As we prepare to head up north for a couple months to enjoy the mosquitoes, wind and rain instead of the “dry” heat of Arizona, we’ll miss the evening news and border battles nightly feature.

We recently lost a great police officer here in Mesa; Brandon Mendoza was hit head-on by a drunk driver at nearly 80 miles per hour. Raul Silva had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit, authorities said.

He was no stranger to the opposite side of the law… He had an arrest record and was in the country illegally. He, like so many others had been sent back to Mexico, only to come back across the border. It happens over and over again. Some have been apprehended and released over 100 times.

Breitbart Texas recently reported on the release of 36,000 convicted criminal illegal immigrants, including almost 200 murderers, who were released back into the U.S. by immigration officials in 2013. The figures were outlined in a report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). Breitbart Texas subsequently reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices around the country, in an attempt to learn more about release policies.

You may have heard about the recent CIS report about the 36,000 released criminals that were collectively convicted of 88,000 crimes. These convictions include 426 sexual assaults, 303 kidnappings, 193 homicides, 1,317 domestic violence assaults, and 1,724 weapon offenses. Certainly reasons to prompt concerns regarding public safety.

According to President Obama, “Most Illegal Immigrants are Not Making Trouble, and Not Causing Crimes” and that’s probably true… most are not, but looking at the numbers that are committing crimes, it’s a BIG problem.

The border states are quite aware of the number of crimes perpetrated by illegals, but it just doesn’t seem to cause any public uproar or protest, mostly because people are so overly concerned about appearing to be racist, and it’s not a racist issue. It is against the law to enter most countries without some sort of restrictions, registration or paperwork. It’s all about national security as well as public safety.

Last week at a ceremony in Phoenix, 37 people of all nationalities were sworn in as U.S citizens, while thousands cross the border without any ceremony. Some to start a new life, work and raise a family, but many, many criminals come in to sell drugs and be involved in gangs.

There are those who want to open the borders for anyone without even registering and I believe politicians are playing political football with our nation’s security and the safety of our citizens.