"There's more than one way to skin a cat" - illegal alien edition

The headline is an old saying from the 19th century that I still enjoy.  It's still valid, in almost every walk of life.  President Trump has just illustrated that in dealing with the invasion of this country by illegal aliens.

Donald Trump's policies to deal with the crisis on our southern border are working as intended. Mark Morgan, acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, says that daily apprehensions of illegal aliens have fallen from about 4,000 at the height of the crisis to around 1,300 now. What's more, the 21-day average is less than 1,000 -- a 78 percent drop over the last year.

. . .

Fewer people are being stopped at the border because there are fewer people trying to cross. And the reason for that is the agreements the U.S. now has with Mexico and Guatemala.

. . .

Noting that Congress has done little to change outdated immigration laws, [Morgan] said that Trump took action and built relationships with Mexico and other Central American nations that now hold immigrants seeking to come into the U.S. until the government gives them the green light.

. . .

Limiting the number of those seeking asylum as well as cracking down on enforcement has done more to address the illegal alien problem than any other policy put in place by any other president.

There's more at the link.

I'm particularly amused by the way President Trump used the border wall as a distraction device.  Democrats in Congress frothed at the mouth, opined and obfuscated and obstructed, and did everything in their power to prevent him from building it.  He used their preoccupation with that single issue to bypass them in other areas, drawing other countries into helping to enforce US immigration law, and effectively substituting foreign policy, foreign aid (and the granting or withholding thereof) and border security enforcement measures for the wall, to the extent possible.  I still think much stronger and more comprehensive border security is necessary - given the cartels' control of Mexico, it's a genuine national security issue - but I have to doff my hat in admiration at how the President has used every tool in his toolbox to accomplish his policy objectives.  When blocked one way, he's used another.

There's still a long way to go - for example, getting rid of the millions upon millions of illegal aliens already on our soil - but this is a good start.

Peter