Trump says border is secure. If so, GOP can work on immigration reform | Opinion

Our southern border with México is now secure, according to President Donald Trump’s statement Sunday morning on his Truth Social account where he lashed at Democrats for wanting “CRIME in D.C., and other BLUE Cities throughout our Country.”

“But don’t worry, I won’t let that happen. Just like our now secure Southern Border (ZERO illegals in last 3 months!), our cities will be Secure and Safe, and D.C. will lead the way!”

Major crime is down throughout the country, according to FBI data, but Trump relies on a sky-is-falling narrative on crime to justify federalizing National Guard troops to patrol the nation’s capital and threatening to do the same with other cities governed by Democratic mayors.

One thing correct about his social media tirade is that the U.S.-México border is essentially secure. Southwest border encounters in July, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, hit a record low of 7,832. The July 2024 number was 56,408.

“History made, again. The numbers don’t like — this is the most secure the border has ever been,” said Kristi Noem, secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, in an Aug. 1 press release. “President Trump didn’t just manage the crisis — he obliterated it. No more excuses. No more releases. We’ve put the cartels on defense and taken our border back.”

Trump declared a national border emergency on his first day of his second term under the National Emergencies Act and ordered the U.S. military to the border. Armed with $170 billion for border and immigration enforcement from the One Big Beautiful Bill, the border will get even more secure with 10,000 additional Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers, $46 billion to finish the wall and $10 billion for state assistance in immigration enforcement.

The president pledged to deport “the worst of the worst,” then signaled he wanted to do something to protect workers in farming and hospitality from deportation because those industries depend heavily on undocumented labor. “We can’t let our farmers not have anybody,” he said in June.

In his executive order, Trump said deportation would focus on getting criminals removed, but data as of Aug. 10 shows 70.4% of undocumented immigrants detained had no criminal record. And, many of those with a criminal conviction were for traffic violations or other minor offenses.

Time for GOP to follow its words

This is where the Republican Party needs to back up its promise that it would deal with the estimated 11 million undocumented residents once the border was secure.

At the 2023 World Ag Expo in Tulare, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said immigration reform starts at the border. “The first (thing) has to be done, you have to secure the border before you have any immigration reform,” he told The Fresno Bee.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in 2013 he was willing to discuss immigration reform once some conditions at the border are satisfied. “One is that people need to know we’ve done everything we can do to secure the border.”

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, in a 2023 interview with The Fresno Bee Editorial Board, said he would like to have a secure border before tackling immigration reform.

Former Rep. John Duarte, a Republican from Modesto who lost his reelection bid, introduced an immigration reform bill in October 2024 that would provide a pathway to green cards for undocumented residents meeting specific criteria once the U.S. border is verified as secure. HR 10034 went nowhere, but it was a Republican proposal.

The bipartisan Dignity Act was reintroduced in Congress last month. The bill —w hose co-sponsors include Valley Reps. David Valadao, a Hanford Democrat, and Merced Democrat Adam Gray — requires physical barriers and technology on the border. It also grants legal status and protections to undocumented residents and a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. There is no amnesty.

“The Dignity Act is a revolutionary bill that offers the solution to our immigration crisis: secure the border, stop illegal immigration, and provide an earned opportunity for long-term immigrants to stay here and work,” said Florida Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican. “No amnesty. No handouts. No citizenship. Just accountability and a path to stability for our economy and our future.”

Republicans, your leader has said the border is secure. Time to focus on comprehensive immigration reform.

This story was originally published August 20, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Trump says border is secure. If so, GOP can work on immigration reform | Opinion."