Strong, Safe Borders: What can WE do? - A Message from Mark Lamb
This month’s focus is strong borders, and HOW WE can understand the complex issues and make a real impact for good! Our friend, former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, agreed to send our readers a message. He continues working hard on building a strong Arizona and even consults with others around the nation. He knows law enforcement and border issues more than anybody. Thank you, Sheriff Lamb for all you do and taking time to write this important message, including what we all CAN DO!
Look, folks—I’m a Constitution guy. I believe in limited government, I believe in limited spending. So I’m not here to praise or bash the “big beautiful bill” as a whole. But I do want to point out one thing: the part of that bill focused on border security is strong. It allocates real money toward critical programs like 287(g), which lets local law enforcement work hand in hand with ICE. That kind of partnership is essential if we want to make a dent in illegal immigration.
There’s funding for more Border Patrol agents, which we desperately need. But let’s be honest—this isn’t a flip-a-switch solution. You could hire 2,000 agents today, and it would still take a year before they’re trained, deployed, and effective in the field. That’s just reality. There’s also money to finish the wall, for technology, for things that have been neglected for too long. This part of the bill is robust and absolutely necessary.
Now, let’s talk about what’s happening in places like Los Angeles. What we’re seeing with these protests—this isn’t organic. There’s a group out there, calling themselves “No Kings” or something like that, organizing and mobilizing these protests. I’ve seen the intel. These aren’t local folks just upset about policy. When arrests are made, over 90% of these people aren’t even from the state. They’re coming in from Oregon, Seattle—you name it. And here’s the kicker: they’re being funded, often indirectly, by our own tax dollars that get funneled through nonprofits and NGOs. I’ve seen it with my own eyes—vans pulling up, handing out signs, making it look grassroots when it’s anything but.
And then local leaders in LA, they’re saying they didn’t know ICE was doing these operations. Well, of course they didn’t—because they passed laws that forbid local law enforcement from coordinating with ICE. And when trouble starts, instead of stepping up to help federal officers under attack, they pause, they delay, and things get out of hand. That’s how you end up with rocks and bricks being thrown at ICE vehicles and deputies’ cars. Let me be clear—that kind of attack is justification for deadly force under the law. We’re lucky things haven’t gone there, and that’s a credit to the discipline of these agents.
What’s really happening here is a strategy to bog down the system. They want to tie up ICE, tie up law enforcement, so they can’t do their jobs. It’s the same play we saw with cases like Kilmar Obago Garcia—use the courts, use protests, use chaos to keep removals from happening. But Congress could fix this tomorrow. It’s Congress’s job to define removal processes, not the judges’. We need laws in place so executive orders don’t flip-flop every four years.
The bottom line is this: the border is improving, but we have to codify real solutions into law. We owe it to the American people, and we owe it to the brave men and women trying to protect this country.
I know with so much going on in our country and all over the world it seems dark, overwhelming and out of control. What I always tell people is that you have to focus on what you can do, and not feel anxious and despair about things that you can’t fix.
The only things you can control are your attitude and your work output. You can affect those around you by being a positive influence.
The first thing we must all do is pray for our leaders.
You can write to your lawmakers and encourage others to do the same.
Get involved in your local communities and local politics.
Your cities and town councils and state lawmakers are what affect you most. You may only be one person, but calling and writing your state and federal lawmakers personally does help a lot. As the head of my agency, I did get all of the messages, and it mattered.
There is strength in numbers, and We the People, as long as we stay strong together, will continue to be a force for good.