Stratfor, a global intelligence firm, produced a brief video outlining several of the deficiencies of US border security. Despite greater surveillance equipment and miles of fencing along the southern border, illegal immigration and drug cartel violence continue to thwart border security. A lack of physical assets on the ground, due to inadequate local, state, and federal funding, make for a porous border. In addition, due to funding issues, border patrol planes do not fly nights and weekends, and as a result of the massive troop presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, a significantly depleted National Guard presence on US soil is unable to provide much needed physical surveillance.
Various solutions have been proposed to quell cross-border drug violence and stem the tide of illegal immigration. Some have proposed legalizing certain narcotics to stamp out the black market and related crime industry. Others have proposed a more significant militarization of the border, specifically with greater numbers of border patrol agents, citizen militias, and National Guardsmen. Border patrol agents have even begun enlisting Predator Drones, heavily utilized in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other Middle East nations, though their expanded use raises a number of questions. Still others continue to propose stricter regulations on businesses that employ illegal immigrants in order to negate the economic incentive to enter into California and other states to find more lucrative work.
Thus far, the political will and the development of effective solutions have been sorely lacking in this important arena.
An insider’s look at what's happening in Sacramento.
