Illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and narco-cartel violence.

Sylvia Longmire, in the article “How Mexican Cartels Are Changing the Face of Immigration” (2014), brings attention to a phenomenon that touches upon three areas of concern to the security of our border. These issues are illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and narco-cartel violence. This is a short discussion, basically an introduction to the concept that the actions of the cartels are affecting immigration patterns.

Of course, the focus of the article is on immigration. Longmire presents the figures demonstrating an increase in asylum requests from 2005 to 2011 (2014, p. 112). Even beyond the macro issues of the economic damage caused by illegal immigration, Whitfield discusses the threat presented by routes of this activity (2011, p.54).

According to Longmire, cartel usurpation of immigrant smuggling routes has morphed into a blend of drug smuggling, with approximately one out of every three illegal aliens having been coerced into acting as a drug mule (2014, p. 111). Willoughby identifies drug trafficking as a national security issue (2003, pp. 113-118). The use of forced labor to smuggle drugs highlights the third problem, which is cartel violence.

Longmire cites the fears of such illegal aliens of being deported back to face the cartels. One quote is as follows, “ I don’t care how long I’m going to get [in jail time], I can’t go home — they’ll kill

me” (2014, p.111). Pan et al report that drug violence spills over into neighboring states (2012, p. 29). Although their discussion was limited to Mexico, it does not take much to extrapolate the threat of cartel violence within the United States.

The major weakness of the article is in it's brevity at seven pages. All of the areas discussed have major import to the security of our borders. For the most part I agree with Longmire's assessment of the situation. However, Longmire suggests that border controls such as agents or fences will not deter the surge of immigrants (2014, p. 113), while I feel that an honest effort to improve border security would be able to contest all three threats presented by this new development.

Pan, M., Widner, B., & Enomoto, C. E. (2012). Spillover Effects of Crimes in Neighboring States of Mexico. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(14), n/a. Retrieved January 30, 2015 from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/1022642042/abstract?accountid=87314

Longmire, S. (2014). How Mexican Cartels Are Changing the Face of Immigration. The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 38(2), 109–114. Retrieved January 30, 2015 from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/1565808412?pq-origsite=summon

Whitfield, N. S. (2011, December). Traveling the terror highway: infiltration of terror operatives across the U.S.-Mexico border. (Thesis). Naval Postgraduate School. Retrieved October 17, 2014 from https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/10708

Willoughby, R. (2003). Crouching Fox, Hidden Eagle: Drug trafficking and transnational security - A perspective from the Tijuana-San Diego border. Crime, Law and Social Change, 40(1), 113+. Retrieved January 30, 2015 from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/216163836/abstract/D97A1748D81B4343PQ/1?accountid=87314

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The best way to combat illegal immigration is a combination of  methods: 1)  Cut off all welfare benefits for non-citizens (including legal aliens) 2)  Start punishing businesses that employ illegal workers 3) Take the handcuffs of the Border Patrol and let them do their job 4)  Build a fence along the Israeli model (this is expensive, but could be built over time) 5)  Deport as caught;  when an illegal alien is arrested for any crime, he should be deported immediately unless he has committed a crime against a person, in which case he should be jailed. It should be harder to get into this country, it should be riskier to stay in this country, and it should not be rewarded to sneak into this country. We have citizens on welfare; they should be the ones getting the jobs that illegals do.

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Ran across this for the w4a4 paper: Whitfield, N. S. (2011, December). Traveling the terror highway: infiltration of terror operatives across the U.S.-Mexico border. Naval Postgraduate School. Retrieved from https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/10708

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Do you think that foreigners should have the same protections as citizens, especially at the border?

It has been a long held principle of American law since the 1870's (the 14th Amendment)  that anyone within the United States should be given the same due process protections as citizens. The 14th was created to give former slaves legal protections that some born outside the country would not have been given as freed slaves.

The Supreme Court ruled on several cases re: Chinese railroad workers which in effect gave the legal protections of citizens to all within our borders ( and this has been used lately that it should extend to our operations outside our borders as well).

I think the Supreme Court erred in this interpretation;  while the vehicle for turning the former slaves into citizens was necessary, and that the immigrant Chinese deserved some sort of protection, that a blanket equalization of aliens with citizens (whether those citizens be native or naturalized) is basically a loophole for enemies of ours to operate under our protection.