HoodaThunk?

Just so no one thinks this is only a problem for the southwestern states, this is a press release from our local Sheriff’s Office:

A Loudoun Sheriff’s Deputy on routine patrol near Waterford uncovered a possible human trafficking ring and now 14 people are in the custody of federal authorities. 

The investigation revealed that the group, all of whom are believed to be illegal immigrants, had traveled from the U.S. border in the southwest to Virginia. Each of them is believed to have paid $1500 for the transportation. There final destination was unclear.

The possible ring was discovered by a Sheriff’s Deputy who was driving on Charles Town Pike (Route 9) around 12:15 AM Thursday. In the parking lot of the Waterford Shell the deputy observed a suspicious pick-up with Oklahoma tags. The deputy shined his light at the Ford F-Series pick-up and noticed several occupants inside. Upon further investigation 14 people were found crammed inside the truck. They included three people in the front seat, four in the extended cab area and seven in the bed of the truck. The bed of the truck was covered with a camper shell and had tinted windows.

Special Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) responded to the scene and took all 14 suspects into custody. The suspects, who are believed to be illegal immigrants, included 12 males, an adult female and a juvenile female.

The investigation into the possible case of human trafficking is being handled by members of ICE. Members of the Loudoun Sheriff’s Gang Intelligence Unit and the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force assisted with the initial investigation.

I’m a bit unclear about how you arrive at the conclusion that this was a case of “human trafficking” when each of the humans involved were paying for the traffic, but that’s up to the investigators, I suppose. Virginia, Colorado, Ohio, and other states well removed from the southern border of our nation are paying the price for enforcing our border security both in terms of time and funds. At the closest approach I can eyeball, Waterford, VA is just over 1700 miles from the southern border. That’s an awfully long way to allow people whose identity and intent are unknown to travel in this country. Check out that map. There’s a lot of America between those 2 points.

Securing the perimeter of this nation is one of the explicit tasks assigned to the federal government in the Constitution. It’s not supposed to be up to the States, individually, to be the primary line of defense and that’s what’s happening here. Had it not been for a vigilant Virginia sheriff’s deputy these people would have simply dissolved into the local population or moved further on into the country. Congress needs to pass the House’s legislation and get a perimeter fence built now. We can debate what’s appropriate for the illegals who are already here to our hearts’ content but we must secure that border to make any such debate meaningful.