If you thought the Biden border disaster was over — or that it was confined to places like tiny, remote Eagle Pass, Texas — think again. 

This week saw a 20-foot panga boat — that’s an open-hull fishing skiff, for those not in the human trafficking trade — make harbor in ultra-wealthy Newport Beach, damaging someone’s yacht in the process, and disgorge a group believed to number about a dozen illegals.  

Bad enough: not even America’s open coastlines are safe from incursion. 

It gets worse, though. 

The illegals scattered in the area around the harbor and were picked up by a crew of what sure seem like expert, practiced human traffickers and spirited off. 

Understandably, local residents were frightened. As one put it, “I love immigrants. I’m a granddaughter of an immigrant. But come here the right way. We have a right to know who’s here.”

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That common-sense view is held by most Americans, who express broad support for legal immigration. 

Sadly, the Democratic party at the state and national level remains committed to what amounts to its single real policy idea: The US border, at all points, must be effectively open. 

That was formalized by Joe Biden literally on the first day of his single term; in blue cities and states around the nation sanctuary policies hamper local law enforcement from co-operating with the Department of Homeland Security on removing illegals while offering generous social services to them — and in some cases, preferential legal treatment. 

California has been in the forefront of executing this ugly policy, thanks to the hard-left lean of state and city legislators in Los Angeles and elsewhere — to say nothing of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has become open-border advocate-in-chief primarily as a way to “own” President Trump as he tries to generate political capital and heat for his ill-starred  ‘28 run at the White House.  

A DHS spokesperson accused Newsom of laying out a “welcome mat” for people like the boat-jumpers. That is precisely correct. 

And why? So we can have more truck drivers with sham CDLs slaughtering families on the road?

Bigger cadres of sex offenders, like those swept up in a March ICE operation in LA?

Per DHS numbers, Newsom has failed to honor ICE detainers on more than 4,500 illegal criminals just since January of 2025. 

But setting aside the local public safety aspect, incursions like these — which require a lot more planning and precision than a quick land border jump in a remote desert area — present a horrific national security problem. 

These illegals had a boat and a crew of transporters ready and waiting for them when they landed, suggesting the operation had been organized in advance with a network already in place stateside.

Even if this group turns out to be harmless, it’s beyond clear that the next one might not be (recall the dozens of suspects on DHS terror watchlists who crossed during the Biden years).Given that we are currently in a hot war with the world’s No. 1 terror sponsor, Iran, that should be a point of real concern. 

The Newport boat incursion is, in one way, a hopeful sign.

President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has reduced inflows at the southern land border almost to zero. 

This, per Central District Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli (long one of the state’s sane voices in the issue), “They’ve become desperate and they’re trying to do ocean runs. It’s very dangerous and if they’re caught they will be prosecuted.”

That points to one of the great lies about the Biden immigration posture: That it was somehow “humanitarian.”

In fact, the opposite is the case. Encouraging illegal immigration powers human trafficking (and lines the pockets of cartels); immigrants when here face economic and sexual exploitation; the Biden administration simply lost track of close to 300,000 migrant kids. 

There is no sign that, beyond a few Dem mavericks like Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), the party is capable in its current configuration of moderating on this issue. 

In California, it’s hard to find a single prominent elected Democrat who opposes the sanctuary madness.

As long as that is true, and despite the great success of the White House posture on the issue, expect more of this — wherever there is any possibility of physical entry. 

If it can happen in Newport Beach, it can happen anywhere. 

Sam Munson’s most recent novel is ‘The Sofa.’