Summary Of Redrawing The Line By Andreas

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

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 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.

One of the pros for building the fence is that “control of the borders are required for national security”. With the rise of terrorist groups around the world including

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

In her book, Line in the Sand: A History of the Western U.S.-Mexico Border, Rachel St. John provides a dynamic argument that focuses not just on the physical border itself or merely how border policy came to be, but looks at the borderlands as an entire region and how Mexico too played a part in creating both the border and border enforcement. St. John describes in her various chapters the development of border towns and how both the U.S. and Mexico created not just a physical barrier, but also a symbolic barrier that resulted in the division of races and cultures. The creation of national identities, argues St. John, is just as much a result of border policy as is the actual physical border. Additionally, St. John discusses the varied

Lourdes Medrano is a strong advocate for immigration reform to strengthen the border and the security manning the border. She supports her argument by showing how President George W. Bush’s surge on the US-Mexican border. President Bush doubled the man power along the border, while leading the technological advance on the border. Medrano shows how President Bush brought immigration reform into the spotlight, when roughly 1.6 million immigrants where entering the US illegally. Now the number is historically lower at 356,873 immigrants. The budget for the border patrol has been steadily increasing 1.1 billion in 2001 to 3.5 billion in 2012. Medrano presents how President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act in 2006, which authorized 700 miles of fencing. This his directly contributed to 651 miles of fencing created by 2012. Surge on immigration reform has also doubled the man power from 2001 to 2012, which is exactly what President Bush envisioned. With the border patrol now being a division of Homeland Security and help from the national guard, they have grown much bigger then what they once were. Even the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says that “our borders have, in fact, never been stronger.”

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.

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 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

O’Neil, Shannon. “The Real War In Mexico” Foreign Affairs 88.4 (2009): 63-77. Academic Search Premier Web 8 Nov 2011

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.-

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.