Oh America, when you go to buy that $6.20 morning coffee you will need to “borrow” $1.75 to pay for it.

Thank God you have an unlimited credit card. But your credit card balance is now an eye popping $34 trillion, the U.S. national debt. America, this is troubling. To “borrow” a metaphor, if the border crisis is a cold our financial house has pneumonia. We must address both, the former immediately.

President Joe Biden and the Democrats, through their failure to recognize a clear invasion and allowing illegal immigrants to rapidly increase our debt, are making it worse.

Biden has mastered the game of politics. He has been in the “game” for over 50 years. He has said, “I could close the border now,” if he got what he wanted in exchange. But that is bargaining with our safety. He wants to help other countries protect their borders before making U.S. borders secure.

Immediately after taking office, Biden reversed policies at the border that have been effective. He has refused to use executive orders and/or the military to secure our borders. This would both protect the American people from people harboring ill will toward America and help save America financially. Instead, Biden and the Democrats are throwing gasoline on the fire known as the financial instability of America.

Using just a tiny portion of our nearly $1 trillion National Defense Appropriations to truly protect America in an old fashioned manner by protecting our borders is the prudent way to start.

During the Biden Administration an unprecedented 13 million illegal immigrants have crossed or attempted to cross into America with millions whose whereabouts are unknown. This is more than the equivalent of all the people in New England hurriedly packing up and crossing over into New York state. Democrats would not call that an invasion, however. Former President Donald Trump correctly did so. And so did the majority of Americans when asked in recent polls.

“But they have no weapons,” one could argue. I fervently disagree. If you are clever, you use unconventional weapons.

Weapons change over time. We have new weapons for new times. The use of sanctions and the internet can be weaponized. Today, illegal immigrants are being used as weapons.

Of late, many of the illegal immigrants arriving in America have been Russians, Chinese, and thousands from around the world, thanks partially to flights arranged by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who is no friend of America.

The Republican proposed House Bill HR 1 failed to even get a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and the so-called “bipartisan bill” – Senator Mitch McConnell’s gift to Biden – was such a pathetic measure it failed to even get a vote in the Republican-controlled House. While Biden and Democrats are satisfied to blame Republicans, obviously there is much more work to be done on immigration reform.

We must stop the flow of people before we can fix immigration reform. Protecting America and immigration laws are two separate subjects. The Democrats’ obfuscations on this matter is potentially nefarious and to put it mildly, disingenuous.

Democrats, before there was asylum, before there were immigration laws, there was a document known as the U.S. Constitution. Biden is sworn to uphold it. The constitution clearly states that “the United States must protect each state from an invasion.” Biden and Democrats, stop obfuscating the issue.

Cities and states must balance their budgets (some have rainy day funds). Draconian methods must be used to pay for the surge of illegal immigrants from the border. The massive numbers of migrants represent a huge cost to states. Just like the massive number of invaders represented the same for the Romans, prior to the fall of the Roman Empire.

Massachusetts is seeking help from, you guessed it, Uncle Sam. They want the federal government to step in and pay the costs linked to the surge in migrants.

The American people, if given a choice, would not fork over a single penny in increased taxes to pay for those who have invaded America. Biden and the Democrats know that. It would be political suicide for the Democrats. So, they have to circumvent matters. Their warped solution is to use an already bloated Medicaid fund.

Democrats are willing to dig us deeper into a financial hole for some undisclosed reason.

When the Medicaid Bill became law in the 1960s (healthcare for the indigent), it was intended for Americans, not illegal immigrants.

After a 10% increase in 2022 we had more than $800 billion in Medicaid expenses, soon to be a trillion dollars of a $6+ trillion overall budget expense.

Let us not forget that we must make interest payments on our $34 trillion national debt as both the debt and interest payments on that debt are rapidly increasing.

Democrats and Biden are pushing America into a financial corner. Illegal immigrants flooding America can be America’s Achilles’ heel.

To add insult to injury, Biden recently went to the Mexican border and acted like Emperor Nero. While Rome was burning, Nero allegedly enjoyed his favorite pleasure, playing the fiddle. Biden, who ostensibly went to the border to address the migrant crisis, spent precious time talking about his favorite topic, “climate change.”

Will someone tell Biden that talking about “climate change” during this crisis is like the captain of the Titanic spending time planning a wedding hours after spotting icebergs ahead. Like that wedding, climate change may not matter.

So, as you finish that cup of coffee ask yourself, America, how long can you continue doing this – financially going in the wrong direction?

As Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell said recently, “It is unsustainable.”

Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England’s first Black member of the House. Host: podcast “We Speak Frankly.” @GaryFranks/Tribune News Service