Here’s the hard truth: laws don’t create consequences, choices do. When leaders downplay enforcement or reward defiance, they invite more of it. That’s what we’ve seen with sanctuary policies that bar local help to federal immigration agents, progressive prosecutors who decline whole categories of offenses, and “defund” rhetoric that signals police are the problem, not criminals. California’s SB54 limits cooperation with ICE. Manhattan’s Day-One memo narrowed prosecution on a slate of offenses. Some in Congress pushed weakening voter ID requirements while expanding same-day registration and ballot harvesting guardrails. This builds a culture where the meaning of justice is twisted beyond recognition.
Look at results. Border chaos under lax policies produced historic encounters; CBP’s own dashboard tells the tale. Cities that trimmed policing or installed lenient charging rules wrestled with spikes in repeat offending; even sympathetic researchers found bail changes increased recidivism among higher-risk defendants. In New York, teen gun violence surged after “Raise the Age,” while overall shootings fell—meaning the problem concentrated among the young who face fewer consequences. Meanwhile, public confidence split along party lines: Democrats have been far likelier than Republicans to say “spend less” on police. That doesn’t mean every Democrat cheers lawlessness, but it shows a pattern: prioritize offenders’ “equity” over victims’ safety and you tilt the streets toward predators.
Ask why. Power loves constituencies, and grievance is a potent glue. Promise fewer barriers to voting but resist basic ID; label enforcement “cruel” while victims fade from the headlines; redefine crimes as “quality-of-life” nuisances and call jails “mass incarceration.” It gathers malcontents under a moral banner while shifting blame to the system. But governance isn’t theory; it’s outcomes. If your policies decrease consequences, you’ll get more of the behavior those consequences once deterred—drug trafficking, illegal entry, retail theft rings, gun-toting crews who learn the system’s soft spots. You can’t preach compassion and practice permissiveness without teaching criminals that the odds are in their favor.
And it’s very evident in the big cities like LA, Portland, Chicago, New York, etc., where Democrats run the show. There’s a better way: mercy with boundaries, opportunity with order, re-entry with accountability, and policing that is well-led, well-trained, and well-funded. Borders enforced so lawful immigrants aren’t cut in line, prosecutors who protect the peace as fiercely as they prize reform, and election rules that are easy to follow and hard to cheat. That’s justice with a spine. Isaiah 59:14 put it bluntly: “Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off, For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.” When truth collapses, the streets pay the price. Restore truth, and justice stands up again.
Sources (titles + URLs):
- Southwest Land Border Encounters (CBP): (S. Customs and Border Protection)
- California Values Act (SB54) overview, ACLU of Southern California: (ACLU of Southern California)
- SB54 legislative page, State of California: (LegiInfo)
- Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg “Day-One” Policies (PDF): (Manhattan District Attorney’s Office)
- Pew Research: Americans’ support for more police spending (party breakdown): (Pew Research Center)
- New York bail reform facts, Brennan Center (2019 law): (Brennan Center for Justice)
- Bail reform & recidivism study (Data Collaborative for Justice, CUNY): (Data Collaborative for Justice)
- NYC teen shooters/victims up since Raise the Age (reporting on NYPD data): (New York Post)
- Cori Bush: “Defund the police…” statement (Twitter/X): (X (formerly Twitter))
- R.1 For the People Act (Congress.gov) text/summary (voter ID alternatives & expanded access): (Congress.gov)
