A Sensible Border Policy – It’s about Security!

A comprehensive immigration reform should include a sensible border policy.

About 15 years ago, the U.S. government started to tighten its enforcement of the U.S.-Mexico border, spending more and more money and more and more personnel to patrol 2,000 miles of, mostly, wilderness and erecting an occasional, high tech fence. Today, these measures have hardly made a dent in the flow of undocumented immigration but have contributed to the deaths of thousands of migrants who took greater and greater risks to cross. And yet, our elected officials’ enthusiasm for these short-sighted, inefficient and expensive policies has not diminished.

From the border, we can see that what we have achieved is the growth of violent organized criminal rings that smuggle immigrants through ever rougher terrain and increase their fees according to the level of U.S. border enforcement applied. We have also neglected our bi-national economy and our way of life by focusing so much resource on immigration control.

What’s worse, we have not gained more security.

There is a better way: A sensible immigration policy that draws a clear line between immigration and criminal enforcement, that redirects funds and resources to criminal enforcement, and that better staffs ports of entry.

Such a policy would

-Save lives. An average of 400 undocumented immigrants die each year in search of work opportunities in the United States. They die mostly from exposure in the Arizona desert, some abandoned by their smugglers. Stricter enforcement only causes more migrants to take lethal risks and migrant deaths are increasing.

-Disrupt organized crime. Migrant smugglers, some belonging to groups loosely affiliated with violent Mexican drug cartels, take advantage of increased border enforcement and migrants’ desperation. They have raised their fees and are prospering.

-Make communities safer. The cooperation of the community is essential for police to be able to investigate crime and keep their jurisdiction safe. Police need people to report crimes, provide eye witness accounts and denounce fugitives hiding in their midst. But programs that mandate police to do immigration enforcement (such as 287 (g)) cause the community to hold back for fear that their cooperation will cause their deportation or the deportation of a loved one. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has come out against legislation that would compel police enforcement of immigration laws.

-Focus resources on real threats. There are now many more Border Patrol agents on the border than ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and explosives) agents looking at arms traffickers that supply the violent Mexican drug cartels with American guns. Resources would be better used targeting drug traffickers, arms traffickers and other criminals, rather than chase gardeners and construction workers.

-Save money. The current border policy is not fiscally responsible. The border fence, for instance, is costing $4 million per mile, and has not accomplished much except to disrupt ecosystems and anger border communities.

-Enhance our economy. Our economy and way of life depend on our ability to commute across the border without too much delay or aggravation everyday for work, business deals and family visits. This cross-border traffic generates billions in economic activity each year and increased wait times have cost us, and the rest of America, dearly. We need to redirecting resources to smooth out traffic and increase security at the ports of entry, instead of chasing immigrants between ports of entry.

Border security cannot be a political pawn thrown around at election times. Our region is a vibrant, integral part of this country and we need a sensible, accountable and workable policy to see it and the entire nation flourish.

A sensible and comprehensible immigration reform that includes a sensible border policy is good the nation. Let’s pass it!