The U.S border patrol

Posted: September 9th, 2013

The U.S border patrol

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The U.S border patrol

            The United States shares its southern border with Mexico. This border is almost two thousand miles long. It is one of the most dangerous borders in the world. Mexico has not constructed any personal barrier along the border. However, the U.S has built barriers along its country using the taxpayer’s money. It does this in order to prevent illegal immigration cases. The Americans have different ideas on the border issue. Some of them feel that the border security should be increased. On the other hand, others feel that the negative effects of the border outweigh the positive ones. However, the U.S government views the Mexican border security as a vital part of their Homeland Security program. The duties and responsibilities of the border security are one of the most important and dangerous tasks of all the enforcement positions in the country.

This is because the southern border is a harsh and unwelcoming territory that poses a serious challenge to the border security efforts. Since 9/11, the border security has been of considerable importance to the American Homeland Security. This border poses a threat to the U.S since it enables drug trafficking, alien smuggling and terrorism. However, the common threats in this border are illegal imports smuggling and the human trafficking. The fact that the border is a hundred mile desert with rugged mountains creates an environment that enables the conduction of criminal activities. The security in the U.S-Mexico border has increased the number of the civil militia groups. These groups are also referred to as the vigilantes. The vigilantes harass the immigrants passing through the border. In addition, due to the increased security, the migrants use the human smugglers to carry out the illegal activities along the border (Andreas, 2009).

These migrants charge expensive amounts for every trip they make. On the other hand, the smugglers also put the migrants in dangerous situations. This has led to multiple deaths. In addition, the smugglers also engage in criminal activities such as rapes and coercion. This border also poses a threat of gang violence. The gang members in Mexico transport illegal aliens to the U.S. This is dangerous to the border patrol security since the smuggled aliens aim to kill the border patrol agents. They also involve themselves in the drug trafficking activities. The Mexican drug associations have the power to smuggle drugs in the U.S. These drug associations use the illegal immigrants to transport marijuana and other drugs to the U.S. The cases of identity theft also pose a threat to the U.S citizens. The illegal immigrants use the Americans social security numbers. This enables them to acquire counterfeit work documentation. In addition, the terrorists also enter the U.S through the southern border.

In order to make the border safe and secure for all the U.S citizens, the U.S has introduced laws that restrain the smuggling activities along the border. This law also minimizes the migrants’ risks. This involves the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000. This has also balanced the extreme border control policies that cause the deaths of the desperate migrants. In addition, in order to handle the vigilante group well, the American federal officials should detach themselves from the vigilante group. The local and the state laws should also detach themselves from the vigilante groups. This will enable them to investigate and arbitrate in the abuse and unlawful detention cases. The U.S Supreme Court should also introduce a ruling that prosecutes the illegal immigrants who practice identity theft. The illegal immigrants should be prosecuted when they use counterfeit social security numbers. The United States should also enhance their border security in order to reduce cases such as drug trafficking, human trafficking and gang violence. This will improve security in the United States (Nevins, 2010).

References

Andreas, P. (2009). Border games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico divide. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Nevins, J. (2010). Operation Gatekeeper and beyond: The war on “illegals” and the remaking of the U.S.-Mexico boundary. New York: Routledge.