There is no doubt about it – the United States is being invaded at our borders, especially to the south.
Just last year alone, there were hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants that sneaked in across the border or were allowed to enter by the current administration. These are not just Mexicans, but they are coming in from China, South and Central American countries and even from the Middle Eastern countries.
They blend right in with the flow of immigrants who illegally enter the U.S.
Many of them are criminals and some could even be terrorists sent to our country to later attack us, like what happened on 9-11.
According to the Associated Press, arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico reached an all-time high in December since monthly numbers have been released. This shows a growing vulnerability for President Joe Biden in his campaign for a second term. Some are even coming across the northern border in states like Michigan through Canada.
The Border Patrol tallied 249,785 arrests on the Mexican border in December, up 31% from 191,112 in November and up 13% from 222,018 in December 2022, the previous all-time high, the AP reported.
Just last week, a college nursing student was brutally killed by an illegal alien from Venezuela. This happened on a college campus in Georgia.
There have been plenty of other incidents where these illegal immigrants have raped, murdered, burglarized, shoplifted or committed other crimes once in the U.S. You may have seen where a gang from South America attacked a policeman in New York City. He tried to stop one of them after he had been seen shoplifting. But the officer was taken down, kicked and beaten by at least five illegals.
Something has to be done about the flow of illegal aliens, many of them criminals, coming across the border in states like Texas, California, Arizona and New Mexico.
This invasion has to stop.
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If you read the newspaper in print or online or watch the local and regional news television, you will see stories about arrests your local law enforcement agencies make each week.
With those stories, reporters and editors run mugshots of those arrested so the public can see what they look like. Think about it: many of them eventually get out on bail or are released from jails and prison after spending time for their crimes.
But recently, legislators in both West Virginia and Kentucky have passed bills to not allow the media and others from using these mug shots.
Criminal arrests are public records. The mugshots have been too.
In West Virginia, booking photographs of criminal suspects could no longer be made public by state corrections officials under a bill passed by the House of Delegates. It now goes to the state Senate.
The public has a right to view these mugshots with the stories. This is again one of the most ridiculous wastes of time by delegates and senators. They have more important things to work on.
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It is sickening to see all of the trash and litter that line our roadways in this region.
It seems like many people who live here have no pride! We live in a beautiful area. However many ruin it by tossing out their fast food containers, papers, plastic bottles, aluminum cans and even dumping bags of garage at illegal dumps.
If you go on vacation or travel to other parts of the U.S., you don’t see this kind of disregard for the highways and byways.
I will never understand why our region has had this problem for as long as I can remember.
Many groups and volunteers in certain areas will pick up the trash – only to see it right back lining the same road or ditch line the next day.
Is it really that difficult to wait until you get home or get to your destination to toss the litter or fast food containers in the garbage?
Please stop littering our highways. If you see someone doing this, take down their license plate number and turn it in to a police agency. We need to work together to stop this awful practice.
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Finally, longtime Kentucky U. S. Senator Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader in history, who has held his power in the face of many changes in the Republican Party for almost two decades, will step down from that position in November.
McConnell, who recently turned 82, announced his decision this past Wednesday on the Senate floor.
“One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said in prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press. “So I stand before you today … to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.”
(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)