The border is secure again. Next step: Fix our immigration system

That’s what local farmers, Border Patrol agents, and local officials told The LIBRE Initiative in our most recent trip to the border in Yuma, Arizona.

It’s clear the border is no longer a disaster, but restoring order after years of mismanagement is just the first step.

If we want a prosperous and successful America, we also need to modernize our broken immigration system — one that doesn’t work well for immigrants, workers, families, or the economy.

Under Biden, the border was in chaos. Now, it’s finally back to normal. It’s up to us to improve it tomorrow.

Here’s what we found out on our recent trip to Yuma:

Before: A town on the verge of collapse

During the four years of the Biden administration, the border was in chaos: There were thousands of illegal crossings every day, local resources were at a breaking point, and the safety of Americans was at risk.

Yuma was the ground zero of this crisis.

When the Biden administration stopped funding for the border fence, it left a glaring gap in Yuma.

As a result of this deluge of irregular migration:  

• Hospitals used patient rooms to house migrants.
• Law enforcement and emergency services were overloaded, limiting help for locals.
• Schools became overcrowded, with classrooms beyond capacity.
• Authorities tried to move people out of the city, but transportation delays left migrants in Yuma for extended periods.
• With no shelter, migrants damaged crops, forcing farmers to destroy produce to meet food safety standards and threatening food security, as Yuma provides 90% of America’s winter leafy greens.

That was the story of Yuma and of many border towns during the Biden administration, which let hundreds of thousands of migrants cross the border each year.

The situation was unsustainable.

Today: The border is under control

But everything changed when the new administration took office.

Local Yuma officials and Border Patrol agents told us very clearly that the United States has complete operational control over the border, all thanks to the commonsense policies from the Trump administration.

Policies like the Working Families Tax Cuts (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill) gave law enforcement the resources needed to keep America’s border safe.

We saw it with our own eyes: The fence was finished, and Border Patrol agents were doing their jobs patrolling the border.

As a result, Yuma went from recording 1,000 border crossings a day to only five. Today, the city is recovering from the mayhem caused by Biden’s reckless policies.

However, we shouldn’t be satisfied with our government doing its duty; we must also build something better.

Tomorrow: An immigration system that works

We must update our broken and outdated immigration system, which is hurting the economies of local towns like Yuma.

Corey Mellon, a local Yuma farmer, talked about it during our trip.

He explained that during the winter and spring, most of the leafy greens Americans eat come from Yuma.

But harvesting these vegetables isn’t easy. It requires a lot of temporary workers to come to Yuma during the wintertime to do the heavy, intensive work to harvest the crops. Once the season is over, the farmers return home.

For decades, local farmers have relied on seasonal workers from Mexico to get their crops. When it works, it’s a win-win for everyone.

• Farmers get the critical labor supply they need
• Seasonal workers get some extra cash
• Americans get affordable food

Yet the visa process to get these workers to Yuma is a bureaucratic nightmare.

Corey told us farmers like him wait months for approvals and must adapt to ever-changing rules. Often, workers are left in limbo when harvest time comes.

While agriculture is a clear example of how our outdated immigration system gets in the way, it’s not the only one.

The immigration updates we need  

Congress already has real options on the table. That includes the America’s Children Act, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, the Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act, and the Religious Workforce Protection Act.

The border yesterday showed what failure looks like.
The border today shows what works.
The border tomorrow depends on whether Washington finishes the job.

Tell Washington it’s time to reform our broken immigration system here.