As citizens across America gather to celebrate our nation’s independence this July 4th, it is essential to remember American independence was born not from barbecues and fireworks, but from a burning desire of free men to govern themselves, to secure a sovereign state where the interests of citizens come first.
While our nation’s founding fathers were well-read on Locke and Montesquieu, most of the men who bore the muskets were simple farmers and tradesmen. In an interview with Captain Levi Preston decades after the American Revolution, the aged veteran says he was not motivated to fight because of the Stamp Act or the writings of philosophers. Instead, Preston gives a much simpler response.
“What we meant in going for those Redcoats was this: we had always governed ourselves and we always meant to,” he said.
The nation Preston and his countrymen forged with their sacrifice and with their blood is the United States of America. While the radical Left might tell you America is a “democracy,” “nation of immigrants,” or an “nation of ideas,” the nation we live in is a constitutional republic designed to serve the interests of its citizens and to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and to our posterity.”
Any nation’s ability to govern itself and make decisions in the best interests of its citizens rests squarely on its ability to maintain control over its borders. America is no different. If anything, America is an even greater example of this point. Our borders are defined by war-won treaties and military installations. Even the lyrics of our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” come from a poem about the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.
”O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave,
O’er the Land of the free and the home of the brave?”
In truth, strong and secure borders are the foundation of national sovereignty. Without them, a government has little control over regulating immigration, economy, security, or cultural identity.
As President Donald Trump succinctly stated, “A nation without borders is not a nation.”
But today America does not have strong borders.
An invasion of illegal aliens trafficked by narcoterrorist cartels has overwhelmed not just the border states, but communities across the country. Since Democrat President Joe Biden took office, the state of the border has only worsened.
Federal agents charged with repelling the entry of illegal aliens are now largely focused on processing their paperwork and putting them on flights to the American heartland to await asylum hearings they won’t attend—a move that effectively grants them de facto amnesty.
Border wall construction began in the Trump administration but has been waylaid. Panels that could be used to thwart illegal entry are wasting away in the desert. Roads designed to provide a rapid response to incursions are now used by the same invaders they were meant to hinder.
Faced with the reality of an invasion of illegal aliens pouring across the Texas Border, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature ended the recent legislative session without passing any serious or substantial border security legislation to stem the flow of illegal aliens into Texas.
They also failed to pass measures to require employers use E-Verify to validate would-be workers’ right to work in the United States or challenge the Supreme Court on its ruling that Texas taxpayers must cough up the cash necessary to educate the foreign nationals in our public schools.
Indeed, foreign nationals take precedence over native citizens on a multitude of issues for our policymakers. Reforms to stop Chinese nationals from buying up Texas land fell short, killed by lieutenants of House Speaker Dade Phelan. Likewise, lawmakers like U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Congressman Dan Crenshaw appear more interested in committing resources to the Ukraine-Russia conflict than to address our national infrastructure or to stop the invasion of our nation’s own border.
At Texans for Strong Borders, we believe this status quo is unacceptable. Our founding fathers conquered this continent and built this country, a self-governing constitutional republic, to serve the interests of its citizens and their descendants. We believe our leaders must place the interests of citizens first, not subject them to subsidizing the security of foreign nations, supplying the safety net for foreign nationals, or kowtowing to big business lobbies addicted to cheap foreign labor.
As we celebrate Independence Day, we must rededicate ourselves to demanding strong borders and lawmakers committed to a secure and sovereign America where Americans come first.
