Invasion by any other name

Semantics are important for how we communicate and define issues. One who controls words controls the narrative.

So, take the words migrant and invader. Is there a difference? It's all in how they are perceived by some, and the effect their illegal border crossings have on the U.S.

One definition of invasion should focus our attention: "The entrance or advent of anything troublesome or harmfulā€¦ā€¯

Does anyone want to argue that the tsunami of humanity coming across our southern border overwhelming border patrol is not troublesome or harmful? Two motels in La Joya, Texas, are housing migrants who have tested positive for COVID-19. Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is paying the bill and insists the migrants are being kept in isolation, though many report seeing them wandering outside of the motel.

Many migrants are even getting bus tickets to fan out across the country. How many of them are carrying the virus?

Instead of securing the border, the Biden administration's Justice Department sued Texas and its governor, Greg Abbott, "seeking to block an executive order that restricts the transport of migrants through the state and authorizes state troopers to pull over vehicles suspected of doing so.ā€¯

On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Abbott's order. Is the administration trying to encourage more migrants to come? And coming they are by the tens of thousands. Is there to be no end?

What about the rights of American citizens and their property along the border? Texas rancher Brent Smith, who is also an attorney for Kinney County, told Fox News he sustained thousands of dollars in damages to his property from trespassing migrants. The administration has money to help the migrants. Who will help Smith and other property owners who suffer damages?

Gov. Abbott has ordered state police to arrest migrants as trespassers, but they are likely to have only minimal success due to the overwhelming numbers. He also has ordered a chain-link fence to be erected along some of the most porous sections of the border, but experience shows those can be easily traversed.

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The problem as well as the solution begins at the top with the Biden administration. Despite Biden's claims that entire families who seek to cross the border illegally are being turned back, most are not.

It's no accident. By now it can only be called administration policy. The Biden administration appears to want to flood America with people from other countries — Central America, Mexico, even Africa. Isn't Vice President Harris supposed to be in charge of resolving the problem? Where is she?

How much more — how many more — can we take? All presidents swear an oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of our country. President Biden is not enforcing immigration laws passed by previous congresses and signed by former presidents of both parties.

If he were a Republican, especially if Donald Trump was still in office, Democrats would likely be clamoring for impeachment. With Biden, Democrats barely give lip service to the invasion and then change the subject, speak talking points, or lie.

A rose by any other name is still a rose. And an invasion by any other name is still an invasion. We cannot sustain a country with what amounts to an open border no matter what it is called.

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Cal Thomas, America's most-syndicated columnist, is the author of 10 books.