By Nancy Mace
As the conflict in Ukraine continues to consume billions of dollars in international funding, a troubling pattern emerges of the Washington machine fueling the industrial war complex while neglecting pressing domestic needs.
While billions are poured into the furnace of overseas conflict, the burden of illegal immigration and the soaring cost of living weigh increasingly heavily on our nation’s shoulders.
There’s a clear divide between the people and Washington’s establishment. Rather than prioritizing public interests, our leaders seem fixated on political games, perpetuating a cycle of endless conflict that only serves to enrich the military-industrial complex.
The recent decision by Congress to allocate an additional $60 billion to the Ukraine war, after already disbursing over $113 billion, with most of it specifically designated for military aid, stands as a colossal fumble and a profound letdown to the American people. Washington’s priorities are in shambles: fueling war, hampering our veterans, and housing illegal aliens on the taxpayer dime.
While both parties engage in petty squabbles within the halls of power, communities across the country bear the brunt of their inaction, including South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
In 2020, there were an estimated 85,000 illegal aliens throughout the entire state of South Carolina. Since then, our border has witnessed more than 9 million illegal crossings and more than 1.8 million known gotaways. With such rampant unchecked immigration, the true extent of the issue and its cost remains obscured, leaving us in the dark about the current numbers and the real financial burden. In South Carolina alone, with the majority of these immigrants having arrived in the last five years, the strain is palpable.
The estimated cost of caring for illegal aliens has surged to approximately $157 billion in total. The only message we are sending to the American people is that the government is willing to bankrupt their cities to keep illegal aliens comfortable. What about our vets? We have over 42,000 veterans in our district alone, living below the poverty line and with a disability.
This situation is only poised to worsen as Washington continues with business as usual, refusing to close the border and fulfill its obligations. Yet, the D.C. machine persists in prioritizing militarization and war, perpetuating a cycle of violence and instability that benefits only the military-industrial complex. This is why we refuse to vote in support of sending more aid to Ukraine with no end in sight. The President nor the Left can come with an end-game, and we simply cannot keep this up.
It’s time to break free from this destructive cycle. We must redirect our resources towards securing our borders, consider this an invasion, and get serious about caring for our veterans. No change will come until we address the root causes of this border catastrophe. We need to pass H.R. 2, get our spending priorities in check, and we need to mean what we say when we value veterans’ sacrifices.
Nancy Mace is the U.S Representative for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
