Is the U.S Southern Border patrol Effective?
Abstract
The primary role of the United States border patrol is to detect and prevent illegal aliens from getting into the country. Furthermore, it also plays a big role in preventing human trafficking. All kinds of people with ill intentions do find their way into America. Such individuals are a threat to the security of American citizens. They participate in acts such as smuggling, robberies, homicides and murder cases. In fact, a significant portion of the prison population in America is composed of illegal immigrants. Moreover, these people become a burden to the government since they increase capital expenditures on catering for prison populations. Fundamentally, more effort to aid the border patrol has to be initiated for the benefit of all Americans as well as the immediate communities at large. This paper therefore aims to investigate the various schools of thoughts regarding the efficiency of the southern border patrol. It further suggests recommendations on how the situation can get improved.
Introduction
The United States border patrol is a federal law enforcement agency. In this country, there are many organizations that deal with various aspects of the law. To make the task of manning the border quickly a particular unit had to be created to address the menace of illegal immigration and trafficking. All these agencies get set up by the American government. The primary role of the United States border patrol is to detect and prevent undocumented migrants from getting into the country.
Furthermore, it also plays a significant role in preventing human trafficking. This vice is very rampant across the border between the United States and Mexico. Young children get trafficked to serve as sex slaves and also to get used for organ donations. Many terrorists makes attempts to gain entry into America via illegal means. They traffic weapons and other contraband items such as drugs (Hernández, 2010).
All kinds of people with ill intentions do find their way into America. Such individuals are a threat to the security of American citizens. They participate in acts such as mugging, robberies, homicides, and murders. In fact, a significant portion of the prison population in America is composed of illegal immigrants. Moreover, these people become a burden to the government since they increase capital expenditures on catering for prison populations.
The border patrol is an agency within the United States custom s and border protection. It is also part of the department of homeland security. Homeland security deals with all issues affecting security within the boundaries of the United States of America. Due to its large number of staff and extensive tasks, the border patrol is among the largest enforcement agencies in the country.
Some years back, before the 9/11 attacks, people used to cross freely the border between America and Mexico. Some Mexicans worked in San Francisco and commuted daily from the Mexican side. Terrorism still had not gained prominence during these days. The border between America and Mexico has the highest number of legal crossings of any land border worldwide. Over 5 million trucks and cars travel through the border annually. There are many business activities between the two countries. Thousands of tons worth of goods get transported across the borders every day.
As at 2010, there were over 2000 border patrol agents in the United States. The government was making attempts to respond to the growing number of illegal immigrants. However, despite all the security at the border, half a million immigrants illegally pass through the border every year. This fact shows that the issue is tough to tackle comprehensively tackle. This paper, therefore, aims at determining how efficient the United States southern border patrol undertakes its mandate.
Schools of thought
Border patrol tactics
First, some of the cross-border laws show some slack in curbing the menace. There also exists a constitutional crisis whereby according to the fourth amendment, random and arbitrary stops and searches are prohibited. This legislation protects the U.S citizens from such harassment. On the other hand, it is important to conduct searches to determine who is legitimate and who is not.
This situation might hinder the proper and efficient searching of both citizens and immigrants to determine their intent and the items they might poses.
Sometimes, law enforcement agencies go overboard with their searches. Because all immigrants need to get screened, some officers conduct arbitrary searches on American citizens without warrants. Moreover, the carry out this function arbitrary.
Some patrol posts are usually located over 100 miles inland. Some of the personnel manning this post normally harass innocent citizens through their intrusive and arbitrary searches. At such a distance into the interior of the country, efforts aimed at weeding out illegal immigrants become difficult because they would have spread far and wide.
These officers should focus most of their attention on the border points. These are the primary sources of entry for these people. Going to search for immigrants inland proves to become an effort in futility. The reason being that this methodology deprives the border units much of the needed manpower to man and patrol the border. Enough personnel at the posts will go a long way in preventing illegal immigration and trafficking.
The commission on border patrol together with homeland security lack a clear oversight on how to deal with illegal entry and exit through the borders. The officers also seem to have undergone inadequate training. This lack of preparedness will lead to negligence which allows dangerous people into the country. Ignorance also leads to abuse of power. Because the officers will not know the importance of conducting, activities in an ethical manner. They will also have reduced ability to detect any breaches in security.
One policy by the government is that companies should not employ illegal immigrants. However, they have not fully implemented the system. They never follow up to ensure that companies adhere to this policy. Particularly for the private companies.
Border patrol capacity
The border between Mexico and the United States comprises an enormous tract of land. This border point begins at Tijuana, Imperial Beach, and Baja California to the west. It then extends eastwards to Tamaulipas, Matamoros, and Brownsville, Texas to the east. The total length of this border is 3145 kilometers or 1954 miles. It follows along the Rio Grande to the frontier crossing located in Ciudad Juarez, El Paso and Chihuahua (Alvarez Jr, 1995).
Most of the attentions given by security officers mostly go to the major towns and highways. Crossing points typically characterize such border points. These places are highly manned and secured with armed personnel. Customs offices ensure that all those who are crossing possess the required documentation. These include visas, passports and work permits (Andreas, 2001).
However, one downside to the security situation is that most areas along the border are very remote. The U.S- Mexico border passes through large tracts of the Sonoran and Chihuahua deserts. There are remote villages along the border through which people can illegally gain access into the country. Some zones, on the other hand, are under the control of very powerful drug cartels. This means that they do not get manned by police. In most cases, the barons normally overpower the law enforcement personnel. Once they get control of territories along the border, they are now free to traffic their drugs in huge quantities. Lucrative trafficking routes thus get formed (Doty, 2007).
At one time a cartel had dug a deep underground tunnel that extended horizontally deep into American territory from Mexico. This case just shows how resourceful and determined the drug cartels are. The United States has slightly over 20 thousand border patrol officers. Compared to the power and strength of the drug cartels, not forgetting the vastness of the frontier, this number is too small to combat the issue of drug trafficking effectively.
Improvements in Border Security
The September 11 attacks raised concern about border security. Not only did they raise concerns about the frontier, but also about the general safety of all forms of transaction. These events shook the shipping industry and the airline industry as well. The hardest hit department, however, was that of air transport. The terrorist’s carried out the deadly attacks through the use of aircraft.
Congress, therefore, attempted to make reforms on immigration. They reviewed border rules and regulations. Eventually, they formulated stringent policies that would govern how people cross to and from the frontier. Their efforts failed miserably. A lot of money got spent in meetings and seminars, but they all went to waste. The then president George. W Bush employed additional border patrol agents. These agents enhanced the security at the frontier. More intensive screening got carried out, and there was a strict policy that everyone who intends to cross must have valid documentation and travel documents.
The government of United States of America enhanced the technology used at the border. Powerful security cameras got installed. They could monitor the movements of people over large areas to ensure maximum surveillance. Newer and efficient metal detectors got installed. Before the attacks, there were no metal scans. Only body searches got conducted. This situation also applied to the air transport sector. In fact, it is this security vulnerability that led to the September 11th attacks on the world trade center.
Trained sniffer dogs are very instrumental in sniffing out traces of certain contraband drugs in luggage’s and cars. They have helped in the interception of numerous drug consignments on their way to the United States from Mexico. Many of the traffickers have got arrested and tried thanks to the highly trained sniffer dogs.
All the above efforts have played a big role in decreasing the alien population within the United States. Most of the drug traffickers now get arrested and tried. The illegal immigrants without proper documentation often get intercepted. They are thus blocked from gaining access into the country. Those who get arrested within the country get deported back to Mexico.
The recent past has also witnessed an expansion of cross-border security. Mexico and the United States have increased their cooperation with one another to fight the problem of drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Some of the illegal immigrants are fugitives and criminals escaping from arrest. The two countries thus assist each other to arrest and deport such criminals (Cornelius, 2001).
Summary
The United States border patrol is a federal law enforcement agency. In this country, there are many organizations that deal with various aspects of the law. To make the task of manning the border easily, a special; unit had to get created to address the menace of illegal immigration and trafficking. All these agencies get set up by the American government. The primary role of the United States border patrol is to detect and prevent illegal aliens from getting into the country.
Some of the cross-border laws show some slack in curbing the menace. There also exists a constitutional crisis whereby according to the fourth amendment, random and arbitrary stops and searches are prohibited. This legislation protects the U.S citizens from such harassment. On the other hand, it is important to conduct searches to determine who is legitimate and who is not.
This situation might hinder the proper and efficient searching of both citizens and immigrants to determine their intent and the items they might poses. Sometimes, law enforcement agencies go overboard with their searches. Because all immigrants need to get screened, some officers conduct arbitrary searches on American citizens without warrants. Moreover, the carry out this function arbitrary.
One downside to the security situation is that most areas along the border are very remote.
The U.S- Mexico border passes through vast tracts of the Sonoran and Chihuahua deserts. There are remote villages along the boundary through which people can illegally gain access into the country. Some zones, on the other hand, are under the control of very powerful drug cartels. This means that they do not get manned by police. In most cases, the barons overpower the law enforcement personnel (Maril, 2006).
The September 11 attacks raised concern about border security. Not only did they raise concerns about the border, but also about the general security of all forms of transaction. The recent past has also witnessed an expansion of cross-border security. The government of United States of America enhanced the technology used at the border.
Robust security cameras got installed. They could monitor the movements of people over large areas to ensure maximum surveillance. Newer and efficient metal detectors got installed. Before the attacks, there were no metal scans. Only body searches got conducted. This situation also applied to the air transport sector. In fact, it is this security vulnerability that led to the September 11th attacks on the world trade center.
Mexico and the United States have increased their cooperation with one another to fight the problem of drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Some of the illegal immigrants are fugitives and criminals escaping from arrest. The two countries thus assist each other to arrest and deport such criminals.
Model and Hypothesis
The American government has made vast strides in the improvement of cross-border security. The number of patrol units manning the border has tremendously got increased. The government has also employed more personnel to guard these border posts and conduct the patrols. Furthermore, the officers have received the most advanced training on security issues. They are now better able to detect and intercept security breaches. They use the most cutting edge technology to assist them in their work.
However, we still witness an increase in the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States via the southern border. The drugs cartels are becoming more powerful by the day. Drug trafficking also does not seem to show any signs of waning despite all the efforts. One major finding however, is that the laws on immigration are not stringent enough to curb the issue. No matter how advanced the security is or how great the number of personal, it is the laws that have the greatest impact on illegal immigration. President Obama has attempted to address some of the immigration issues which are still an ongoing process. Therefore, a proper hypothesis would be that the lack of proper laws makes it difficult to curb illegal immigration.
Analysis
It is evident that security of the southern border has greatly got enhanced across the southern border. From the deployment of extra security forces to the enhancement of surveillance technologies, all these have made the border much safer. However more work still needs to get done. First, the behavior of law enforcement officers needs monitoring to ensure that they do not abuse their powers.
Mexico is a smaller country in comparison to the United States of America. The comparison is regarding economy and military force. America needs to assist Mexico with resources to combat the issue of illegal trafficking of drugs. There is a need for the establishment of a joint training initiative between the two countries. This process will ensure that officers on both sides get the requisite skills. The gangs are also growing in strength and size. Therefore, prompt action is a must if they are serious about containing the situation.
The American government not only needs to enhance surveillance technologies but also implement strict laws and policies. The current laws provide a lot of leeways for illegal immigrants to find their way into the country. Strict laws will ensure that all immigrants have the proper documentation before entering into the U.S. The laws will also mandate the law enforcement to conduct searches on both motorist and pedestrians (Andreas, 2012).
Conclusion
Illegal immigration will always pose a huge problem at the southern border. According to current trends, trafficking of drugs is on the rise. Prompt action needs to get implemented before the situation gets out of hand. However, the American government has made vast strides in the improvement of cross-border security. The number of patrol units manning the border has tremendously got increased. The government has also employed more personnel to guard these border posts and conduct the patrols. Furthermore, the officers have received the most advanced training on security issues. They are now better able to detect and intercept security breaches. They use the most cutting edge technology to assist them in their work.
The above actions are still not enough. One major finding, however, is that the laws on immigration are not stringent enough to curb the issue. No matter how advanced the security is or how great the number of personal, it is the laws that have the greatest impact on illegal immigration. President Obama has attempted to address some of the immigration issues which is still an ongoing process. In conclusion, the cooperation between the two states will become the most effective method of enhancing border security in the south.
References
Alvarez Jr, R. R. (1995). The Mexican-US border: the making of an anthropology of borderlands. Annual Review of Anthropology, 447-470.
Andreas, P. (2012). Border games: Policing the US-Mexico divide. Cornell University Press.
Andreas, P. (2001). The transformation of migrant Smuggling across the US-Mexican Border. Global human smuggling: Comparative perspectives, 107-125.
Cornelius, W. A. (2001). Death at the border: Efficacy and unintended consequences of US immigration control policy. Population and development review, 27(4), 661-685.
Doty, R. L. (2007). States of Exception on the Mexico–US Border: Security, “Decisions,” and Civilian Border Patrols. International political sociology, 1(2), 113-137.
Hernández, K. L. (2010). Migra! A history of the US border patrol (Vol. 29). Univ of California Press.
Maril, R. L. (2006). Patrolling Chaos: The US Border Patrol in Deep South Texas. Texas Tech University Press.
