Political and Economic Issues Along the U.S. and Mexico Border

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

Texas border security has been a huge issue over the past years, things such as violence, illegal drugs trade, terrorism, and immigration have increase steadily without a direct solution to back it up. The violence between the US and Mexico’s border increase rather quickly since the declaration of the so-called “war on the drug cartels” by former Mexican president Felipe Calderon in the late 2006. With all the ineffective policies, the drugs traffiking and terrorism on Texas border won’t end anytime soon

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

The topic of Mexican immigration recently made headlines again when republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released a 3 page statement detailing his blunt beliefs on Mexican immigrants. Trump’s blunt statements against Mexican immigration have led many to join the discussion of Mexican immigration. The views on the issue vary, some believe that Mexicans are the route to all of America’s unemployment trouble while others believe Mexican’s simply take jobs American’s refuse to take. Either way, there are nearly twenty four million people of Mexican decent living in the United States that have started their own communities which contribute to American society. Many American’s however, refuse to accept this and are still prosecuting Mexican’s. This can be seen in the media, public schools, and in the work place.

The Unlawful border crossing in the U.S. Southern border has been of political interest for the past decades. It has been the primary source of the illegal trades into U.S. from Mexico. Despite the government efforts to end the act, there have not been long-term solutions to the Menace. The vital approach is to understand the structural nature of the border and the socio-cultural nature of the inhabitants that facilitates the illegal act across the border. The lawful bill in place seems not to offer a practical solution to combating the problem. The existing border and immigration policies should be revised to provide a possible settlement to the illegal trade across the borders. Also, the border barriers should be adequately constructed and guarded with border security officials. Another crucial area for consideration is the cooperation between the two countries in combating the illegal trade across the border. A cross-border initiative like Merida by President Bush would have been the significant initiative in promoting the U.S. Mexico cross-border collaboration in combating the Illegal Border Crossings. Due to the well-coordinated nature of these criminal networks, full federal cooperation like Boarder Enforcement Security Taskforce (BEST) should act in combating the organized gangs.

Illegal immigration has been around ever since borders were created to divide the world. The reasons for illegal immigration, stretch from escaping unstable governments, seeking job opportunities, and making money. In the United States, most of the current illegal immigration comes from Mexico and Latin America because of poverty and the lack of jobs (Poroy)(Wilson, Armstrong). The United States provides many cheap labor positions in construction and farming where business owners are looking for immediate workers that will get the job done. Unfortunately, illegal immigrants cost the U.S. government around $11.4 billion to $20.2 billion each year due to the use of America’s goods without paying all their taxes(Amadeo). Fortunately, over the

Borders between nations are, largely, used to control and monitor the movement of people internationally. One of the fundamental problems with the border control of states is their ineffectiveness in preventing and deterring people from crossing borders. The most notorious border, the Mexico-United States border, spans an area of 1,989mi (International Boundary & Water Commission, 2017) and has become increasingly militarised over the years due to the, ever increasing, influx of Mexican immigrants attempting to cross the border. The US border security claimed an 81% success rate in preventing illegal immigrants from crossing the border in 2015. However, alternative estimates suggest that the border security’s success rate was in the 40-55% range

Nevertheless, it is not only imperative to outline that between 2009 and 2014 the number of illegal immigrants decreased in Kansas, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, South Carolina, California as well as Nevada, but also vital to note that these reductions are alleged to the reduced number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants. As opposed to the small number (41 percent) of immigrants who had lived in America for more than ten years in the US by 2005, the figure had risen significantly to a wobbling 66 percent by 2014. Nevertheless, those who have lived in the country illegally for less than five years are declining in number steadily, having been estimated at barely 14 percent in 2014 (Krogstad and Passel 17). While the illegal immigrants could be considered as both credible and dependable because of the benefits they bring to the US, on the contrary, it is critical to comprehend the unintended consequences that translate into tangible problems like increased competition for the limited unskilled job opportunities, increased pressure on the economy by using free social services including healthcare, social security, and education as well as the growing crime rate perpetuated by unauthorized citizens in the

“In 2014, 5.8 million unauthorized immigrants from Mexico lived in the U.S.,” according to Pew Research Center (Krogstad). Regulating the number of illegal immigrants from entering the United States has become an increasingly significant issue for the federal government’s agenda after, the number of unauthorized immigrants reached a peak in 2007 at 12.2 million, when this group made up 4% of the U.S. population (Krogstad). An abundance of proposed solutions have been offered to limit the steadily increasing number of illegal immigrants from reaching American soil, such as: mandating E-verify, a system that determines whether or a not a person is eligible to work in the United states, strengthening border security, and fortifying interior enforcement measures in the United States (Illegal Immigration and Border Security). Another major plan sources from President Donald Trump, who hopes to build a wall spanning between the United States and Mexico. This idea has ignited numerous opposing arguments that have picked out its irrationalities, and display how Donald Trump’s proposal to erect a wall generates more complications than benefits.

Immigration from Mexico vastly affected the United States in various ways. When immigration initiated, various concerns arose due to the threat of national security, and due to society’s fear of what type of person enters America unrestrictedly. Anti-immigrant people have whined about America’s lack of restriction on immigrants, especially with the knowledge of how much human trafficking and drug smuggling occurs down south near the border. While there are some benefits to immigration such as cheap labor, it, however, doesn’t overcome the shortcomings of immigration and its policies present in the United States.

many critics point out the illegal drugs are smuggled across our nation especially the Southwestern border and it is in wholesale quantity that the flow of illegal border crosser. Although it has been reduced in recent years, it is still significant problem for border security. Current administration takes the opposite side of this. They are saying that "they are working with Mexico government through the' Twenty first century border initiative', to improve coordination in planning, financing, building, and operating bi-national infrastructure; to enhance cross-border commerce and ties while managing our common threats; and to augment law enforcement cooperation to disrupt 'criminal flows' and enhance public safety. Also, The Administration is working with Canada to enhance joint law enforcement efforts and bolster cross-border security operations. Through the 'United States – Canada Beyond the Border Action Plan', Canadian and United State law enforcement are forging new ways of sharing resources, personnel, and information to uncover and disrupt threats that endanger the security of both the United States and Canada."( Border Security: DHS Progress and Challenges in Securing the U.S. Southwest and Northern Borders). It is creating a twenty first century border which is more secure now than it has ever been. Neither side in this debate seems interest in defining what a secure border means and without a definition of secure border, it is hard to say who is

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)

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

The United States has led the fight against criminal activities from Mexican borders for many years. Criminal activities along the United States and Mexican border range from drug trafficking, human smuggling and an economy that disruptive. These are illegal activities scholars have argued could lead to the failure of Mexico as a country and the spread of violence to the United States. The illegal activities are not only a threat to the economy of Mexico and United States but also to the rest of the world due the impacts associated. The border between Mexico and US is of essential significance because it provides the link between the two countries. The border provides passageways through which either country can access the other via land or air means. Although the border is of significance to both countries, smuggling of drugs and trafficking human are main causes of violence between the countries. Drug cartels in Mexico smuggle drugs into the United States and this drives a war between them and the US government. The economy and the peace between Mexico and US is also affected significantly due to the illegal activities. To minimize the violence caused by these illegal activities, the US government need to act against the activities. The United States needs to increase the economic aid and military intervention to Mexico to fight the drug cartels, otherwise it could become a failed state; spreading more violence across the US border.

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.