A discussion about security as U.S. health care gets cut to fund the most gargantuan border enforcement bill ever passed. How do we create a counterforce to this?

Why is it that when the word “security” is uttered, all thought and analysis go out the window? This is especially the case when people talk about “border security.” In this podcast, however, Border Chronicle founders Melissa del Bosque and Todd Miller put on their thinking caps, analyzing the first seven months of the Trump administration. They crack open the word “security” and examine its interior, hoping to better understand it and find a way out of our predicament.

The discussion was spurred by the passage of the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which designates $170 billion for border and immigration enforcement over the next four years (also see how Melissa put this bill into a deeper historic context last week). This enforcement will be funded, in part, by significant cuts to U.S. health care, including the possible cancellation of insurance coverage for 12 million people.

Does security mean more walls, more technology, more armed agents, and a border that resembles a military base? Or, as Melissa and Todd discuss in the podcast, could peacemaking play an important role in creating real security for everyone? Peacemaking is not just about ending conflict; it also means creating a world where people can be healthy and flourish.