By John W. Collick Jr.

After considerable thought and reviewing the Democratic party’s position on building the wall along the Southern border, it seems only appropriate to discontinue interviewing and inspecting foreigners entering the United States through airports. If we don’t need to do this on the borders, why waste money doing it at the airports?

When anyone enters (or returns to) the United States through an airport, they must stop at a checkpoint, show their passport and answer any questions posed by the Customs and Border Protection Officer. This is precisely what any barrier on the southern border would do — it would create a means of forcing people to use the entry control points and enter the United States legally.

While some people would continue to try to cross illegally — and some will succeed — the vast majority will not. Most people will realize that to enter the United States, they must do so legally.

While Democrats are claiming that building a wall is racist, they wholeheartedly support the security measures for both in and out bound travelers using airports. Could it be that they use airports too? They want the airports secure for their personal safety but couldn’t care less about the average citizen’s safety.

In fact, when the parents of people who were slain by illegal aliens tried to meet with several Democratic members of Congress, they were turned away. While most Democrats are on record as supporting the building of a wall, they would rather see Americans killed by illegal aliens than let President Trump claim credit for getting it built. These politicians need to go — they don’t have your best interests in mind, only their own.

Who comes in through the southern border? Mexicans and other Central Americans mostly; however, an increasing number of people from the third world, including Africa, Asia and the Middle East, are flying to Mexico in order to enter through the southern border. We know that there are people who wish to do us harm, including drug runners, gang members and terrorists have entered the United States through the Southern border — and continue to do so. We must have a means of keeping them out.

So, if a wall is a bad idea, let’s just build several checkpoints that will be manned by Customs and Border Protection, who will process those wishing to enter the United States in the same manner they would in an airport. To ensure nobody enters illegally or brings anything into the United States that we don’t want in our country, we must do exactly what is done at the airports — we need barriers to funnel the people toward the entry control points, instead of a wall to keep them out. If all their papers are in order, they have no communicable diseases, are not felons and have not previously been removed from our country, they should be admitted in accordance with our current laws.

The Democrats cannot have it both ways. If security is paramount for people entering the United States through international terminals in airports, it must be at least equally important on the borders. Building formidable barriers and entry control points along the southern border isn’t racist, it’s simply one more method of keeping our country safe and it’s the right thing to do.

JOHN W. COLLICK JR. is a 100 percent disabled and retired Marine First Sergeant and a Republican candidate for Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District in the 2020 election. Contact him at either 757-570-0377 or John@collick4congress.com.