had adopted sanctuary laws.
There is no single definition of a sanctuary city, but the Center for Immigration Studies describes them in general:
These cities, counties, and states have laws, ordinances, regulations, resolutions, policies, or other practices that obstruct immigration enforcement and shield criminals from ICE — either by refusing to or prohibiting agencies from complying with ICE detainers, imposing unreasonable conditions on detainer acceptance, denying ICE access to interview incarcerated aliens, or otherwise impeding communication or information exchanges between their personnel and federal immigration officers.
When Biden has sued Texas, his claim has been that Texas’ actions on the border interfere with its authority to enforce immigration laws. So, how come Biden isn’t suing sanctuary cities?
Sanctuary cities’ obstruction of immigration enforcement is a far bigger infringement on the federal government’s authority. Plus, these ordinances run counter to what the federal government is supposed to be doing: protecting the border and American citizens.
Sanctuary cities unquestionably are an incentive to illegal immigration. In fact, civil rights groups suing Texas over its March 5 law are doing so on the basis that this incentive is being thwarted, saying that “the law blocks migrants from seeking asylum and other humanitarian relief.” Assuredly, Biden is at fault for the border crisis, but even with the administration’s reduction of illegal immigration’s risk, the return on it must also be in place. Sanctuary cities increase that return.
It is not as though the cost of this incentive is unknown. There is a budget cost, of course. There is also the cost arising from criminals, drugs, and terrorists crossing the border. All of Texas’ actions reduce those costs. All of the sanctuary cities’ actions increase them, at least indirectly.
Biden should be thanking, not suing, Texas for doing his job for him. Of course, everyone in America — and apparently a large portion of people south of our southern border — know the reason why Biden is not only not enforcing our borders but also opening them and thwarting those who would close them: Doing so would upset the extreme Left on which he and his administration increasingly depend for support.
So, Biden is taking Texas — not sanctuary cities, which are impeding federal border enforcement authority to a far greater extent and have been for a far longer period of time and on a far greater scale — to court.
Biden’s actions have been unquestionably unconscionable from first to last when it comes to illegal immigration. They are also revealing. They tell America what Biden sees his job to be: getting reelected by serving his extreme Left, not the country.
J.T. Young was a professional staffer in the House and Senate from 1987–2000, served in the Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget from 2001–2004, and was director of government relations for a Fortune 20 company from 2004–2023.
