It’s interesting that Skinner would use the word “forged” here, which can also mean “counterfeit.” It’s almost a Freudian slip. The “border crisis” is indeed a manufactured talking point by Republicans. Trump even blew up a bipartisan border control measure in January because he wanted to continue to campaign on the issue, and resolving the problem would “look too good” for Democrats, since they’re the ones in office currently. It follows logically that since it can wait until Trump is in office to do anything about it, the border must not be as big an issue as they’re claiming it is. Biden later used executive action in June to drastically tighten the border.

So it would seem that Skinner’s recommendation here is simply a means of permanently denying refugees entry to the United States. Even citizens of El Paso, Texas say that there is no “border crisis”, and that the militarization of the border, not immigration, is what’s making their communities unsafe.

Full contextual analysis of Section 2.3: Department of State here.