Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, testified before the Senate this week and provided some remarkable clarity on subjects which probably strike anyone without a vested interest in electing Democratic candidates as blindingly obvious common sense. The subject at hand was the effect that lax immigration policy has on the illegal drug trade and continued border incursions. The long and the short of it was that when you make it ridiculously easy for people to break the law and provide them with every opportunity to face no consequences for it, they have every incentive to keep on doing it. Alex Pfeiffer at The Daily Caller reports.

The president of the National Border Patrol Council testified in the Senate Thursday that the Obama administration’s loose immigration policy is the biggest factor driving illegal immigration into the United States, which in turn helps fund Mexican drug cartels.

“Most illegal immigrants believe that they will either not be caught, or even if they are caught, they will not be deported back to their home country. Most believe that they will simply be issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) and will be released,” Brandon Judd said before the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest. “Candidly, they are not wrong.”

“There are a number of factors that are driving the illegal immigration that we are seeing. Many point to the endemic violence in Central America. Without a doubt violence and instability in Central America is a factor. It is not however what is driving the problem. The single biggest factor driving our illegal immigration right now is our catch and release program,” Judd said.

Some of the specifics provided by Judd will likely come as a wow, I could have had a V-8 moment. One of the biggest issues hindering law enforcement is the catch and release program which has been in place for several years now. If an agent sees a single male near the border (in some cases, still wet from crossing the river) and the suspect tells them that they’ve been in the country since 2014 they simply let them go. “We will take your word for it.”

He added that the illegal immigrants are practical people who realize that there is a cost associated with crossing the border illegally. That cost comes in various forms, but it should include the cost of being apprehended. There are also benefits to making it to the United States. As long as the cost doesn’t exceed the benefit, there’s little reason not to make the attempt… repeatedly, if necessary. And since many of those seeking entry are here on behalf of the cartels and engaging in drug and weapons trafficking, the benefit can be very, very high indeed. Why not just lie to the Border Patrol agents and go about your clandestine business?

Does any of this sound in the least bit shocking to you? In fact, shouldn’t this have been obvious to the administration when they put these policies in place? We’re talking about basic human nature and the law of supply and demand. This isn’t rocket science, folks. To pretend that the White House didn’t know precisely what was most likely going to happen is a politically motivated fantasy.