Border War
A father and his son slowly makes their way over a ten-foot iron fence; propelling themselves upward by wedging their worn sneakers in between the large metal poles. They’re climbing the fence to go visit their family in America. They both have made this trip multiple times, and both know that if their caught the punishment will be a lecture and a free ride home. Maybe next time over they will carry some drugs to make some quick cash, this is my story and just like my dad and I were, many illegal immigrants know how easy it is to cross the border and how light the punishments are. They know that the border is just a small obstacle between them and the United States, acting more as a revolving door than an impenetrable barrier. The border fortifications put in place by the United States of America are ineffective and a waste of time and money because of the insecure fencing, lack of appropriately equipped and trained personnel, and the fact that drugs are still making it across the border into the United States.
The current ineffectiveness of America’s border defenses have been around for multiple decades. For the past ten years, the U.S./Mexican border has come under close scrutiny because of the many failed attempts to hold back immigrants and drug dealers coming from Mexico. Larger fences were built along borders near major cities and towns, mainly along the border cities of Texas. Bigger security forces (the Border Patrol Agency) were created in the mid ‘80s to filter people going through the countries and monitor suspicious activity around the border. All manner of laws were devised to reinforce already racial tendencies of America’s law enforcers; most famous of these were the profiling laws created by Arizona in 2010. Finally, the Drug Enforcement Agency increased its presence on the border due to the large amount of drugs coming through to the United States from Mexico.
Fences are used as barriers, to enclose or mark a boundary. Fences are also used to hold objects or beings inside a specific area, or keep unwanted items out of an area. This is exactly what America is doing with its borders. America is putting primitive, ten feet tall, steel and wood fences, sometimes topped with razor-wire, along the border in an attempt to keep illegal immigrants from coming into the country. Until recently, the United States also invested over a billion dollars into the “virtual fence.” The virtual fence was a complex system of cameras and towers that would sense people and vehicles that were trying to cross the border using motion sensors, infrared cameras, and even aerial surveillance. This idea was shut down by the Obama administration in 2011 after being deemed a failure, causing the federal government to reassess the amount of money being spent on America’s borders. By this time, the United States had already invested over one billion dollars in the failed “virtual fence” and 2.6 billion in 650 miles of physical fence (Nicolas Costly fence on US-Mexico Border is Effective – Only in Hurting Nature.") Some might argue that the fences work just like they’re supposed to; the fences act like pens and hold back illegal immigrants and drug dealers. Unfortunately, these claims are untrue; many immigrants view the fences as a small obstacle in the great scheme of things, and many just cross where there aren’t fences between the countries. There are many, sometimes humorous, instances that show just how ineffective the fences are. One particularly comical example of this would have to be the Jeep Cherokee that got stuck on the fence. On October 31, 2012, two suspected drug dealers attempted to drive over the border fence using ramps and their Jeep. The Jeep got suspended on the fence and the drug dealers were forced to abandon the vehicle (Momtaz, Drug Smugglers' SUV Stuck Atop Border Fence). Although it might seem rather humorous, this example shows just how pointless the border fences are. It has been suspected that drug dealers have been driving over the border for a couple years now, but there has been no solid evidence of it until this October. There are other more serious examples of the total disregard for fences. There have been large tunnels dug into America over 600 yards long complete with a rail system and hydraulic elevators and numerous illegal immigrants crossing the border illegally each day (Spagat, Elliot & Billeaud, Jacques. Drug Tunnels Discovered Between U.S.-Mexico Border Contained Railcar System, Tons Of Pot). The fences are not much of an obstacle when it comes to the “reward” that is believed to be on the other side. Though these are relevant claims to how ineffective our border is right now, there is something to be said about the United States Border Patrol.
The Border Patrol makes up the majority of personnel that America puts on its border. Originally founded in 1924, the United States Border Patrol took its current face in 1986 after the Immigration Reform and Control Act put more emphasis on the importance of illegal immigration. This is the same border patrol that a person see’s driving in Hummers and helicopters over the skies of the border. Until recently, the methods and tactics of the border patrol have come under intense scrutiny. Last year, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that” the border patrol had made immense progress on the control and effectively controlled approximately 44% of the border; yet a few months later she would say that the border patrol only had 13% under control” (Mora"Costly fence on US-Mexico Border is Effective – Only in Hurting Nature.) This obviously shows how the border patrol can seem like it’s doing its job effectively. However, the task of managing hundreds of miles of barren desert; an endless stream of illegal immigrants; and powerful drug cartels is just too much for the organization of over 21,000 agents to undertake (Associated Press US Border Patrol to Toughen Policies on Illegal Immigrants. Fox News.)
There are those who would argue the exact opposite by saying that the Border Patrol is a group of government trained officials who do their job effectively; they are provided with the proper training and tools necessary for their job. This a ridiculous claim. The Border Patrol itself cannot even explain how effective it is. Edwin Mora wrote a piece about how the Border Patrol doesn’t have a proper way of gauging the effectiveness of its strategy. Just this year, the issue became addressed when American citizens wanted a more precise feeling for how much progress the agency was making, due to how much money is being spent on the border. According to Mora, the acting Director for Homeland Security and Justice Issues at the Government Accountability Office, Rebecca Gambler, stated that the Border Patrol “does not contain performance measures to assess its effectiveness” (Mora, GAO: New Border Patrol Strategy Lacks Measures to Gauge Effectiveness) So even though they can report how much of the border is “under control” the agency cannot report how effective they are at their job. This casts a large shadow of doubt that the Border Patrol is currently working in an inefficient manner.
Drug cartels are the biggest threat to America security, and smugglers come through the border from Mexico. According to a recent Justice Department report, Mexican drug trafficking cartels represent the greatest organized crime threat to the United States the cartels take money from American citizens and use it to buy more weapons and produce more drugs. They use those weapons against Mexican and American citizens to exert their control over the area. It is no wonder that the U.S. Border Patrol has the most active-duty deaths than over other government agency. The cartels bring an unknown supply of drugs to the United States on a daily basis, and the only obstacle in their way is sometimes a ten foot fence with a handful of outgunned security guards, or in most cases, nothing. Most of the U.S./Mexican border has no fences and no guards but instead a vast open desert between Mexico and the United States. According to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, there is only 13% of our border “under control although it is unknown just how many drugs come through the border every day, it is undisputed that there is a lot coming through, and the fortifications America has placed there are not stopping it.
Many people believe that the border patrol and the fences have, at least, slowed the flow of drugs coming through the border. That is very true: the border patrol has made many drug-busts and several thousand arrests of drug dealers over many years, slowing the movement of drugs and making dealers more cautious. Unfortunately, the problem isn’t with the drug cartels, it’s the American people’s excessive need of drugs. There is a large market for drugs in the United States today, and this is what causes there to be drug cartels. If the American government were to address the problem at home, then the drug cartels would deteriorate. As long as there are people who want drugs then there are always going to be drug dealers.
Simply put, the U.S./Mexican border is in a horrendously ineffective state. Our government is lacking support for it; citizens of both countries know it doesn’t work how it’s supposed to, and the border isn’t stopping the drug cartels. The whole system is a slap in the face for America, which is showed on a daily basis how ineffective it is. There has to be change soon because things can only get worse. If the United States government were help its people with drug problems and work with the Mexican government were to help the country, perhaps then the situation on the border would improve. Until then immigrants will continue to cross the border illegally, American agents will continue to put themselves in unnecessary danger, and the drug cartels will become more violent and cunning. The status of America’s border is something that must be addressed to avoid the impending consequences. The discussion has begun, political figures are starting to address the issue in Washington and the American people are speaking out for themselves, so while there is still hope for it yet more progress must be made.