Kevin McCarthy has authored 114 bills since 2007. Only one dealt with border security | Opinion

When Kevin McCarthy visited the World Ag Expo in Tulare last month, reporters asked him about immigration reform, a key issue for the crowd of farmers attending the event.

“The first thing that has to be done (is) you have to secure the border before you have any immigration reform,” McCarthy said. “Once we are able to secure it, I think we can move forward with immigration reform.”

“Securing the border” is a well-worn GOP phrase and a favorite of Republican House Speaker McCarthy. It is one of the key issues listed in a compilation of GOP promises he forged as part of the “Commitment to America.”

Two days after appearing at the Ag Expo, McCarthy traveled with fellow GOP representatives to Arizona for a border visit and photo op. Standing in front of a section of barrier wall, McCarthy criticized President Biden and Democrats for not doing enough to enhance border safety amid reports that Mexican cartels are moving fentanyl across the border for distribution to Americans.

“We will have hearings on the border,” he told reporters. “It is the responsibility of all members to attend.”

Such a focus on border security would suggest that this has been one of McCarthy’s key issues since he arrived in Congress in 2007. But that would be wrong.

McCarthy has authored 114 bills since becoming a representative from Bakersfield. The number of his bills dealing with border security? One.

Granted, it was a major bill. House Resolution 7059, known as the Build the Wall, Enforce the Law Act of 2018, was a $23.4 billion measure supporting then-President Trump’s border wall plan. The measure never got to a vote in the House, and Trump ultimately used a presidential executive order and existing funding for his wall project.

This weekend McCarthy will be the keynote speaker at the spring gathering of the California Republican party in Sacramento.

He will undoubtedly bring up border security; the issue will likely fire up the crowd. One wonders if McCarthy will mention a dramatic drop in U.S. Customs and Border Patrol encounters with people seeking to enter the country.

According to U.S. Custom’s January report (the February one is not yet published), encounters in 2023’s first month dropped 42% from December. “This is the lowest month of Border Patrol encounters since February 2021,” the report noted. The drop came in the wake of new restrictions President Biden enacted against immigrants from Central and South America.

When it comes to border security, McCarthy loves to talk the talk. But his record shows he has not backed it up with action.

Not just Biden’s problem

The truth is that the conditions at America’s southern border are decades in the making. Immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America seek out the United States to escape poverty, unemployment and drug cartels threatening to kill them. Particularly in Central American countries, American foreign policy has destabilized some nations and contributed to the flight of desperate migrants to the U.S.

And, it must be noted, farmers in the San Joaquin Valley are happy to employ them in their fields, orchards and vineyards.

As much as the “Commitment to America” is full of catchy phrases and sound-bite solutions, immigration is a highly complex issue that has bedeviled the successions of presidents and congressional leaders alike.

“Commitment to America” is really a form of campaign literature, and McCarthy’s appearing at the GOP gathering this weekend is just another stop along the endless campaign cycle he now works as House speaker.

But if he really wants to improve conditions at the border, McCarthy should author the second bill of his congressional tenure on border security, and this time work with Democrats in the U.S. Senate to get it passed. Border security is only one piece of a vexing puzzle of immigration. Reforming the formulas for how many immigrants can enter the country legally and finally deciding what to do with undocumented immigrants is a must.

McCarthy isn’t wrong: The southern border does need better security. But California farmers and employers in California’s massive service sector need workers to do jobs that Americans don’t want to do. Can McCarthy move beyond simply using the border to fire up his base? Can he work with Democrats to finally reform our immigration system for the first time in more than 30 years?

America is watching.