Editor:
I read with great interest the report of the trip that Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber and Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson recently made to the US and Mexican border at a location near Bisbee, Arizona. (See The Register-Herald, Saturday, March 9, 2024.)
It was difficult to understand how the state auditor’s office which is charged with auditing all public offices in Ohio would find it relevant to its work to make this trip. However, Mr. Faber is our area’s former state senator, so I appreciate his interest.
On the other hand, Sheriff Simpson has dedicated his life to insuring the law and order and protection of our Preble County communities. It is very easy for me to understand why a trip to the border could inform his work on our behalf.
Leaving aside the issue of who may have paid for these trips, I appeal to both Auditor Faber and Sheriff Simpson to urge their Republican colleagues in the U.S. House of Representative to move quickly to pass the US Senate passed Immigration bill that U.S. House Speaker Johnson seems unwilling to address at this time.
The Senate-passed bill would provide the most comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by Congress since Ronald Reagan was President. According to the sources I was able to access, here is a list of the critical features funded in the bill:
• 100 cutting-edge inspection machines to detect fentanyl at ports of entry.
• 1500 new customs and border protection agents.
• 4330 new asylum officers and immigration staff
• 100 new immigration judges and teams.
• 1200 new immigration and customs personnel for enforcement and deportations.
Additional policy changes include tightening the asylum review process and declaring a national emergency related to international fentanyl trafficking.
I try to remember that the border between the United States and Mexico is nearly 2,000 miles long. That’s the distance between Eaton, Ohio, and Reno, Nevada. We have seen pictures of where parts of the border wall that have been built have been breached in various ways. We have tried changing the immigration policies and procedures, and still the United States – the greatest country in the world – is where immigrants want to come.
And … every governor of the states that include the U.S.-Mexican border supported the Senate bill and the national association of border patrol agents endorsed the Senate-passed legislation.
Let’s not make achieving the “perfect” bill prevent us from making significant progress on this critical national priority now. Let’s not continue to place politics above our national security. I urge Auditor Faber and Sheriff Simpson to be part of the solution by urging their Republican colleagues who represent us in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Senate’s bipartisan bill.
Jean Bussell
West Manchester
