We were shocked and appalled by Senator Roger Wicker’s vote against President Trump‘s emergency declaration to secure our southern border.

Senator Wicker explained his vote by saying that he strongly supports the plan to build walls on our southern border, but he thinks that “an emergency declaration was the wrong approach.” With all due respect to the Senator, that is absurd and an insult to the intelligence of his constituents.

1. There is clearly an emergency. Illegal immigrants are pouring across our unsecured border, costing us hundreds of billions of dollars. This flood of illegals also includes violent criminals, drug traffickers, human traffickers, and many with serious diseases . The damage to our country is incalculable. .

2. The 1976 National Emergencies Act clearly gives the President the authority to declare an emergency. The U .S . Attorney General provided a legal opinion that the President’s declaration is solidly within the bounds of that Act. Since the Act was passed, every President has used it, without all the criticism and uproar about constitutionality.

3. The President tried literally everything, including negotiations, compromise, and even a government shutdown to achieve a legislative solution. The Democrats simply do not want effective border security; they want open borders. They resist and obstruct everything the President tries to do for this country and they are seeking to add millions of immigrant voters to accomplish their leftist agenda.

By voting against the President, Senator Wicker supported the Democratic agenda that is destroying our country.

Senator Wicker says that he sponsored “legislation to provide for affirmative Congressional consent for future emergency declarations” and attempted negotiations “that would have advanced the President ‘s border plans while preventing future overreach.”

That sounds nice but is utterly useless. The emergency is now. We are just sick about the fact that our own Mississippi Senator has strongly aided the leftist Democratic agenda and directly undermined the safety, security, and well- being of his own constituents and the country as a whole.

Joe and Katherine Shirer

Poplarville