America is being invaded. Day after day, thousands of illegal immigrants stream across our Southern border. It is easy to understand the frustration of the American people as President Joe Biden calls the border secure while defending the invasion. 

These are lies so immense as to call into question the legitimacy of the Biden Administration on any matter. How can the border be secure when well over a million “got-aways” have snuck in under the Biden regime? How can the invasion be defended when he says it doesn’t exist because the border is secure? 

Judge for yourself: is the Biden administration engaging in treason? Article 3, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution defines treason against the United States, “shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” Enemies are agents or subjects of a foreign government openly hostile to the United States. With millions of young military-age men coming from nearly every corner of the globe, virtually unimpeded, how can this not be considered giving aid and comfort to our enemies?

But can the Idaho Legislature do anything? The answer is yes.

Right now, even in Idaho, illegal immigrants, those who have broken our laws and are not lawfully present, are entitled to certain Health and Welfare benefits courtesy of the taxpayer. Currently, under Idaho code section 67-7903, lawful presence is not required for emergency medical treatment, immunizations, soup kitchens, prenatal care, postnatal care up to 12 months, children’s food assistance, and services necessary for the protection of life and safety.

In addition to this being a burden on taxpayers, providing services to those here illegally is a moral hazard. Idaho is sending the message that breaking the law is not a disqualifier for getting free stuff. 

It is time that Idaho turns off the magnet and returns to fairness. Idaho should curtail as many benefits as is legally possible: immunizations, counseling, soup kitchens, prenatal and postnatal care, and food assistance should all be gone. House Bill 615 would end these benefits for illegals. Call it an act of demagnetization. 

What about a message to Congress, specifically Idaho’s Congressional delegation? As Idaho’s Attorney General Raul Labrador notes in this recently published opinion piece, “Laws can always be amended and improved, but passing new legislation means nothing if the executive branch refuses to follow either the letter or the spirit of the law.”

So any message to Congress, which Idaho legislators can do in a Memorial, must go beyond yet another plea for immigration reform. Because the Biden Administration is already ignoring current law by granting asylum and release to virtually all who cross the border, why would he adhere to any future laws that impeded his desire to flood the country with immigrants? 

Idaho must be strong in its convictions. Which brings us to the two competing Memorials before the Idaho legislature. 

House Joint Memorial 8 calls for Biden’s impeachment for willfully failing to enforce immigration law. Then, the passage of H.R. 2, the strongest border enforcement proposal in recent history, and only then dealing with immigration as it relates to processing immigrants for other reasons.

In contrast, Senate Joint Memorial 102 opens with strong language about the federal government’s failures to control the border and offers a nod to not granting amnesty. President Biden is never mentioned by name, as if this crisis is happening without his knowledge. This Memorial quickly pivots to the labor needs of industry and ultimately calls for “targeted immigration reform” in its concluding resolutions. 

We believe that Idaho’s congressional delegation needs the stronger of the two messages, House Joint Memorial 8, with the view that immigration is the imminent existential crisis facing our nation. Instead of worrying primarily about labor for agriculture (SJM102), Idaho needs to hold the administration accountable for the illegal invasion, which is real, and for the consequences it brings, which are tragic (drugs, sex trafficking, and welfare costs). Idaho must send its strongest illegal immigration message, and that is HJM 8.