The EU – which historically has welcomed large numbers of migrants in recent years – is reportedly actively considering construction of a border wall on its eastern front as a migration crisis there continues to worsen. Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania are three EU nations that share a border with Belarus, a strong Russian ally that is precipitating that crisis as migrants mainly from the Middle East and Asia cross into Poland.
Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), says the EU gets it.
"Belarus is moving people right up to the Polish border, which is the gateway to the EU," he explains. "And for very good reasons, the EU countries are concerned [when] you have a hostile government that is trying to do this to them in aiding and abetting people who are violating their laws.
"[So] they are contemplating taking steps [to stem the migrant surge], including building a border wall. Hungary has already built one; other countries are contemplating it."
FAIR points out that 12 EU governments released a letter last month explaining that a physical barrier appeared to be an effective method for protecting borders.
While the European Union pursues construction of barriers, Mehlman points out, the Biden/Harris administration has halted construction of the southern border wall amid a similar migration crisis.
"Apparently a lot of people aren't getting [the EU's] message … that [border walls] are very effective," he shares. "In fact, the one visit that [Vice President] Kamala Harris made to the border was around El Paso, Texas, where there is a very, very effective border wall. So, when she went down there, there was nothing to see because people weren't coming across there.
"So look – Kamala Harris isn't stupid; Joe Biden isn't stupid. They know it works. They simply don't want to enforce the border," he emphasizes.
On his first day in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to halt all southern border wall construction, describing the effort as "not a serious policy solution" and "a waste of money."
