Ineffectiveness Of Border Control

Should our military guard The United States and Mexico border? The opposing views think that military involvement is not the solution to the problem. The following writing will discuss reasons for that our military needs to be involved in protecting the borders of The United State and Mexico and the arguments regarding our military being used to guard our borders. Many people dispute the military involvement and many are in its favor. This paper will discuss reasons why military involvement is vital in the protection of the United States-Mexican border. The border between The United States and Mexico has been the routes used for trafficking drugs, illegal immigrants and the entry

Immigration is one of the contentious issues that continue to elicit mixed reactions from different parties. In most western economies, debates on immigration policies have been on the rise in the recent decades. Whereas the international human rights have confirmed that freedom of movement is one of the basic human rights and hence no one can be deprived, most governments have put restrictions on immigration. Furthermore, the enactment of open immigration policies in various countries continues to raise mixed reactions with proponents and critics of the policies contributing to the debate. Immigration policies usually vary from country to country and within states with both, either opting for open or closed immigration policies. The impacts of illegal immigration and open border policies have been central to the above debate. This paper explores the issue of open border policies and illegal immigration and its inherent dangers.

On the South Western border of the United States roughly 2000 immigrants cross the border illegally from Mexico every day. The vast majority of these immigrants are seeking financial security and a safer life in the United States however, some are coming over to traffic weapons and drugs for gangs and cartels. It is these few individuals that have caused the U.S. government to pursue a multi-billion dollar defense along the border.

Not only do illegal immigrants crossing the border cause border control issues, but they also cause critical national security issues by jeopardizing the safety of the US citizens. For example, in September of 2007, forty-one illegal immigrants with gang ties to the Mexican Mafia, Sureno 13, and the Latin Kings were detained for severe crimes in Northwest Arkansas. A number of of the gang members had been previously deported, however, crossed the border illegally yet again. If a drastic number of deported immigrants are able to cross the border more than once, it is only a matter of time until a terrorist comes along and does a great amount of damage to the

In our present times national security became a priority. According to Tricia Escobedo, the last year’s terrorist attack in Paris on the night of November 13th left 129 people dead and hundreds wounded. The perpetrators were a mix of French nationals, and Syrian refugees that migrate to Europe due to the current open door policy for asylum seekers (1). We have a problem because our southern border is an open door for foreign terrorist to enter our country, due to the fact that the many people cross illegally. According to Stephen Dinan, nearly 800,000 people arrived in the past two years (1). I am veteran of the United States Army that deployed many times to Afghanistan, I lived in what we call forward operating bases, this forward operating bases had a secure perimeter due to the presence of physical barrier in this case a wall, in order to protect the people inside, and this solution work because it keep any threats away. We had 100 percent control of the people entering the Forward Operating Base, this kind of control reduced drastically any possibility that a foreign terrorist could enter inside the base, and cause severe casualties between the civilian and military personnel.

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.

For illegal immigrants, it is very dangerous for them to come across. They are risking their lives and their families’ lives in search for work. In the deserts that they cross are robbers, murders, no water and no food. The AZ Republic (2003) estimated that in a year’s time, approximately one million people will get caught trying to sneak illegally into the U.S., and over 1000 will die. According to the USCR (2002), in July, Mexico began a campaign to amplify the immigration enforcement at the southern border. The called their campaign “Plan Sur”, and it was aimed at stopping numerous illegal immigrants from stepping foot into the U.S. After September 11, hundreds more were deployed to watch the border from illegal immigrants. Also, The INS has the border wired with high-tech gizmos and practically 10,000 agents to slash the stream

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

In times of need, borders can be used to limit the introduction of contagious diseases that impact the human and animal populations. When an epidemic is known, entry of people, goods, and animals from the area can be severely restricted in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of disease spread. The same can be true of public safety concerns. There are certain types of criminal activity that warrant exclusion from entry into the United States. While the methods used to detect those undesirable immigrants or visitors could be improved, border enforcement does allow for denial of entry to protect the

Immigration policy can be divided into two main aspects: Immigration Control and Immigrant Integration. In immigration control, policies often involve the control of the number of migrants flowing into a nation. This is achieved by implementing border controls, which play an important role in addressing national security and restricting migration flows. In effect, border controls are the main focus of governments when taking into account both security and immigration issues. The second aspect, Immigrant integration, involves the assimilation of immigrants into society. Integration is beneficial for security purposes; for example, the integration of immigrants, primarily Muslim immigrants, has gained momentum after a series of the terror attacks

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

Today in the United States there seems to be a problem with getting a visa for those who want to migrate to the U.S. legally and easily. If it were to be made effortless to enter then less people would risk their lives trying to enter illegally. The border is easy enough to bypass that it “encourages dangerous crossings” for people who just want in for an easy life for themselves or their children (Walker and Zuckerman 1). The simplicity of getting a visa and immigrating with it should be improving over time like technology does all over the world. If the border were to be improved it can prevent many crossings and force them to “find legal” ways on immigrating into the country (Walker and Zuckerman 2). The easier it is to cross the border, the more that will do attempt it for an easier life. This can be a problem on monitoring who is immigrating into the U.S. and if they’re peaceful beings or terrorists. If they are terrorists and they pass

Implementing stringent security controls along the borders is likely to reduce the influx of illegal immigration into the United States. With the increased border security, the American government could have helped alleviate the occurrence of the 9/11 bombing. Though this strategy is essential in alleviating the influx of illegal immigrants to certain geographic areas, increased border controls in these locations have made other, less controlled areas of the border more vulnerable. Rising crime rates, discarded debris, increased apprehension rates, and growing public scrutiny in these less secure areas provide clear evidence that border security is at once a social, an economic, and a national security issue.

Coursework is receipted on the understanding that it is the student 's own work and that it has not, in whole or part, been presented elsewhere for assessment. Where material has been used from other sources it has been properly acknowledged in accordance with the University 's Regulations regarding Cheating and Plagiarism.