Thread: Mexico, mafias and baggy borders

Mexico, mafias and baggy borders

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Posted: March 23, 2009
1:00 am Eastern

© 2009

Do you ever wonder how we can conquer the Middle East when we can't close our own borders?

In the news just last week was this small sampling of headlines:

"Locals, Feds Prepare for Any Escalation of Mexican Border Violence"

"N[ew] M[exico] delegation asks for border task force"

"Texas lawmakers angered by border security money being spent in other regions"

"U.S. Sues Railroad Over Smugglers"

"Border drain open for hours before 8 entered it"

More than 7,000 lives have been lost in Mexico's drug war in just the last 14 months, in which nine out of 10 guns recovered from crime scenes came from the U.S. Border towns are experiencing outrageous escalations in crime, including more than 300 drug-related kidnappings in Phoenix alone in 2008 (most involved Mexican immigrants with ties to drug cartels).

Isn't it finally time we built a wall that works? Isn't it time we quit restricting our border agents by granting illegals more rights than our citizens? Isn't it time we post military personnel at particularly hot illegal crossings?

Rather than the Obama administration shifting tens of millions of dollars from investigating employers guilty of hiring illegal immigrants to fighting Mexican drug cartels, they should leave that money alone and hunt down the $100 million-plus that AIG executives robbed from taxpayers for their bonuses.

We don't need another government study on Mexican border safety conducted by newly installed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. We need action, now!



Congress authorized a border fence in 2005 – that was four long years ago for anyone bad at basic math. It approved $2.6 billion for border enhancement, but we still have illegals and contraband crossing our borders like gnats through a screen.

As with others, I opposed the amnesty bill introduced in the U.S. Senate in 2007. But I supported Congress' roughly $3 billion directed to build up border security – monies used to train and deploy 23,000 more agents, build 700 miles of fence and 300 miles of vehicle barriers, add four drone airplanes, and erect 105 radar and camera towers.

Border Patrol and Homeland Security have made some headway in securing our borders. But our nation's boundaries, ports and airports remain largely open runways for illegal and terrorist transport. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., reminded his constituents of that very fact when he described another type of illegal crossing, those from the United States to Mexico. It appears drug cartels are again using revenue derived from their "free trade" to illegally purchase weapons in the United States and smuggle them back into Mexico, with the result that murder rates have shot up more than 100 percent in certain towns.

One of the aspects of illegal immigration often overlooked is the effect upon the 30,000 street gangs with up to 1 million members in the United States. The gang considered the most dangerous is he MS-13, which has ties to the Mexican mafia. It is estimated at 10,000 members, many of whom are illegals. Approximately 700 MS-13 members were arrested by law enforcement officials in 2005. According to the Washington Times, MS-13 is believed to have a major smuggling operation, which transports drugs, firearms and people. What's even more alarming is that, in 2005, the Honduran security minister and the president of El Salvador warned that MS-13 was in dialogue with al-Qaida to transport terrorists into our country! With MS-13 currently in 44 states, we must secure the borders now. (Seventy percent of the kids in our martial arts public school program, KICKSTART are Latino, and gangs are constantly trying to recruit them. But we will not allow anyone to participate in the program if they are a part of any gang. KICKSTART has provided an alternative and safe haven for young people from gangs, and that is one more reason I believe the KICKSTART program should be in every state across the nation.)

Exacerbating the border crisis is the fact that there continues to be a shortage of both Border Patrol and other government security officials. The Homeland Security Department is still trying to fill 2007's 138 vacancies in high-level jobs – an employment crisis that it calls "a critical homeland security issue that demands immediate attention." And that crisis will continue until we increase the pay and benefits for border agents. I believe this so strongly that I have done public service announcements encouraging their enlistment.

I was reminded of their need for a salary increase when I was on the campaign trail with Mike Huckabee. We stopped in Laredo, Texas, and met with the Border Patrol. The agency gave us a tour of the area and explained to us what its operations were there. One of the Border Patrol agents and I struck up a conversation. As we were talking, I asked him if his pay as a Border Patrol agent was adequate. He said in certain states he gets by, but while stationed in California he had to split rent with two other agents to afford the cost of living. I didn't ask how much his salary was, but I've always felt law enforcement from every branch was underpaid for the responsibility they have in protecting us. If we expect to attract and maintain quality personnel, then state and federal governments need to work together to make the position of border agents more financially appealing.

Now more than ever, we must protect our borders and sovereignty. So far, our government has failed to produce suitable solutions to securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration. Amnesty is not the answer. And immigration laws aren't effective if we continue to allow them to be dodged or ignored. Furthermore, globalization efforts have only confused security matters, further endangering our borders as well as our national identity – our sovereignty.

And the question that keeps coming back to my mind is: How is it that we can militarily overthrow a tyrant like Saddam Hussein in Iraq, yet we can't keep illegals from crossing our borders? As Mike Huckabee says, "If the government can't track illegals, then let's outsource the job to UPS or Fed Ex." It's true. If they can track a lost package anywhere in the world within minutes, they can certainly track down and keep track of illegals.

Re: "Locals, Feds Prepare for Any Escalation of Mexican Border Violence"

"N[ew] M[exico] delegation asks for border task force"

"Texas lawmakers angered by border security money being spent in other regions"

Don't forget Arizona's new Governor Jan Brewer has ALSO asked the Administration for added National Guard troops on the Border.
Also, Arizona Attorney General, Terry Goddard addressed Congress last week reporting the increased narco-terrorist violence and increase Illegal Immigration.