Border Security Essay

Illegal immigration has plagued the United States since immigration laws were created, and has worsened in recent history. Since Ronald Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 provided amnesty for 3 million illegal aliens in exchange for increased border security, millions of people have entered the country illegally. Over the past 30 years, the illegal immigrant population of the country has more than doubled from 5 million in 1986 to over 11.5 million in 2015. It has become one of the most controversial political issues in America. While not every undocumented alien is a bad or dangerous person, illegal immigrants in general are a national security threat, harmful to the economy, and a burden on the social welfare system. The best solution to the illegal alien problem is to secure and enforce the border, purge American territory of every person unlawfully trespassing upon it, and reform the immigration system to make it easier for foreigners to enter the United States legally like people have done for centuries.

Mexican Border Problems The U.S.-Mexico border region is one of the most dynamic in the world. It extends more than 3,100 kilometers (2,000 miles) from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, and 100 kilometers (62.5 miles) on each side of the international border and is marked by high concrete fences in the west and a broad shallow river in the east when it reaches Texas. The region includes large deserts, numerous mountain ranges, rivers, wetlands, large estuaries, and shared aquifers. While its people share natural resources like water and air, the border region is characterized by many social, economic, and political contrasts.

Mexican border secured would be a rise for the economy growth and/or goods and services ("The US-Mexican…). Officers encounter many violent scenes at the border. People get shot in a car and they are sometimes hidden in unexpected places and the cause of the killing are by drug traffickers. Bringing drugs to the U.S. is a disadvantage for immigrants and it is one of the reasons why immigrants should not be allowed to cross. When immigrants cross the border to the U.S. they risks themselves by being forces to take drugs with them. All criminal activities happen in the border and they bring weapons, drugs, and money ("The US-Mexican…). For bringing all these items the national security are

Micah Issitt and Andrew Walter define immigration as the “movement of persons from one nation or region to another with the purpose of seeking permanent residence.” Unfortunately, illegal immigration has become more prominent in the U.S. arousing debates on what to do with the illegal migrants. The 9/11 attacks on the twin towers were caused by terrorists, who penetrated our weak borders to gain access to their planned attack. Under the Obama era, two and a half million more immigrants have crossed the border illegally than during Bush’s reign in office, which shows how our border is becoming more and more vulnerable. If the borders are not secured soon, more and more migrants will come illegally and take jobs from legal Americans, also

Although the issue with illegal immigration is prominent, the solution is not as clear. Some say the annual quota of 20,000 Mexicans should be raised (Anderson 65). This does not help the fact that there is a 5-9 year wait for over 1 million immigrants to enter the country legally (Anderson 57). "Most illegals are of working age and looking for jobs" (Anderson 57). They don't want to wait years to get a job. Otherwise, there would not be near as many people crossing the border every year. Some people call for a border fence in order to lower the number of illegals (Marcovitz 27). In 2006, Congress began a $2.5 billion project to fence nearly 700 miles of the Mexican border (Marcovitz 27). Many are still pushing for the entire border to be fenced off (Marcovitz 27). Currently, only about one third of the border has been fenced, and over 1,000 miles still remain open (Marcovitz 28). The fence is patrolled by border officers. In 1992 there were about 3,500 border patrol officers. In 2010 that number had grown to over 20,000 (Marcovitz

Illegal immigrants have always been a problem in the United States for some time now. “In October 2008, the illegal immigrant population stood at 11.9 million according to the Pew Hispanic Center” ("Illegal Immigration Facts & Statistics”). An efficient border patrol in our country would be a good step in the right direction to stop illegal immigration and the effect it has on our country. Illegal immigrants are at fault for such things as smuggling drugs into the country, which increases crime rate. Illegal immigrants also deprive U.S. citizens’ from the lower and middle class of jobs. America will also lose money on taxes and schools lose funds in most public systems

Illegal immigration into the United States has caused America's population to grow, but has also kept jobs from Americans and has ultimately been a negative since illegal immigration into the United States is undermining our federal government. Immigration began in the 1920's and the number of illegal immigrants into the U.S. has quickly escalated in the past 96 years. Even after Ronald Reagan put restrictions on the border to prevent illegals from coming in, illegal immigrants continue to come to America. Illegal immigration is a huge problem for the U.S. that needs to be solved, it can be solved with more restrictive laws that prevent immigrants from coming to the States illegally. Illegal immigration into the U.S. has been a problem for over 90 years, but there are ways and laws that would prevent as many illegal immigrants.

Prior to the events of 9/11, for nearly two decades, America welcomed immigrations to our country with open arms. After 9/11, America’s ideals begin to shift pertaining to immigrants, our nation’s safety, and border patrol. America was left with great fear, post 9/11, and began to implement many changes in our border patrol and immigration laws. “In response to record numbers of illegal border crossings and the security fears triggered by the 9/11 attacks, over the past two decades the United States has steadily increased its efforts to secure its borders against illegal immigration. The number of U.S. Border Patrol agents has risen from fewer than

ICE stands for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they deal with matters concerning border control, customs, trade and immigration to insure public safety and homeland security. Their priorities focus on preventing terrorism and the illegal movement of items, as well as people. Within ICE, there are three subgroups that fall into specialized tasks for the agency, such as Homeland security investigations (HSI) and the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Although being a fairly new agency there has been more than a few controversies on how ICE handles the illegal immigrants, however, since 9/11 the U.S has been trying to find the most effective ways to stop terrorism. So, that also means that not everyone would agree with the tactics that ICE used to solve the problem for those specific cases.

The U.S. Border Patrol to me is very important to the United States of America and to me as well. Without the Border Patrol, America would be a goat standing in the middle of a wolf cage. The Border Patrol and their agents border the boundaries of America so we can be safe in our homes. People don’t realize how important any kind of law enforcement is, until the day that they need assistance comes. I don’t take our men and women who protect us Americans; it is something that not everyone can say that they have. I have no one in my family that has worked with the Border Patrol, and I want to be the first in my family to join the Border Patrol. I am from Del Rio Texas, a border town neighbors with Mexico. The U.S. Border

12 billion dollars, that is certainly a lot of money (McFadyen)! On average, that is how much the United States loses each year from border security. In order to stop illegal immigrants and drug smugglers from entering the U.S. from Mexico through the border, a wall must be built.

There are many benefits about border patrol. Recently in Arizona, United States border patrol agents and Mexican federal police officers have joined forces and are training together to coordinate patrols for the first time in history. Bot groups will be joining together to fight the war against drug trafficking and the immigration flow interacting between the two nations. This shows that the future of border patrol might be brighter then we thought. Also, improvements have been made to raise salaries and funds during the Clinton administration with Operation Gatekeeper. The administration used five hundred million dollars to prevent the incoming of more illegal aliens in the U.S. The amount of immigrants that have been caught has doubled since the 80s and 90s. In 2009 the National Southwest Border Patrol Counternarcotic Strategy recognized the flow of illegal cash and weapons also coming in from Mexico. Human

The United States border with Mexico is a controversial topic that has been the subject of debate recently. It is without question a problem that needs to be fixed. Currently most policies are focused on the manpower, infrastructure, and security of the border itself. However the border security is changed there will always be a demand for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers to cross the border into America. That why we should try to disrupt that demand by legalizing marijuana in the United States, put more resources into fighting cartels, and invest into the Mexican economy. These are the first steps to regaining border security to both countries.

Security purposes would decrease the amount of unidentified immigrants. In 2011, ICE removed more than 396,000 individuals. ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is essentially the immigration cops and ensure that immigration laws are being enforced for public safety. It is one of the largest

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