No one has refused to defend the borders. Dubya and Obama increased border patrol agents to 21,000. Most illegals fly into airports so Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs also have a big job to do.. and then there's the US Coast Guard.
You let Trump bleat about an emergency without looking at the facts.
I am a native of the Southwest. I live in the Southwest. We grow up knowing about illegal immigration, we experience itś results constantly. I know more about it than most people, because it is part of life in the Southwest. So, don´t tell me I am ignorant of the facts.
Economic migrants, posing as asylum seekers, who get one foot on US soil, have essentially a ticket to stay forever. They are given medical treatment, food, housing for a while, are given a hearing date, at least a year in the future, and are released. Most will never make their hearing.
The city of Yuma Az. has been over run by them, and has declared an emergency for the city. They have no money, wander the streets, sleep on the streets, and take precious city resources to deal with them, try and feed them, and care for them. They will eventually filter into the interior, take a job for a greatly reduced rate, but it will be more than they ever had. Their kids will go to school, courtesy of the American property owner, which creates problems since they don´t speak English, schools have to seek out bilingual teachers, where good teachers who only speak English are passed over.
What you don´t grasp is that the border is so long, through such hostile country, and there are not enough border patrol people to come even close to enforcing it. The dims hype technology as the answer, well, unless you are going to use a drone to shoot them in Mexico, all the technology in the world will not stop them from crossing.
The bizarre asylum laws we have, means finding them after the cross the border is too late. As they have been coached in Mexico, they say asylum, and the magic kingdom opens for them.
Asylum cities, all democrat, asylum states, all democrat, encourage and draw these people to the country, they refuse to co operate with ICE, have no communication with federal law enforcement.
Shakespeare said ¨ a rose by any other name still smells as sweet¨. Open borders by any other name still stinks.