Thread: Where Does Border Security Rank in National Priorities?

By: Sylvia Longmire

02/07/2012 ( 3:48pm)

On Jan. 24, President Obama delivered his fourth State of the Union address. Given the typical length of presidential State of the Union addresses, he was able to cover a wide variety of topics, with the American economy as the centerpiece – and for good reason.

However, when discussing foreign policy and external threats, the Southwest border merited one sentence; Mexico was never mentioned, and the subjects of illegal immigration and immigration reform consisted of just one tiny paragraph. Obama said:

“I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That's why my Administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That's why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office … We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now.”

The Texas Border Coalition—a collective voice of border mayors, county judges and economic development commissions—definitely took notice of the omission.

“President Obama missed an opportunity for bold action this evening by failing to sign on to a strategy that refocuses America’s border security priorities where our nation is most vulnerable: at the legal border crossings,” said Eagle Pass, Texas, mayor and coalition chairman Ramsey Cantu, adding, it is “unfortunate” that Obama did not mention that powerful drug cartels from Mexico continue to enjoy commercial success along the Southwestern border, or the fact that the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] has yet to develop a cohesive strategy to confront them.

So what does that tell us about where border security policy lies in the grand scheme of US government priorities?

This omission from President Obama’s annual address isn’t a first. There is no mention of Mexico, immigration or border security in the 2009 State of the Union address, and the drug war was in full swing at the time, particularly in Tijuana where the murder rate was reaching record numbers in a turf battle between the Arellano Félix Organization and the Sinaloa Federation. The same goes for the 2010 State of the Union.

In the 2011 State of the Union, immigration and border security warranted a two-sentence mention:

“Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. And I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows.”

There has been a similar pattern in the rare mentions of border security in the GOP debates thus far. On Nov. 22, 2011, CNN hosted the National Security Debate between the seven Republican candidates at the time. They all discussed their views on how best to secure the border, but each of the candidates’ proposed solutions was vague—probably because there’s no standard idea for what a secure border means or would look like.

Governor Rick Perry’s strategy consisted of “strategic fencing, with the boots on the ground, with the aviation assets, and then working with Mexico in particular.”

Congressman Ron Paul said, “What I'm, sort of, tired of is all the money spent and lives lost worrying about the borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan and forgetting about our borders between the United States and Mexico. We should think more about, you know, what we do at home.”

Paul did, however, move straight into a discussion about illegal immigration without offering a specific border security strategy. Later on, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich mentioned “controlling the border,” and former Gov. Mitt Romney said, “Certainly we have to secure the border.”

But neither offered a detailed explanation of what that might entail.

Of the Republican candidates that remain—Romney, Gingrich, Paul and former Sen. Rick Santorum—they have focused significantly more on discussions about how to tackle illegal immigration and the reform of immigration policy than defining strategies for efficiently enhancing border security. And given that President Obama hasn’t made a significant mention of border security in a State of the Union speech since his election and believes the Southwest border is safer and more secure than ever, where does that leave border security in the national priority list?

Unfortunately, whether a Republican candidate gets elected or Obama gets reelected, it’s starting to look like the Southwest border—and developing a more defined, collaborative and effective border security strategy—is doomed to remain at the bottom of the national security totem pole of concerns.

Something that may have been overlooked when determining the content of the address is the perception by the Mexican government. The US government is more involved in Mexico’s security situation than ever before, and the level of cross-border agency cooperation—while it still has a long way to go—is unprecedented.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has accepted responsibility for the drug war on behalf of the United States, which has committed $1.7 billion dollars by way of the Mérida initiative to fight transnational criminal organizations. What message does omitting all these things send to the Mexican government about how the US government views this partnership?

The US Department of Justice, in its 2011 National Drug Threat Assessment, clearly articulated that "Mexican drug trafficking organizations represent the greatest organized crime threat to the United States … The influence of Mexican drug trafficking organizations over domestic drug trafficking is unrivalled.”

Yet, this threat—deemed significant and “unrivalled” by the Department of Justice, went without mention for the fourth year in a row in a State of the Union address. It appears that, based on this pattern and the responses by leading Republican candidates during campaign debates, there likely won’t be any major changes or improvements with regards to border security policy in 2013.

A retired Air Force captain and former special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Homeland Security Today correspondent Sylvia Longmire worked as the Latin America desk officer analyzing issues in the US Southern Command area of responsibilty that might affect the security of deployed Air Force personnel. From Dec. 2005 through July 2009, she worked as an intelligence analyst for the California state fusion center and the California Emergency Management Agency's situational awareness Unit, where she focused almost exclusively on Mexican drug trafficking organizations and Southwest border violence issues. Her book, "Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars," was published in Sept. To contact Sylvia, email her at: sylvia(at)longmireconsulting.com.



[Editor’s note: US Border Patrol last year completed an overhaul of its national border security strategy – the first since 2004 – which it is in the process of implementing. The outlines of this new strategy will be the focus of a report in the March issue of Homeland Security Today]

Homeland Security Today: Where Does Border Security Rank in National Priorities?

In the 2011 State of the Union, immigration and border security warranted a two-sentence mention:

“Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. And I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows.”

Pant on fire!!! He makes his own laws, administrative amnesty, which encourage more border crossings.