The AZ/Mexico border: still volatile
December 23, 9:49 AM
by Marlene Phillips, Phoenix Liberal Examiner

When Arizona's governor, Janet Napolitano, starts her new job as the head of Homeland Security she'll have an immediate problem to address, one that's all too familiar to her and not getting any better: maintaining safety and security at the Arizona-Mexico border. The border, as it's simply referred to by most in this region, has always been a difficult and complicated issue with few easy answers, but three recent news items illustrate the pressing need for action:

1. Attacks on U.S. border agents at the Arizona border has increased by 20% this year over last. According to a report done by Tucson's local NBC affiliate KVOA, which covers the border as well if not better than other local news stations, attacks on border agents may be tied to frustration over the increase in manpower, and better and more sophisticated technology being employed at the border.

2. Arizona has added fewer border patrol agents than Texas and California. Again, installation of better technology is cited in the KVOA report as justification for the smaller figure of new hires, but you've got to wonder if news item #1, the increase in attacks, might also have something to do with it. One question that should be addressed: does replacing the human element with high-tech patrolling make the border more secure while also increasing indiscriminant surveillance on everyone in the region?

3. Drug violence is on the rise in Mexico, and drug smuggling shows no sign of decreasing. Just this week it was reported that $600,000 in marijuana was found abandoned in the desert, which led to the arrest of drug smugglers and, once again, border patrol officers involved in the arrest were attacked. Across the border, the drug-related violence is horrifying. The latest gruesome news, of decapitated soldiers found north of Acapulco, sickened everyone who read it. But nobody here expects it to be the last such story we read.

Because here in Tucson, these stories are a staple of our nightly news, we read them regularly in our daily newspaper. The rest of the country doesn't. My well-informed friends and family scattered across this country are amazed, and appalled, to hear me tell these stories - of immigrants brought over by human smugglers and then abandoned in the desert, of drug related shoot outs on the once quiet streets of Nogales Mexico, of teenagers being taken from Tucson high schools and sent back to Mexico.

Governor Napolitano, you understand the complexity of the border issue. With your new position you're going to have a lot on your plate. But, please, don't forget this one. Don't forget the border. Don't forget us.

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