Use of the UH-72A Lakota on the Southwest Border Mission As the political landscape in the United States continues to include increasing levels of immigration reform and border security rhetoric, an understanding of current capabilities and operations becomes a vital component when forming an educated opinion. Army National Guard soldiers and aircraft provide a crucial layer of border security, employing the UH-72A Lakota helicopter equipped with technology designed to assist law enforcement agencies in drug interdiction and undocumented immigrant apprehension. Shortfalls in United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) capabilities opened the door for military involvement to stem the influx of illegal immigrants, as well as slowing …show more content…
Today, the UH-72A and its crewmembers operate in conjunction with CBP in the Laredo and Rio Grande Valley sectors of Texas, as well as sections of the New Mexico, Arizona, and California borders, and continue to achieve mission success on a near-nightly basis. National Guard involvement on the Southwest border began in 2006, when President George W. Bush authorized National Guardsmen to augment the under-staffed CBP through “Operation Jump Start,” a joint collaboration between CBP, the Army and Air National Guard, and the National Guard Bureau. This effort was the first time both the Army and Air National Guard teamed up to perform an extended homeland mission. The original authorization called for the immediate deployment of 6,000 troops, with a planned reduction to 3,000 during the second year. During these two years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection would focus on hiring and training approximately 9,000 new agents, nearly doubling its footprint. The mission concept in 2006 oriented on ground operations (Church, 2009). Evolution of the Southwest border mission over the past ten years includes a marked decline in overall troop numbers and a new focus placed on aerial observation …show more content…
Customs and Border Protection does publish year-end data to highlight its achievements within the Air and Marine Operations division. The most recent statistics published encompass fiscal year 2013, and include mission contributions from Task Force Liberty operations. Air and Marine Operations executed 73,576 flight hours and 111,910 maritime hours in fiscal year 2013, producing staggering results. Mission highlights include 63,562 alien apprehensions throughout the year, averaging more than 174 apprehensions per day. Recovery of illegal drugs and narcotics prevented more than 1,015,075 pounds of marijuana, valued at over $2.6 billion, and more than 155,120 pounds of cocaine, valued at more than $11.6 billion, from entering the drug trade within the United States. Agents also seized more than $25.3 million in currency, and 2,194 weapons (U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
After, Mexico gained Independence from Spain in 1821, the era following this left Mexico in a poor political, social, and economic condition. Which resulted in a long lasting feeling of resentment towards the United States. As, both countries being in different positions socio-economically the Mexican-American war began in the year of 1846. Throughout the war in Mexico the president was changed about seven times on the other hand, the United States who was in a dynamic period prior to the Civil War was focused mostly on spreading Anglo America. The United States took advantage of Mexico lacking a centralized, strong leader. While gaining the necessary political and symbolic tools from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and the Manifest
As the political landscape in the United States continues to include increasing levels of immigration reform and border security rhetoric, an understanding of current capabilities and operations becomes a vital component when forming an educated opinion. Army National Guard soldiers and aircraft provide a crucial layer of border security, employing the UH-72A Lakota helicopter equipped with technology designed to assist law enforcement agencies in drug interdiction and undocumented immigrant apprehension. Shortfalls in United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) capabilities opened the door for military involvement to stem the influx of illegal immigrants, as well as slowing human and drug trafficking (Lawson, 2012). Today, the UH-72A
Approximately 11 million people lives in the 42 counties and 39 Mexican municipalities located along the U.S.-Mexico border, and 86% of those people reside in 14 pairs of sister cities, metropolitan areas divided by the international border. Border residents share many resources and environmental problems: issues of great concern include air quality, water quantity and quality, and animal control. The communities along the border are economically and socially interdependent, with more than 1 million legal northbound crossings every day. The principal health problems at the U.S.-Mexico border are characterized by disparities in health systems, which result from the lower health standards and socioeconomic conditions of Mexican border communities
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 border between Texas and Mexico encompasses 1241 miles from El Paso to the Rio Grande Valley. Border security is an issue that must be currently addressed by Texas legislature, as Texas is one of the states along the U.S Mexico border that experience tremendous amounts of illegal immigrants and criminals whose intentions are to provoke havoc through drugs and weapons smuggling onto the U.S.
As previously established, the United States, a country with borders stretching over thousands of miles, lacks the capacity to fully observe and protect every corner of its territory. Some individuals seem unmoved by so many undocumented persons entering the country, stating that “borders should generally be open and… people should normally be free to leave their country of origin and settle in another…” (Higgins 528). However, these proponents of open borders neglect to recognize that as hundreds of illegal immigrants cross the borders, the issue of terrorism and overall safety becomes a major concern. Without undergoing the proper restrictions and precautions required to enter the United States, these illegal immigrants could potentially be a major threat to the country. So in order to decrease these Terrisits attacks in the United States, we need to strengthen the border security. Because of the events of 9/11 and the expanding population of displaced people, the legislature of the United States has consistently expanded its endeavors to upgrade national security over the previous years. The Secure Fence Act of 2006, marked into law by George W. Shrubbery, ordered the development of 652 miles of wall along our Southern fringes. What's more, as of February 2012, DHS has finished 651 miles of obstructions. As per DHS, the quantity of Border Patrol specialists
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
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.
The security and management of our nation’s borders remains an emotionally charged and controversial topic. The DHS goals are to control U.S. air, land, and sea borders, safeguard lawful trade and travel, and the disruption and dismantlement of transnational criminal organizations (U.S. Department of
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. 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).
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
They manage to return over fifty thousands people back to their homeland, but it was extremely expensive and time consuming. Due to the constant entrance of illegal aliens in private aircrafts as well as the harassment of Cuban citizens back at their home country, change had to come into effect. Border patrol began tracking unauthorized and suspicious flights. They began patrolling domestic flights after hijacking attempts brought about awareness. Anti-smuggling units such as BORSTAR were established to concentrate efforts and create more control.
As concern grows of rogue UAS operations, Senator Heitkamp has authored bill language encouraging the Armed Forces to leverage the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and the additional test sites for research and development of technologies to mitigate nefarious UAS operations. Having the most complex and extensive operations capabilities, our test site is the only test site with the ability to immediately support the Armed Forces with the needed technology to address harmful UAS operations and protect the public’s and homeland’s security.
It was reported in the San Antonio Express News that “Border-Patrolling Drones Would Call Texas Base Home.” Lynn Brezosky reported that “U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin cut the ribbon for the launch of the nation’s fourth base for operating border surveillance drones.” This is important in securing the U.S.-Mexico border, which the U.S. has an approximate 1,933 mile long border with Mexico (Beaver). Brezosky also reported that “the Homeland Security budget called for two drones for Texas.” The new drones in Texas are another step towards securing the U.S. border with Mexico. On the other hand, the so called “border fence” is producing less than favorable results.