In his pro-wall column, John Balentine failed to mention that border crossings have fallen steadily or that Trump’s steel slat wall is breachable by tools from Home Depot. That’s “heat” over “light” in my book.

Balentine picks a single “light” source: “Acting” Chief Border Patrol Agent Raul Ortiz. Backed by police, border patrol, camouflaged military men, and armored vehicles, Ortiz “briefs” President Trump in a C-Span video. He recites numbers of migrants intercepted and ominously adds that many of them are “not from Central America or Mexico.” He then names “India, Pakistan, Romania, China, Nicaragua, Ecuador.“ (I’m terrible at geography, but last time I checked, Nicaragua was in Central America.)

Border security isn’t just walls. It’s people who process and investigate and fill out forms. It’s judges who need time and funds to determine who’s at risk. It’s border agents who need more technology, more personnel, more infrastructure, and for darn sure, a paycheck for their work. The rest is just heat.

Pauline S. Hunneman
Freeport