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Fox News’ Bill Melugin, a long-time favorite reporter here at RedState for his relentless pursuit of truth, has reported heavily on the illegal immigration crisis along the US-Mexico border. He has debunked the Biden Administration’s lies regarding border security – more accurately, the near-total absence thereof – and put a human face on those crossing the border.

Through his reporting, Melugin reminds us that amid the drug and sex traffickers, there are people genuinely seeking a better life, duped into believing crossing illegally is the only way to accomplish this and making themselves deeply vulnerable to exploitation from multiple angles. Melugin has now taken the next step in personalizing the issue by actively rescuing the most vulnerable among those crossing the border.

Meet “Hidalgo.”

Another border stray we came across in the RGV that our team is now taking care of…& we are prepping him for adoption. He is SO well behaved, super calm, very handsome, and incredibly sweet. I’ve given him temporary name “Hidalgo”. Anyone looking to give a pup a chance/adopt?! pic.twitter.com/Pktpjq7Hfz

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) December 12, 2022

And yes, he is available for adoption into his forever home. Hidalgo, not Melugin. Sorry, ladies.

If anyone is serious about wanting to adopt and within hours of the TX border, email me at [email protected] and we’ll see what we can work out. We will be heading to Eagle Pass in a couple days, we are in the McAllen area right now.

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) December 12, 2022

Aside from Melugin and company’s basic decency, the story highlights one of humanity’s more unique elements. Children and animals, especially domesticated animals, in distress evoke a more robust and immediate response than adults in distress. We adults are not entirely dismissive of one another’s plight, but there is often an overriding streak of “you got yourself into this, you get yourself out of this” folded into our response. Those unable to care for themselves bring on a far more powerful response of direct assistance.

Rare and Grinch-y indeed is the person who can look into a sweet dog’s eyes and not immediately soften. Forget PETA’s insanity. We of a far more normal bent are hardwired to take care of God’s creation, or at the least, leave it be as it pursues its own delicately balanced life cycle. The dog is man’s most faithful companion, greatest friend, and fiercest defender no matter the cost. Far more often than not, we don’t deserve them.

What Melugin is accomplishing through this story is something all the clenched “no person is illegal” screamers combined are incapable of touching. The latter grow mysteriously silent when subjects such as mules and rape trees enter the conversation. They refuse to see illegal immigration’s actual human cost, its insane strain on local resources unchecked border crossing takes daily. To them, the illegal immigrant is a source of cheap labor, someone to scrub floors and stand atop–so as to be better seen while proclaiming how far above they are those disgusting, rule-of-law peasants.

Show me a person who loves their pets instead of fetishizing them, and I’ll show you a conservative. Not that liberals are incapable of loving animals. But conservatives, while understanding that people come first, also understand their sacred calling, as mentioned above, to care for God’s creation. What’s more, they walk the talk.

Melugin warrants rich applause for continuing to shine the truth’s unrelenting light on what’s happening at our southern border. He also deserves full acclaim for reminding one and all how messy the situation is, something reflected in the unrelenting light shining from Hidalgo’s face. Here’s hoping he will be quickly adopted and spend this Christmas, as the first of all remaining holidays, in the company of a loving family devoted to putting conservative principles into action.

C’mon, who can say no to that face?