Politicians continue to frame mass migration into the United States, both legal and illegal, as a human rights issue that citizens are morally obliged to support. Meanwhile, the crush of newcomers has escalated to unsupportable levels and has led many critics to aptly describe the phenomenon as an invasion. Such concerns have not slowed down the immigration evangelists, however, as these same politicians, with an unprecedented tone-deafness and brazen disregard for the American people, are asking citizens for even more sacrifices to accommodate the endless flow of foreign nationals into the country.

This attitude is typified by the leadership in Denver, a sanctuary city quickly devolving into the San Francisco-of-the Rockies. Mayor Mike Johnston recently spoke at a press conference about impending budget cuts to the city’s departments of motor vehicles and parks and recreation, describing them as a form of “shared sacrifice” required to assist “newcomers” to the city.      

The term “shared sacrifice” evokes images of life in America during the World War II, when the colossal needs of multi-theater combat resulted in shortages of numerous products and services.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the federal government rationed gasoline, automobiles, tires, coal, firewood, and other products to help with the war effort. The creation of the Office of Price Administration in 1941 resulted in Americans receiving ration cards to limit purchase and consumption of goods needed to keep our troops—their boys—well supplied. Times were tough, but most people understood the existential crisis the country faced and learned to do without.

There is no legitimate comparison between that and the situation today. The current border crisis is not World War II, and no one is confusing Johnston, Joe Biden, or any other anti-borders politician with FDR or Churchill. There is no modern-day Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan forcing us to surrender our borders.  

We are our own worst enemy at the border. The problem exists because our government, supported and driven by radical pro-illegal immigration groups, has caused it to happen. Failure to secure the border, catch-and-release policies, refusing to crack down on employers who hire illegal aliens and embracing disastrous sanctuary laws are just some of the ways our government has made its constituents pay for this self-serving idealism.

Make no mistake, Americans are paying for the border invasion in myriad ways. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Congress’s non-partisan economic experts, recently issued a damning report on the negative effects of the current influx of humanity into the country. The CBO estimates the flow “will put downward pressure on average real wages,” adding that “average real wages are expected to be slightly lower by 2034 than they would be otherwise.”

Generation Z and millennials may not know this, but there was a time not long ago when economic growth was thought to be an American birthright. Now we are told to accept negative growth. In addition to the threats of automation from AI, hyper-inflation, and the shipping of U.S. jobs overseas, our government has decided to flood our country with cheap foreign labor as another obstacle to Americans achieving prosperity. Is it any wonder why nearly one in five young renters think they will never be able to own a home?     

The cost of all this faux generosity by our government is more than just dollars and cents. Homeless shelters around the country, meant to improve the plight of destitute Americans, are now flooded with illegal aliens while our own citizens sleep on sidewalks, many addicted to drugs smuggled across that same porous southern border. Similar overcrowding can be seen in emergency rooms, schools, and correctional facilities—costing Americans even more of their already strained paychecks. Moreover, the criminal element that arrives along with the destitute and needy masses crossing our borders has caused a spike in the number of angel families, who grieve the loss of loved ones at the hands of those who should have never been here.

Meanwhile, members of Congress who ignore this suffering have become so emboldened that they shamelessly engage in Freudian slips, referring to illegal aliens as “the people we care most about.”

Americans in the 1940s accepted sacrifices for the greater good of winning the war, preserving our way of life, and giving their children the chance for a better future. Today, our government is making us sacrifice not to defeat tyranny, but to meet the needs of waves of foreign nationals here illegally.

Former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam once said, “Let us sacrifice today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.” The sacrifice being forced upon us to support this invasion will only make our country weaker and ultimately limit our children’s futures.