One of the most pressing issues in the current political sphere is how to handle illegal immigration. As of right now, ICE detention centers have been the procedure of choice, with San Diego being no exception.
However, the San Diego facility—along with detention centers as a whole—has been under fire from Democrats due to the lack of care provided to illegal immigrants. Yet, if Democrats are so concerned and currently have the power to enact change, why has their proactivity towards the issue been absent?
Most recently, the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego has been the current target of the Democrats’ rage. Over the past year, this detention center was the location of numerous protests of those opposing family separations and general federal immigration policies. Moreover, just last week, a 37-year-old detainee died from a brain hemorrhage, only fueling the ongoing rage towards detention facilities.
On a broader level, Democrats have been upset with the Otay Mesa ICE detention center for the following reasons: it symbolizes the ever-growing use of detention facilities, features low-quality medical care, and has seen a significant rise of sexual assault cases. Of the three reasons, the last two have contributed to the majority of the outrage. Wrongful death suits and a plethora of other medical complaints have been filed against Otay Mesa for insufficient access to quality healthcare. Likewise, the inability to report sexual assault cases has been heavily criticized.
In order to mitigate the current situation, there is a bill currently awaiting a verdict from Governor Gavin Newsom that would place restrictions on the use of immigration detention facilities. Local Democrats have argued that it is a concrete solution to the issue.
However, a different argument fits the situation much better. The Democrats have just been treating illegal immigration as a debate point instead of as a serious issue. The bill they intend to pass is the exact opposite of a concrete solution and would only produce severe ramifications with regard to immigration law and detainees.
Their superficial interest in the matter has led to the mass influx of immigrants into the United States, making it impossible for the detention centers to properly care for each detainee. Furthermore, Democrats have repeatedly denied necessary funding and resources to the centers to remedy the care they so heavily criticize. Once again, their hypocrisy is blatantly obvious.
Furthermore, Democrats have ruthlessly slandered [majority Hispanic] Border Patrol and ICE agents as the equivalent of Nazis running modern concentration camps. These attacks are utterly absurd and repulsive. The refusal of Democrats on the state and federal level to pursue border security and equip immigration officials with the resources they need reveals that they aren’t serious about improving the condition of the detention centers. The longer the left can withhold much-needed funding, the longer they can use the issue as a club against Republicans. Their incendiary rhetoric has not been without consequence:
Police fatally shot a man who authorities said was attacking an immigration detention center in Tacoma, Washington, on Saturday. A police statement said he was armed with a rifle and was throwing unspecified “incendiary devices." https://t.co/GOJvjqukOK
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 14, 2019
Equating the processing facilities with concentration camps and the ICE agents with Nazis nearly cost several lives. Democrats simply don’t care so long as they can continue to campaign on the issue—no matter how many innocent people are put in harm’s way.
