Increasing Security at The Mexican American Border

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Recommended: Immigration and its effects on the economy

Nowhere else in the world does an invisible line draw such a disparity in wealth and lifestyle. Our border with Mexico divides one of the West's richest countries with a struggling third world economy. The nature of the border presents many unique issues; Mexican refuges looking for a better life here in America, Mexican drug lords exporting drugs to drug savvy America, American jobs going overseas for cheaper labor, as well as the integrating of our two cultures. Mexican immigration is a liability in our country, for reasons that I will state. Yet despite its threat to the American way of life and economy, many powerful elites believe in amnesty because: it drives down labor costs (but they forget to mention workers wages as well), it is "racist" (or at least many political figures will have you believe), and it is a huge untapped constituency. I believe that it would be in the United States best interest to increase our military presence and use of high tech surveillance on the border and continue to work bilaterally with Mexico, as well as create harsher domestic laws to help limit the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants into our nation. The first major concern regarding the borders for the United States is illegal immigration. In January of 2000, the INS estimated that there were 7 million illegal immigrants in the United States with the number growing by about 500,000 a year. Under the Bush Administration, funding has increased along main entry points, displacing illegal immigrants points of entry into the country. Yet the increase has displaced immigration to rural immigration points, causing many every year to die from starvation and heat stroke. Despite the harsh conditions, immigration has grown rather th... ... middle of paper ... ...the problem. In the past our government has been persuaded by special interest groups, and the federal government is very sensitive to public opinion. In order to put the average Americans interest above special interest groups, the American public needs to demand a material solution to the border problem. Anti-drug commercials and programs in schools are nice, but are the equivalent of throwing a bucket of water on a wildfire; its just not going to get the job done. Bibliography: Andreas, Peter. Border Games: Policing the US-Mexico Divide, Cornell University Press, London, 2000. The Center of Immigration Studies, www.CIS.org, October 25, 2004. Bustamante, Reynolds, and Hinojosa. US-Mexico Relations, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. 1992. Ingraham, Laura. Shut up and Sing. Regnery Publishing Inc, Washington DC, 2001.

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