Border Patrol State Analysis

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).

This year’s election cycle brought heated debates and discussions about many things; “the wall”, free trade, NAFTA, immigration issues, borders security and policy issues. Regardless of which side of the political isle you stand, which way the political winds sway in Washington D.C., one thing is certain not to change with the election cycle, and that is, the actual physical border between The United States and Mexico. Therefore, if we can’t change that, and we can’t, then there needs to be solutions to problems that continue to exist between the two sovereign countries. Trade and Security are two of the most important factors for neighboring countries and they must not be ignored. Beyond just good political, diplomatic, and strategic vision it is important to understand there are cultural, education and diversity complexities which takes tremendous and often times delicate maneuvering to come together for the greater good of both economies and governments, as millions of people rely on successful trade agreements and security.

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 United States Border Patrol is a police force located all over America. Most people think the only job Border Patrol has is chasing down immigrants due to the media coverage on the Mexican border. Although it is a big part of the job it is not the only thing done. The main position for agents is in Mexico, another main location is Canada. Between the two locations 21,000 agents patrol 6,000 miles. (Department of Homeland Security, n.d.) The Border Patrol’s keeps illegal people, drugs, and weapons of mass destruction from entering our country. Another major responsibility is to prevent terrorist from trying to cross the border. In order to prevent this from happening Border Patrol have check points with man power alert at all times. Equipped with the best equipment from the government they stop virtually everything crossing. I along with most of the country feel that this is a very important job in the United States.

The border between the United States and Mexico consists of 1,952 miles of land border that divides a “first” world and “third” world nation. Any border is an environment of opportunity. People flock to borders around the world to exploit the regions’ resources and people. There are always plenty of people at the borders of nations to build large factories, or to traffic narcotics and weapons into neighboring nations.

The 45th president of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, is a political man who has many ideas to improve the U.S. One of the many idea he had included building a wall between the borders of the United States and Mexico for the “purpose of controlling immigration into America”. According to Trump this wall is supposed to help our country with its national security. In reality though, many people believe that the wall is showing Trumps true colors. Many people are contemplating on the fact if Trump is a racist person who is building the wall because it provides a method of targeting and preventing those who are trying to cross the Mexican-American Border. In reality, Trump only cares about trying to make “America Great Again”, and

I am very familiar with the ethics of border security, having grown up in El Paso, Texas. The city sits right next to Juarez, Mexico with a population of over 2 million. As stated in the Debate.org article, “Border Fence”, El Paso, San Diego, and McAllen are the epicenter for cartel violence, hub for drug trafficking, and illegal immigration. There is a border fence that stretches over 30 miles in and around the El Paso area, with a border patrol agent stationed every 300 yards over the same span. With a population of close to 800,000 with over 80% of that being Hispanic, it is a very controversial subject along the border region. (Debate.org Article)

They are pushed around and even have the dog unleashed on them. She goes onto compare the treatment of Mexican-Americans by the United States Border Patrol to, “Argentina’s “dirty war” in the late 1970’s”(124). From here it is onto how well the border patrol discriminates, and how they will do their best to find any reason to bring the brown man down. Silko explains the way in which people are detained. She actually reaches out to the reader and tells him or her personally how they could identify themselves being detained. She makes claims throughout this explanation of how the detainee is treated unjustly, like when she states, “They make it clear that if you force them to obtain a search warrant for the car, they will make you submit to a strip search as well”(125). Silko starts to bring some half-way evidence into the picture by talking about the more high profile cases of the abuse of the border patrol’s power. She gives us more facts as we reach the middle of the reading. Eighty percent of the respondents from a survey done by the University of Arizona in South Tucson identified that one in every five had been detained, mistreated, or questioned by INS agents in the past two years. “Manifest Destiny…-“lock the door” is what it means now,” introduces an idea Silko finds to be just(126). The solution Silko says is no border. “Even

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).

Donald J. Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for the American 2016 Presidential election, has proposed building a complete and securely patrolled border wall along the 700+ mile border between American and Mexico. Trump has called for complete cooperation and collaboration from Mexico’s government. However, ex-Mexican President Fox, and current Mexican governmental leaders, have stated that they will have no part in helping to finance and build a border wall. This has led Trump to provoke the Mexican government and state that he’ll only build the wall higher if Mexico does not cooperate (Justin & Stanley, 2016). As such, Trump is creating a political mess within American and

The United States border with Mexico is one of the most interesting borders in the world. Although it is not a military front like the border between the Koreas or as militarized as the border of Russia and the Ukraine, there is a lot going on that requires attention. The southern border of the United States is different from almost all of those in the world because many of its problems are based off of the economic disparity between each country. The difference between wealth and quality of life is substantial and results in people going beyond regular means to cross the border to have a better life. There is also a large difference in the legal and law enforcement system that is exploited by Mexican cartels to make money through drug and human trafficking. The differences between these two

‘Will Trump’s Wall between Mexico and the US Actually Work?’ is an article written by Daniel Wagner. During his article, he used ethos, logos, pathos as well as deductive and inductive reasoning to support his argument that, for security considerations, it is necessary to build a wall between Mexico and the US. (2016).

Cities on both sides of the Mexican-American border are continuously terrorized by drug cartels as a way to keep control over shipping routes and silence from citizens. (Wilkinson 2008) In 2010 an employee of the United States Embassy in Mexico was murdered along the Mexico-American border. This added tension to the ongoing drug trafficking problem and raised the issue of Mexico’s inability to control its own borders. Felipe Calderon, the President of Mexico, stated that he is seeking a stronger relationship with the United States. The effects of this relationship can be seen on the streets with the intensified level of violence against the drug cartels and the effectiveness of the government. (Dresser 2009)

Throughout history of the United States and Mexican border there has been multiple depths of changes and immigration. From the area trading country ownership to population changes to having a fence line created on it. Seen in Figure1, the U.S.-

Although written in 2003, Andreas’ article “Redrawing the Line” provides an interesting perspective into national sovereignty and contemporary anxiety regarding American border security, specifically as applied to Mexico. Poignantly, the author states that no state will ever ensure complete control of its territorial integrity by sealing its borders (109). However, Andreas contends that this reality does not, in fact, imply that “states have ‘lost control’ over their borders” (110). Furthermore, he offers an interesting perspective into the different types of borders, which he categorizes as military, economic, and police (85). Each type of border, and its associated security, maintain their own costs and benefits. For example, although strict