9/11 Terrorism Case Study

In our past history, The United States Customs and border officials have been focused on relatively common matters of enforcing laws regarding trade and immigration, watching over agriculture and economic interests from pest and disease, and processing people, vehicles and goods. After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, the primary concern was the homeland security. The threat of terrorists and terrorist tools coming through our borders all add to an increased set of dangers to The United States. Is it the responsibility of our United States Military to defend our country from these threats? The following myths are often understood as true, when in fact they are not.

The United States Border Patrol has a mission and duty to protect our borders through regulating laws and preventing illegal terrorists, drugs, and weapons from entering the United States. This has been a clear goal ever since laws have been passed to help secure our borders back in 1924. The need for Border Patrol and the demand for tighter security plans have been increasing due to terrorist attacks on American soil, the presence of radical groups, and a high rate of crime in the United States. The big idea here is that as crime continues to develop so will our border securities. I would like to primarily focus on the current role of the Border Patrol versus what it might have been in years past. Many tragedies have occurred in recent times more than what was experienced years ago. The United States has suffered throughout the year 2000 and continues to suffer from severe threats to the nation. It only makes sense to make changes and tighten our borders in order to help prevent the ongoing crimes. If the Border Patrol does this than the individuals living in this nation will live in a better and much safer environment. Along with their current role, the research on the Border Patrol’s changes that either have hindered their work or made them more effective will be looked into as well.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection also known as CBP is one of the largest and most complex agencies with the Department of Homeland Security. They have many duties and responsibilities to do to protect the United States of America. They

Increasing the security of the borders in The United States became top priority following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2002, 22 federal agencies were united to form The Department of Homeland Security to oversee the security of the country within and outside its borders.

The issue of illegal immigration is one of the hotly debated topics in almost every facet of society, especially among political leaders. This topic has also received huge media attention and reaction in the recent past including an article written by William Finnegan and published by The New Yorker. The article focuses on addressing the issue of borderlines and is based on the move by 17 Congress members, who wrote a letter on 28th April 2010 demanding an instant action from President Obama to enhance border security. While the increase in illegal immigration has declined in the recent past, there is still a great need to enhance border security, particularly in the as violence in the neighborhood of U.S. Mexico has continued to escalate at an alarming rate. Therefore, evaluating the need to improve border security to lessening illegal immigration is vital for enhancing the country's security and understanding its impacts on America's economy and labor force.

In 1998, Julio César Gallegos tried to cross again. This time he and several others would not be so lucky. The group was waiting to be picked up by a vehicle that never came. The extreme heat killed them in a matter of weeks, and were soon found. Groups like Gallegos’ risk their lives each day to enter the United States without authorization from Mexico. “This helps explain why the boundary simultaneously serves as both an obstacle and a gateway- functions that are both contradictory and complimentary” (78). The border is a gateway that allows individuals to travel between both countries with legal documentation. On the other hand, the boundary is an obstacle because it is a danger to the people who try to cross illegally. That is why U.S. law enforcement policies have been put in place.

The U.S. Customs and Borders agents are in several agencies that use different systems. They are in Customs, the Coast Guard, Customs Service, and import specialists, or inspectors.

The U.S. Border Patrol started its service for our nation in 1924. Even though some changes have affected every aspect of the operations from its early days, the values, professionalism, honor, integrity, and respect helped shape the Border Patrol from the early years and they still remain the same today. Since the very beginning agents have been patrolling our borders, “Mounted watchmen of the U.S. Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904” (Border Patrol History, web). The agent’s efforts were undertaken only when resources permitted. The inspectors were all out of El Paso, Texas, “Though they never totaled more than seventy-five, they patrolled as far west as California trying to restrict the flow of illegal Chinese immigration” (Border Patrol History, web).

A nation without borders is not a nation. Today, every country is putting efforts to secure its borders not only from terrorists and drugs smuggling, but also from the illegal immigration. All these recurring activities have sparked the United States to secure its borders against illegal immigrants and terrorism by creating a special department named the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS is headed by the Secretary of Homeland Security. After the terrorist attack of 9/11, terrorism and illegal immigration were two striking issues for the DHS. To solve these issues, the Department of Homeland Security further created two immigration enforcement agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in year 2003. The United States has over seven-thousand miles of border to cover each day. The US shares its borders with Canada and Mexico. That’s why the CBP was established to safeguard our borders through the deployment of technology, personnel, and infrastructure. The US Border Patrol is the most visible of DHS’s agencies and is now touching majority of population than ever before. It has increased its strength to more than 21,000 agents, up from 8,500 in 2001and 4,000 in 1994(17). The primary function of the Border Patrol Agency is apprehension of terrorists, drug interdiction and immigration enforcement. The book ‘Border Patrol Nation’ by Todd Miller is a classic example of the Border Patrol

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the border has become less open and more secured from what it used to be prior to the terrorist attacks (CBP, 2009, p. 5). The main reason is due to illegal immigration becoming a national security issue since illegal immigration can create opportunities for terrorists to commit terrorist attacks in the homeland by importing weapons and terrorist personal to the United States via smuggling routes that illegal immigrants use when they cross the border (CBP, 2009, p. 6).

United States Border Patrol has been around since 1904 enforcing and regulating laws under the immigration and Nationality Act. U.S. border patrol is now under the Department of Homeland Security, which was created as a response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. Over the years, their jurisdiction and missions have changed to better protect the safety of nation. Although border patrol is a need for any nation, their extensive acceptations to constitutional laws can often be taken advantage of. The mission of the U.S. border patrol should be to prevent illegal aliens, which are a threat to American society, from reaching their purpose. Frequently, their purpose can be confused or executed in a bias manner.

Past immigration opinions were that it is an issue and there should be control over it. With the attack happening in 9/11 Americans became more considered about who is let into our Country and it’s a critical treat. Based on the survey people were asked “should legal immigration be reduced” in which 55 percent of Americans responded it should. Illegal immigration ranked 6th as being a foreign policy issue.

U.S Customs and Border Protection has also been in charge in keeping terrorist and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S laws (Peak, 2009, Pg. 164). Consequently, immigrants have been victims of human trafficking. According to Larry K. Gaines from the textbook Criminal Justice in Action, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has played an important role in focusing the nation’s borders. Their mission is to detain illegal aliens and deport them to their country, and disrupting trafficking operations. In 2008, ICE removed about

There are several terrorist groups throughout the world today. All the terrorist groups have one common goal and that is to rid the world of Americans and western influence from the Muslim world. There is one organization that has ties to most of all the terrorist groups in the world and is the most infamous group in the world today and that is the group called Al-Qaeda The word Al-Qaeda means “the base” in Muslim. As an international terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden. The group seeks to rid Muslim countries of western influence and replace them with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. Al-Qaeda grew out of the of the ashes of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1988, after it helped expel the Soviet

The 9/11 incident crippled the American economy and its impact is still felt at present times. Following this tragedy, a commission was initiated by President George W. Bush and the congress to investigate the reasons behind the bombing and provide recommendations to help avert such occurrences in the future. Therefore, this paper discusses the impact of making the US border more secure, the rationale behind replacing the "need to know" with the "need to share". Moreover, the paper highlights the DOD's role the role in border and coastal security, its relationship with the Department of Homeland Security and how DOD supports civil authorities.