Many believe that border security is at a high with the production of the wall, but that is not the case. Blas Nunez-Neto, a senior policy researcher at RAND, states, “there are more Border Patrol agents deployed along the southwest border than ever. This is due to the fact that the wall has grown so large that they require a lot of men to defend it, but there is still not enough men to defend the border 24 hours. Neto explains that “they need to run three to four shifts a day.” For this reason it is hard for border patrol to say how effective the borders are, which basically means illegal immigrants are making it past the border. Neto states, “the U.S border with Mexico is almost 2000 miles long.” At this point it is still growing and the United States does not have enough men for it. In other words, the U.S will need more manpower to continue building the wall and to defend it as well. The Department of Homeland Security is currently researching ways to use surveillance, so that immigrants crossing the border can be seen. This is seen as an increase in effectiveness of the U.S border, but it is almost impossible to measure the security of the border. For example, Neto says, “despite the billions that have been spent on securing the border since 9/11, the U.S. still struggles to define what a secure border looks like.” There are also a lot more refugees and immigrants trying to reach the United States right now. I believe it will continue to be this way as the United States continues to grow. As we continue to grow, the security must be raised to a higher standard if immigrants are not wanted to illegally come into the U.S.
On the other hand, without the continuation of some sort of security along the border, more illegal immigrants would be crossing into the U.S right now. The increase of security is obviously effecting the U.S in a positive way, but it is also a negative in the fact that the people guarding it lack certain traits. For instance, there have been several news reports lately where the border security have killed immigrants. Most of the killings are definitely unnecessary considering that most immigrants do not have weapons. Of course, some of them did have weapons and had to be dealt with. To increase the effectiveness of border security, you would need to get qualified soldiers to guard the border. Not the soldiers who have been blindly murdering unarmed immigrants. They are there to ‘secure’ the border, not to shoot perpetrators. I think the effectiveness can be measured by the quality of soldier you put on security. This also leads back to the number of soldiers that they have. They are working three to four shifts a day, so most of them are not going to be working at their best. The fencing itself should be enough to deter most people thinking about entering illegally. Leigh Ann Caldwell, a spokesperson for NBC news claims, “fencing extends six feet underground and fifteen feet into the air.” The border is in great condition, but it does gave holes in it considering it’s a fence. This should have been prevented when the government was building this ‘wall.’ It allows the illegals to attack through the fence without coming over it which is a lack of security. Caldwell states that “Funding for the border jumped from $1.1 billion in 2001 to $1.5 billion in 2003.” The government is putting in the effort to secure our borders so that we are safe. There have been great improvements and some alterations that definitely need work. Overall, I think the effort they put in has protected the US sufficiently.
Another strongly debated topic on border security is if they should use military equipment, and the answer is usually going to be yes. Martha McSally, a US Representative of The House explains, “When deployed, VADER [Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar] will allow operators to track ground movement with great detail and make this information available to ground commanders in real time.” Surveillance is a great use for military equipment at the border. Not only is it non-violent, but it provides us with vision of illegal immigrants. They could be trafficking drugs or weapons across our border, and the VADER will give the US vision of them a long time before they will even know. McSally also states that “[S]ince 2012 VADER has detected over 33,000 people moving across the southwest border.” Statistically, this has saved the US from 33,000 illegal immigrants from entering and endangering our community. On the other hand, it is believed that the use of militarization can run migrants off to other border countries where they are more likely to be in danger. For example, a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson states, “This militarized enforcement strategy, dubbed ‘prevention-through-deterrence’ by Border Patrol, was conceived to intentionally force undocumented migrants away from urban areas to attempt crossings in more remote and dangerous terrain.” I agree that some legal migrants and refugees will be hurt by securing the border with militarization, but it is hard to know who is legal and who is trying to smuggle drugs. The only way to properly protect the border with US safety in mind, is to secure against everyone who is trying to cross it. There are a lot more illegal immigrants than there are refugees trying to enter the US. Using militarization to properly secure US borders is the safest, and most effective way to do so. ��
Exit west themes 