America’s peaceful borders have been necessitated by two remarkable trends that have occurred over the past thirty years. These include sweeping democratization and the spread of integration agreements. The military and the governments of the day have played their different roles successfully. The military have been on the lookout for any peace disturbance potentiality from outside the country while the democratically elected governments have ensued prevalence in all hemispheres of the country. As a result, countries have managed their borders peacefully without the need for military interventions (Johns Hopkins University Press 1).
Through investment and trade preferences, the democratic governments of these countries have sought to weave their countries together. In 1991, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay formed the Mercosur customs union. In 1992, the United States, Canada and Mexico founded the North American trade agreement. Later on in 2005, United States, Central America and the Dominican Republican came together formed the Dominican Republican-Central America Free Trade Agreement. The latest trade agreement to be formed by these American countries is the Trans-Pacific Partnership that provides new opportunities for the future trade agreements involving the five major economic powers in the hemisphere. All these trade agreements have continued to provide unprecedented degree of trade integration (Johns Hopkins University Press 1).
Democratization and economic integration has availed many public goods including shared prosperity and increased freedom in these American countries. Statistics released by the united nations indicate that between the year 2000 and 2014, merchandise in Latin America increased by more than three times. It also showed that trade flows in North America have increased by double digits during the same time period. 32.5 percent of total trade by the United States took place between Mexico, Canada and Brazil while 55 percent of its oil imports were from the other American countries as of 2013 (Trinkunas 65).
The trends in trade in these countries are pushed by the North America Free Trade Agreement and this in turn creates deep economic integration, intensified border flows and peaceful regional relations. About 40 percent of all the products that Mexico exports to the United States has come inputs from the United States. Similarly, 25 percent of the exports from Canada into the United States are dependent United States’ inputs (Trinkunas 1).
However, these trends cannot all be successful without side effects. The greatest problem associated with trade agreements in these countries is the creation of vulnerable borders. The borders are increasingly becoming open and therefore enhancing penetration by international criminals, undocumented migrants and illicit goods. According to experts, many illegal immigrants into the United States do so because of the increasing legal trade patterns instead of porous borders. This situation is exuberated by the failure of the individual democratic governments to adequately use their security forces and adapt them to regional environment in which money, goods and people flow through unabated. It was a mistake in the part of these governments to look at the regional trade from one angle only. I find it baffling that they overlooked the almost open logical fact of illicit trade associated with legal trade ( Adjibolosoo, 1998).
The United States on its part has resorted to some of the most unorthodox measures like building walls and fences, hiring more patrol personnel along the borders and establishing sophisticated electronic surveillance along border crossings. These security strategies do not make much sense when its economic strategy encourages huge flow of people, goods and money across its formal border crossings. Worse still these strategies do not have sufficient funding and capacitation ( Adjibolosoo).
There is need for the United States to rethink some of these strategies. Our borders can be adapted to a different paradigm that focuses more on close economic integration with neighbors. The United States can closely work in partnership with its trading partners to identify the illicit alarm in their trades. This calls for cross border collaboration among the countries involved. The mode of customs inspection that we currently have in place is counterproductive. Inspecting custom facilities twice is not a sure way of arresting illicit products but just an unproductive duplication of duty. Instead our government can train custom officials from both sides of the border on common standards and then allow them to operate under common standards and rules (Trinkunas 1).
There is a need to expand pre clearance of goods that are produced by trusted manufacturers and transported by shippers who are certified. I am glad that such efforts are already at an advanced stage. There are joint developments of projects with Mexico for combined inspection of facilities. This will take place at Laredo Airport in Texas, Otay Mesa in California and Chihuahua in San Jeronimo. With the expansion of these efforts, the security resources at the border will be efficiently and effectively deployed so as to ensure that we remain safe even as we benefit from the growing trade tides ion our countries ( Adjibolosoo). This way, we will avoid building new walls that have time and again proven to be ineffective. Instead we will enhance regional integration with our neighbors cum trade partners (Johns Hopkins University Press 1).
It is however important to note that improved infrastructure in border security requires reforms in our immigration laws. Our laws currently focus on tightening the gaps available for citizens of other countries to enter into the United States. It is increasing becoming difficult for people to enter into the United States lawfully. However, this does not stop illicit goods and money from finding their ways into our country. As a matter of fact, we are locking out even genuine and law abiding people who might wish to come to the United States to pursue their dreams such as education for a brighter future.
The only solution to this is for us to formulate our immigration laws that allow genuine immigrants to come into our country in as temporary workers to seek economic opportunities in a humane way. All the lawful immigrants need to be documented and left to access the opportunities here before being allowed leave after the expiry of their contracts. This will help in curbing illicit crossings into our borders by genuine cases and leave such crossings to criminals to be scrutinized and dealt with by the intelligence community (Trinkunas 1).
If the United States pursues these reforms vigorously, it will be well placed to collaborate with our neighbors who are facing similar circumstances such as Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. These countries continue to face cross border, organized and violent crimes. A success in these endeavors will also generate fresh ideas and best practices to countries elsewhere facing the same challenges like the European countries that are currently battling similar cross border crossing challenges. Our European will learn from us if we capitalize on reforming our immigration laws and improve infrastructures for our border securities.
The united states today continue to face problems of race, politics and race if the current immigration debates are anything to go by. Just like the civil rights issues during the 1960s, these debates touch on the very soul of our country. We not only need a peaceful integration for our neighbors but for all the countries of the world as well. The current policies of the united sattes on immigrants from Latin America aresuch that they are treated as if they are threats to our security system. This approach by the United States is not different from the thinking of the Cold War error. We should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing such dogmas to cloud our policies on Latin America. The result of these retrogressive policies is multiplied political repercussions that are more destabilizing and antidemocratic in the entire region. Immigrants have been mostly affected by these policies ( Adjibolosoo).
The bad news is that these policies will continue to be with us for some more time since there has not been any substantive progress towards the development of alternative policies even by the critics of the existing policies. To find an alternative, policy players will be required to root their different conceptions on democracy and citizenship and view immigration in a different context. This can be the enhancement of integral socioeconomic development in the entire region. It should be aimed at strengthening the transnational networks and practices that the immigrants are also developing. It is my argument that policy should not only be human but also seek to be more rational (Trinkunas 1).
Works cited
Adjibolosoo, Senyo K. Rethinking development theory and policy : a human factor critique. Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 1998. Print.
Johns Hopkins University Press. "American Crossings." 2015. Johns Hopkins University Press. 02 Feb 2016 <https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/american-crossings>.
Trinkunas, Harold. "Fear itself: Why closed borders are bad for America and the world." 2015. Foreign Policy in a Troubled World. 13 Feb 2016 <http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/order-from-chaos/posts/2015/11/20-rethinking-border-security-trinkunas>.
