The United States, Ukraine and Mexico

NBC reported that 74% of Americans are in favor of devoting more resources to southern border security.

In traditionally complicated fashion, congressional Republicans seem determined to condition aid to Ukraine on increased investment in security measures on the border with Mexico.

In its final weeks of work before the Christmas break, the House of Representatives is expected to focus its attention on military assistance programs for Israel and Ukraine.

The situation in Gaza, following the terrorist attack by Hamas and the ongoing Israeli military intervention has all but secured approval in the House for up to $14 billion in resources for the Israeli armed effort.

This situation certainly reflects the U.S. commitment to the Jewish nation, although there are also rising tides of pro-Palestinian support.

But aid for Ukraine has lost popularity in the U.S., and the majority of likely Republican voters are questioning it, according to a recent poll. The same NBC poll reported that 74% of Americans favor devoting more resources to southern border security.

Worse still, the issue of border security is projected to be a major campaign issue for Republicans in the 2024 presidential election when they hope to portray the almost certain Democratic nominee President Joe Biden as weak on issues such as immigration and combating drug traffic.

Biden himself acknowledged conditioning aid to Ukraine in exchange for funds to strengthen the border in remarks last October when he asked for $61 billion in assistance for Ukraine, $14 billion in aid to Israel and $13.6 billion to strengthen the U.S. side of the border with Mexico.

This is not unusual. Americans have heard all kinds of stories for years about problems ranging from what Republicans claim is “an open border” to illegal immigrants from all over the world to the drug cartel’s alleged control over cities on the Mexican side of the border and the entry of drugs, especially fentanyl, in quantities sufficient to kill more than 70,000 people a year.

A few months ago, Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw caused a minor political storm when he advocated for the use of military force to fight cartels on Mexican soil.

More recently, President Biden’s discussions regarding the trade of fentanyl and its precursors with his Mexican and Chinese counterparts, Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Xi Jinping, caught the attention of Americans, but opinion poll results have yet to reflect this.