The US/Mexican Border

The US/Mexican Border

The Real Story

The official border line on the bridge between McAllen, TX and Progresso, Mexico

During the most recent election, immigration and border security became a very common and controversial topic. President Bush stated many times that as a part of the increased “homeland security” since September 11 the border had been made more secure because illegal immigrants posed a threat to our national security. Bush cited the new additions in manpower and technology to the border patrol as making America safer and greatly lessening the amount of immigration. Listening to Bush, one would expect vast amounts of security along the border and very little illegal immigration actually taking place. Visiting the border, one finds something entirely different. The reality behind the border is one that few people realize until they have personal experience with it.

Any major border crossing looks about like a person would expect it to, with long lines of cars waiting to go through a security check point.

The long line of cars waiting to cross the border from Ciudad-Juarez into El Paso.

Most of these security checks involve only stating the country of your citizenship or the country in which you were born and then you are allowed to pass. As can be seen in the above photo, if they were to spend much more time than that on each car lines would become way too long, but it is hard to believe that they are really accomplishing much in such a short check. If someone in a particular car has something suspicious about them (such as being from Zimbabwe, as we found out), that car will be pulled aside for a more thorough inspection. At a few of the crossings we saw drug dogs, which alert customs agents to cars that need to be searched more thoroughly. While these checks may find some illegal crossers and smugglers and may act as a deterrent for some, it is hard to believe that they have a significant impact.

The border patrol made the case to us that the security checkpoints do keep the border secure because the agents are able to quickly pick out suspicious characteristics and don’t need a long time to talk to people or a thorough search for most vehicles. But, the border patrol agents also gave the impression that if a person wanted to cross illegally badly enough, they probably could. In fact, it sounded as though all a person really needed to do was to cross in a large group. The agents on foot would be able to catch a few members of the group, but most would be able to get across safely. Once passed the border patrol they would be able to blend in easily in any American border city, where many people are of Hispanic decent and also speak Spanish. The members of the group that are caught are merely sent back across the border where they can try again the next day. Since there is no criminal processing of people crossing the border illegally, there is really no consequence for those who fail. While it would likely be too costly and too time consuming to prosecute every person who attempts to cross illegally, it seems unfair to the border patrol agents not to. Right now, border patrol agents have what is essentially an impossible job, because no matter how many times they catch a person, that person will keep on trying until he/she finds a way that works. The border patrol may be able to slow the rate of illegal immigration, but there is really nothing they can do to stop it. So, after just the first few days along the border, it became very hard to believe that President Bush’s additions to the border patrol have really made our borders any more secure.

As we continued our travels west, the border began to look less and less like the secure division I’d once pictured. Just outside of El Paso, the Rio Grande became much smaller. Suddenly, the river did not seem like such an expansive, difficult to cross boundary. The border quickly became just a line of rocks and a marker, something that a person could easily walk across. This “line in the sand” was still monitored by the El Paso border patrol, but it was a very easy place for a group of immigrants to walk across.

The border had been reduced to almost nothing, as these pictures show. The border here is a major change compared to the central El Paso crossing, for example. Pictures like these are likely not what people have in mind when they picture a secure border, which is why this region must be seen to be fully understood and appreciated.

Left: Matthew Taylor admires the border division formed by some rocks and a small fence.

Below: My feet in two different countries at once.

Below: The border monument with a border patrol agent.

think that they have only a short walk until they reach an American city, though they actually have many miles to go. Though this is, in a sense, successful security since nature does keep many immigrants from reaching safe places within the US, the lives of many uninformed, desperate immigrants are put at risk. Also, it is very difficult for Americans to keep tabs on who and what crosses through an area like this.

After seeing the entire border, it is very apparent that there is little or no actual security. In light of all of the national security fears in the US, it seems strange that so little security actually exists. So one must ask, what should the US government really be doing about illegal immigration. If the government wants to stop illegal immigration, it needs to find a new strategy. The border patrol has significant manpower and technology at its disposal, so additional funding for them is a possibility but it would likely be a futile one. As one border patrol agent said, they are doing the best that they can do right now without having a chain of border patrol agents shoulder to shoulder along the border. So, it seems that the real answer to immigration control is to look at where these immigrants go once they are across the border.

It is commonly known that many American employers hire illegal immigrants. In fact, it is really not difficult at all for an illegal immigrant to get a job in America. I talked to someone who crossed the border illegally years ago, and she told me that she has been able to get just about any job, as long as it’s not working for the government. She said that she has to do very little to hide her illegal status in day-to-day life. So, if the government really wants to stop illegal immigration, the easiest path would be to crack down on employers that are hiring these illegal immigrants. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been set up to do that, but they rarely do. If illegal immigrants were unable to work in America, there would be no reason for them to cross the border and a large part of the problem would be solved. Instead, we continue to allow these people to live here and work, though we will not allow them status as citizens. Possibly its because, though no one will admit it, we want them here, but we don’t want them to have rights.

Some people think that a solution would be to open the border completely, since we are currently spending so much money on border security which is essentially being wasted, since our border is no more secure because of it. With an open border, immigrants would be able to cross into the US to make a living, earn decent wages, and pay taxes like any American would. The problem with an open border is that America would become overcrowded, as many say it already is. Also, an open border would mean that American employers would no longer be able to get cheap labor from Mexicans on either side of the border, which, though nobody wants to admit it, would be disastrous to our economy. Since America is so much richer than Mexico, (America’s per capita GDP is $37,800, Mexico’s is $9,000) (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/), America would only stand to lose by opening the border. As politicians see it, opening the border would be giving up a lot of our power.

I think that it’s important to have a secure border, but I also think that we are going about it the wrong way. To stop illegal immigration we need to go after employers who are hiring illegally, but I believe that there should first be an amnesty for those who have been living here illegally but have held down jobs and have not been in trouble. These people don’t deserve to be sent away from their livelihood. Then, there needs to be a nationwide effort to cut down on illegal hiring, therefore making the border more secure. Once there is less immigration, we will be able to better analyze the situation and figure out what the next step should be. Along with lessening immigration, I think that we should also offer some sort of aid to Mexico so that they are better able to build up their own country.

In the meantime, I think people need to be educated on this issue. Many people, myself included until I took this trip, have almost no understanding of the dynamics of the border region. It is difficult to understand immigration until one has seen it first hand. As I quickly realized, it isn’t anything like most of the media makes it out to be. Once Americans better understand the issues surrounding these problems, the better we will be able to solve the problem. As with most other political issues though, there does not seem to be one clear distinct solution.

Just in case this paper got too difficult or depressing, here’s a pretty sunset from the drive to Douglas.