Joe Biden has often tried to connect with Gold Star families by referencing his late son’s military service, even if it involves misrepresenting how his son passed away. However, if the president truly values the safety of American troops, as he’s claimed, why is he enabling a border crisis that endangers them?
Recently, there has been a noticeable increase in reports of alleged illegal aliens attempting to infiltrate U.S. military sites. The latest incident took place on Thursday when a Mexican national was arrested after scaling a fence at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas.
According to Fox News, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official confirmed that “Del Rio Border Patrol agents attempted to conduct a traffic stop early Thursday morning on Highway 90 East, when a 17-year-old male ran from the vehicle and breached the base.” The person was apprehended along with “four other men in the vehicle who are suspected of being in the country illegally.”
An Alarming Pattern
Unfortunately, the Laughlin breach is not an isolated case of foreigners trying to access U.S. military sites in recent months.
Officials at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia detained two Jordanian nationals several weeks ago after they attempted to breach the facility. According to Potomac Local News, which first broke the story, “the two men drove a truck up to the base’s main gate … [and] told guards that they were contractors for Amazon and were making a delivery to Quantico Town’s post office.”
After law enforcement “determined the vehicle had no affiliation with the base” and the individuals failed to provide approved documentation, military officials “directed the truck to a holding area for standard vetting procedures.” However, the driver attempted to steer the vehicle onto base grounds before being stopped by denial barricades. A base spokesman reported that the two were handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Citing “multiple sources,” Potomac Local News stated that one of the individuals is a “Jordanian foreign national who recently crossed the southern border into the U.S., and that one of the occupants is on the U.S. terrorist watch list.” ICE later verified both individuals were Jordanian nationals but did not divulge further details.
Fox News’ Griff Jenkins reported Thursday that one of the two Jordanians illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border “last month (April) in the San Diego sector and was released on an NTA (notice to appear) because there was no initial derogatory information found.” The other “was an F1 Student Visa Overstay,” and “[n]either have a criminal history in the U.S.”
According to the New York Post, Quantico base leadership reportedly did not inform regular personnel about the breach until May 16 — nearly two weeks after it happened on May 3. The incident led Gov. Glenn Youngkin to seek additional information from the Biden administration.
The Biden Administration’s failure to secure the border has brought this crisis to the front gates of our military installations.
I sent a letter to President Biden regarding the attempted breach at Quantico & their failure to disclose the immigration status of those involved. pic.twitter.com/7vAW63P9HG
— Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) May 23, 2024
In March, officials apprehended a Chinese male attempting to enter Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California. Spokesman Maj. Joshua Pena told Military.com that the individual ignored warnings from military police and “briefly made it past gate guards” before being taken into custody and turned over to Customs and Border Protection. According to Youngkin, the Marines “would not reveal if his entry into the United States was legal, where he was subsequently being held, and on what charges he was being held.”
The administration has also refrained from providing additional information about an April 28 incident at the Navy’s Joint Expeditionary Base-Little Creek in Virginia Beach, where an unidentified driver crashed into a security barricade after trying to drive onto the facility at high speed. While a public affairs officer for the base confirmed the driver died in the crash, federal officials have not disclosed further details such as the individual’s immigration status.
In Harm’s Way
This apparent trend of foreigners trying to force entry into U.S. military installations — and sometimes succeeding — is a concerning issue that should not be ignored. That foreign nationals feel emboldened enough to violate U.S. sovereignty and target crucial military sites is very troubling and reflects poorly on the Biden administration’s border policies.
Allowing millions of illegal aliens — including at least 1.8 million known to evade border officials — to enter the country freely has emboldened the most dangerous international actors intent on harming the U.S. and its military. These actors no longer fear repercussions for breaching America’s borders, so it’s not surprising they’re undeterred from targeting vital military outposts.
