05/28/97 - 08:30CDT
The Mexico/USA Border; A Gathering Storm
Editorial/Opinion; By C. L. Staten, ENN Publisher
Chicago, IL (ENN) With an increasing number of violent incidents all along the Mexican border with the United States, and continuing revelations of major corruption involving Mexican police and anti-drug officials, it is becoming obvious that the the United States is quickly being overrun by illegal immigration, and drug importation. Recent incidents in Redford, TX., San Diego, CA., and various parts of Arizona and New Mexico should make these allegations painfully clear.
According to a recent study by the U.S. Naturalization and Immigration service, as least 275,000 illegal immigrants will enter the United States this year. Border control personnel, speaking to EmergencyNet News (ENN) on condition of anonymity, say that this is a very conservative estimate and that the number may actually be far higher. Despite more stringent immigration laws and a greater numbers of deportations, Border Patrol agents say that the number of illegal Latin American immigrants, within the United States, continues to grow each year.
In fact, experts who study the movement and control of populations say that the United States may have one of the largest illegal immigration problems in the entire world. Short of war-torn regions of Africa, few other countries have a record of such a large number of undocumented and unauthorized people entering their borders. Few other countries will tolerate the mass illegal entry of non-citizens.
The Legal/Economic
Impact of Illegal ImmigrationSeveral states, notably California, have passed legislation to reduce or prohibit costly public benefits that have been here-to-for exploited by some illegal immigrants. These new laws are seen by many as a motivational tool to discourage those that would come to the United States for the sole purpose of "looting" American welfare, educational, and medical care systems. Unfortunately, these measures have also come under legal challenge by Hispanic and other civil rights groups who would ask that courts reverse the expressed will of the people and allow non-citizens to receive the same rights and privledges as American citizens.
A number of "liberal" columnists and "think-tank" pundits have gone even further in recent days to release studies that would suggest that the American economy "needs" hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers to fill "unskilled and unwanted" jobs within the United States. At least some would appear to be attempting to justify illegal immigration as an economic necessity and an "unidentified" benefit to American business. And, it would appear that at least some less scrupulous business owners agree and are exploiting these illegal workers in sweatshops and farm fields throughout the country.
The main point that is being missed in this part of the debate is the fact that there are already more than enough poor and under-employed American citizens who need to be removed from welfare roles and put into gainful employment...without adding competition from illegal workers from poorer countries, who will work for even less money. The cycle of poverty in America's inner-cities and rural areas will never be broken if we continue to motivate able-bodied Americans to degenerate and collect welfare, while we import illegal workers to do entry-level work.
The Scourge of
Illegal Mexican DrugsIt would appear that the illegal immigration problem is also tied to the drug trafficking problem. The trips of literally hundreds of so-called "mules," illegal aliens carrying drugs and attempting to enter the United States, are reportedly facilitated each week by the Mexican drug cartels. They are allegedly provided with vehicles, fraudulent identification papers, and information about the best points of entry. In some cases, both U.S. and Mexican Custom's officials are also allegedly bribed to "look the other way" and ensure their easy crossing of the border.
Specifically in regard to drugs, according to counter-drug officials, an estimated 75% of all cocaine and 40% of all heroin that reaches the streets of America was smuggled through Mexico. DEA agents say that Mexican drug lords have become as powerful or more powerful than those leading the Colombian cartels. A 1996 San Francisco Chronicle article said that there is evidence that the Mexican drug lords are spending in excess of $500 million dollars a year to bribe and corrupt Mexican police and military officials.
Interestingly enough, a much heralded international agreement may also be contributing to this massive infusion of drugs. The NAFTA agreement essentially allows Mexican truckers free access to America's southern borders, in an effort to speed the transit of manufactured goods between Mexico and the United States. U.S. Customs agents say that pressure by officials high in the administration in Washington, to expedite without inspection the movement of thousands of tractor-trailer trucks across the border, can lead to a major importation of illegal drugs. Some more informed members of the U.S. Congress have attempted to renegotiate portions of NAFTA to close these loop-holes which make drug smuggling easier...so far with little avail.
And, least we forget, Mexican drug lords are using everything from Boeing 727 aircraft (purchased for one-way trips to remote runways), to large container ships (like those recently raided and found filled with RPG's and AK-47's) and transiting the Pacific coast for Mexico, to piggy-backed tractor-trailers, to ultra-lite aircraft, in their widely successful efforts to import dangerous drugs to this country. According to one drug enforcement agent who spoke to ENN, "the drug dealers imagination in importation methods is only exceeded by the grotesque amount of money they make in doing so." "It is a vicious circle...they sell drugs and make massive amounts of money...they use the money and violence to corrupt government systems and sell even more drugs...thus making even more money."
Territorial
InstabilityAt least some military analysts are becoming increasingly alarmed at the instability of some areas of the border between the United States and Mexico. They point to "cross-border" raids by "armies" funded by the drug cartels, intimidation of American property owners, and the "almost total corruption of police and some army commanders" in the northern Mexican states. Drug inspired violence in a number of border towns continues to spiral out of control, and reports of multiple homicides are being received by ENN on a frequent basis. Two incidents of border patrol officers being fired upon from across the Mexican border have been received by ENN in recent weeks.
Additionally, evidence continues to surface of ties between Mexican drug cartels and internal "popular revolutionary forces" who would chose to overthrow the established Mexican government by force. Incidents of assaults on Mexican police and military bases continue to be reported with alarming frequency. Often with support from communist or socialist ideologs from other Latin American countries, and now armed and trained by the drug dealers, groups like the Zapatista National Liberation Army, and the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) have had at least some success in carrying out an armed insurgency against the Mexican government.
Worse that these already terrible circumstances are recent allegations that the Mexican cartels are hiring retired or ex-special operations soldiers, law enforcement officers, and intelligence operatives to work for them in their internal security forces. By paying extremely large "tax-free" salaries and offering handsome benefits like free travel and nice housing, it would appear that at least some extremely able American citizens have become mercenary allies of the cartels. If true, the addition of these well-trained and extremely capable American collaborators could add a fearsome and troubling dimension to the already difficult problems on the Mexican/U.S. border.
Finally, it should also be noted that officially unconfirmed reports continue to be received which indicate that large numbers of increasing sophisticated weapons are being imported into Mexico and finding their way into the hands of revolutionary organizations and the private soldiers of the drug cartels. If wide-spread rebellion ensues in Mexico, those combatting it will no longer be facing pistols, single-shot carbines or shotguns. More likely they will be forced to combat state-of-the-art assault rifles, RPG's, SAM's, and other crew-served weapons, being imported from Europe, China and parts of the former Soviet Union.
ConclusionsThe time for a serious national examination of the implicit ties between illegal immigration and drug importation has come. Although much ado was made of the intra-country relationship between the United States and Mexico during recent debates about the "recertification" of Mexico in the war on drugs, little was actually accomplished. Political, ideological, and economic factors have apparently overridden the past damage that has been done, and have caused policy-makers to disregard the inherent future dangers caused by drugs and the people who bring them to the United States.
While it should be made clear that many of the problems caused by illegal drug trafficking should be laid directly on the door-step of affluent Americans who buy and use drugs, it does not diminish the responsibility of those producing them, those transporting them, nor of those exploiting hundreds of thousands of wretched users for personal profit. Furthermore, it can not allow those elected to represent us, at the local, state, or federal level to "throw up their hands" and tell us that the problem is unsolvable, or that the answer is to "legalize dangerous drugs."
At the risk of sounding xenophobic, or even simplistic, it is believed that both problems involving immigration and drug importation may be a fundamental product of the age-old struggle between "haves against have-nots." In this case, America is the one with the jobs and money and a seemingly unquenchable demand for self-destructive substances; Mexico and Colombia are the "poor" countries with the required natural resources.
Sadly, unless some dramatic political and economic changes occur in Mexico, even greater unrest and social upheaval is likely. Analysts at the Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI) anticipate further border skirmishes in the coming months and even the possibility of outright insurrection in Mexico as we approach the onset of the new century. With these circumstances and further instability will come even greater floods of illegal immigrants attempting to escape the escalating violence. Politicians, business leaders, and law enforcement officials in both countries must act now or begin to prepare to deal with the consequences.
(C) EmergencyNet News Service, 1997. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without permission of EmergencyNet News.
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