Week 6

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American Public University *

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Political Science

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Oct 30, 2023

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Uploaded by marcuslavalais

Week 6 Explain why we should focus so much on immigration at the southern border with Mexico instead of the northern border with Canada. Putting politics aside, how should the United States best address immigration now? (Note: there should be NO discussion of political parties.) What about in the next five years? (Again, NO discussion of political parties.) Hello Class, Border Security has dated back to 1904 when they were considered “Border Watchmen,” there to prevent illegal crossings. In the 80’s and 90’s, there was an extreme increase in illegal migration which called for a surge in manpower and resources. In 2003, a couple years after 9/11, The Department of Homeland Security was established which encompassed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The focus of CBP was to provide security to the borders of the United States for any unauthorized intrusions ( Border Patrol History, 2020). Later that role expanded due to the uptick in Human Trafficking, smuggling of narcotics, weapons, money, and other contraband. With the northern border being 5,500 miles long, twice as long as the southern border, we are still primarily focused on immigration at the southern border allotting nearly 85% of the 63,000 CBP officers to the U.S. – Mexico border. For Fiscal Year 2023, Congress has channeled nearly $17.5 Billion to the CBP in support of immigration operations ( Border Facts , n.d.). The primary focus on immigration at the southern border with Mexico seems to be more important than the focus on the northern border due to the facts surrounding the issues. Drug seizures have always been an issue with CBP totaling at 551K pounds of narcotics seized in Fiscal Year 2023, but the number of migrants is even a bigger issue. Human Trafficking is now considered the second most profitable crime which forces individuals into either sexual or hard labor. Additionally, just last month there were over 7,500 migrants that were apprehended for their attempt to illegally cross the border. I believe we should implement a “Hardened Border Paradox” at the borders to better address the concerns of immigration. A Hardened Border Paradox is an increase in security measures which will mitigate illegal migration. This includes advanced technology, hardened facilities, reconstructed barrier systems, Unmanned Aeriel Vehicles, and more. Of the $17.5 Billion that CBP receives, $25.9 Billion is given to law enforcement agencies to fight against illegal immigration. With CBP being the largest law enforcement agency in the country, more money should be allotted to obtain more CBP officers, different programs for these officers, continuing to vamp technological efforts, and transparency among different agencies and public. The U.S. – Mexico border is 1,954 miles in length, and although the CBP is the largest law enforcement agency, they do not have enough officers available to cover such a wide array of area. Transparency efforts should continue to grow amongst CBP, Local Law Enforcement agencies, and the public to ensure everyone is aware of the immigration concern. I believe this should be the recipe to address the immigration concern for the next five years. Thank you for viewing and I look forward to your feedback. -Marcus

Resources: Border Facts. (n.d.) SBCC. https://www.southernborder.org/border-facts Border Patrol History. (July 21, 2020). U.S. Customs and Border Protection. https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/history

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