Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Battle for the Border

by Ed Feulner


Almost two years ago I visited southern California to watch the U.S. Border Patrol at work. The federal government was building a fence and, with help from the National Guard, federal agents were stepping up patrols and slowing the flow of illegal aliens across our southern border.

But in homeland defense, as in politics, there are no permanent victories. Most illegal migration is now happening further east. With portions of the California border fenced off, smugglers are moving people and drugs through Arizona.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has taken some good first steps. DHS is redeploying more than 360 additional officers and agents, most to the border and some to Mexico itself. Washington will also send more technology to the border, including biometric identification equipment to help catch crossers coming north, and mobile X-ray units to recover cash and weapons headed south.

Perhaps most important are eight additional Law Enforcement Tactical Centers, where the Border Patrol shares information with local law enforcement. That’s critical.

Partnering with locals is “one of the fastest, most effective and most cost-effective ways to get more assets into the border war right now,â€