Joe Biden feels no shame. As he was on his way to Arizona on Tuesday, FNC’s Peter Doocy asked him why he was going to a border state but not visiting the border. His answer was that “there are more important things going on.” Mind you, Biden was flying to Arizona to tout a computer chip plant that isn’t even built yet – he was on the building site. It wasn’t even an official ribbon cutting.

When asked about Biden’s statement, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that voters clearly spoke in the midterm elections and the economy is at the top of their list of concerns. Biden was talking about jobs growth and creation, thanks to his policies. The administration was choosing to spotlight one concern over another, the Biden border crisis. I’m old enough to remember Joe Biden and his minions telling us that the Biden administration can walk and chew gum at the same time. Guess not anymore. One crisis at a time and the border crisis ain’t it.

What an insult to the men and women working on the southern border. They don’t matter. The sovereignty of our country doesn’t matter. The overburdened border communities don’t matter. I’ve repeatedly written in posts about the border that Biden simply does not care. That’s not hyperbole. He’s chosen to ignore it and hope it all goes away, I guess. It defies logic. The White House had the nerve to justify the lack of sense of urgency about the border by listing off what it says the administration has done in a statement later in the day.

“Of course, the President is also taking action to secure our border and build a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system. He’s secured more funding than all of his predecessors to support the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, put forward a comprehensive immigration reform proposal, and brought 20 world leaders together to jointly manage the migration challenge impacting the entire Western Hemisphere.”

What a load of malarkey. The Biden border crisis is getting worse, not better, and about to explode later this month when Title 42 ends.

Stress and low morale among Border Patrol officers are at record levels. Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales organized a press conference on Wednesday to talk about one of the results of the Biden border crisis – suicide. Border Patrol officers are committing suicide at an alarming rate. Gonzales brought together a mix of Republican lawmakers and Democrats to speak out against the lack of attention to the border by the Biden administration. They stood outside the Capitol in the rain and made pleas for Biden to pay attention to what is going on.

Gonzales is sounding an alarm that 14 Border Patrol agents have died due to suicide this year. In November Gonzales spoke out about this growing trend during another press conference, this one on the border.

Rep. @TonyGonzales4TX says 14 Border Patrol agents have died by suicide just this year:

"It’s no longer migrants that are dying at the border — it’s Americans and those Americans are wearing green uniforms." pic.twitter.com/wl7rYbKEvF

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 23, 2022

Three Border Patrol agents committed suicide over three weeks in November. The deaths brought the number to 14, more suicides than any other year. Gonzales calls it a serious epidemic. His district runs along the U.S.-Mexico border from Del Rio to El Paso.

“Work has gotten very difficult on them,” explained Gonzales, who is in touch with Border Patrol agents every day. “I’ve seen it in their faces. I’ve heard it in their voices for months now. It’s almost, ‘How much can a person take?’ And often, they’ve taken a lot before they break.”

Border Patrol Agent Robert M. Boatwright, who was stationed in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was identified Monday as the latest agent to take his life.

“Sadly, early indications suggest that BPA Boatwright succumbed to suicide,” tweeted Chief Raul Ortiz, the head of the Border Patrol, without specifying what led to the 49-year-old’s death.

“I recently met with BPA Boatwright’s co-workers, and they described his amazing work ethic and willingness to help others.”

Boatwright, a US Army veteran, died Nov. 20. He had been an agent for 10 years and a canine handler since 2016. He left behind a wife and two children.

The other two deaths happened on back-to-back weekends, with Supervisory Border Patrol Agents Roque “Rocky” Sarinana and Javier R. Fabela taking their lives on Nov. 6 and 13, respectively.

Rep. Mayra Flores spoke and invited Biden to the border. She said this epidemic is personal for her and her family. She is married to a Border Patrol agent. She was friends with agents who have committed suicide. Many officials have invited Biden to the border, and Kamala, too. The governors of Texas and Arizona have, congressmen and women have, mayors and border community officials have all invited Biden to the border. No dice.

If Joe Biden goes to the border and sees with his own eyes what is happening, it will mean he has to admit what an utter failure his polices have been. In the name of being humane, he dismantled everything that was working at the border during the previous administration. He had to have known what would happen. He didn’t care.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, (D-MI), is a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst and Department of Defense official. She has been outspoken about the Biden border crisis. She spoke during the press conference and blasted Biden’s handling of the border.

The National Border Patrol Council suggests that CBP end “fit for duty” protocols that agents are subjected to if they voice suicide, mental health, or other struggles. In those situations, any agent who seeks help has to turn in his or her badge and service weapon, is ineligible to work overtime, and confined to desk duty. They are not allowed to be in uniform. All of that leads to the agents feeling like they are being shamed and ostracized. Before they can return to regular duty, they are required to be medically and psychologically evaluated by agency-chosen doctors.

It sounds like that system needs to be tweaked to be more compassionate toward the agent, at least less ostracizing. It’s like they are being punished for seeking help.