AP: U.S.-Mexico Border Patrol Failing (badly)

[ConcernedCanuk]

. . "SASABE, Mexico - A crackdown along the U.S.-Mexico border designed to prevent terrorists from entering the United States hasn't stopped even one known militant from slipping into America since Sept. 11, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Instead, the tightening net of Border Patrol and Immigration agents has slowed trade, snarled traffic and cost American taxpayers millions, perhaps billions, of dollars, while hundreds of migrants have died trying to evade the growing army of border authorities"

/snip/


The number of Border Patrol agents assigned to the southern border rose from 8,500 in 2000 to at least 9,500 today. Staffing along the Mexican border for the immigration, customs and agriculture departments, which monitor legal crossing points, grew from 4,371 in fiscal 2001 to 4,873 in the fiscal year that just ended.


/snip/

Up north, the Border Patrol has dramatically increased its staffing since Sept. 11, in part in response to incidents like the 1999 arrest of Ahmed Ressam, who was convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport during millennium celebrations.

But migration activists note that the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the United States on visas, not by sneaking across any border.

/snip



Hmmmmn - If'n the USA can't stop the Poor Mexicans, how do they ever expect to stop well-funded terrorists ??

Maybe the USA should try a new tactic, hmm like try to "get along" with the world instead of "running" it ??

Just My Humble Canuk Opinion

[La_Serpiente]

1. Bill O'Reilly

wants to put troops on the border.

He kept on asking Gephardt whether he would put troops on the border.

I think everyone wants to put troops on the border.

[Maple]

2. Except there simply

aren't enough troops to put on any border.

It's wishful thinking with no ability to back it up.

[La_Serpiente]

3. OH yeah

it's crazy it its idea.

We can't be everywhere at once.

If anything, the only solution is to work with the Mexican government, which the US is not doing, and create viable alternatives for the Mexican people.

[ConcernedCanuk]

4. Anyone starting to feel a "draft" ??

. . n/t

[Media_Lies_Daily]

6. For quite some time, to be honest.

[tridim]

9. I'm starting to feel like a big wall is in our near future

A wall around our entire country, and not just metaphorically. It's already been suggested by the Freeps.

There's no way in hell I'd allow it to happen, if you catch my drift.

[MattNC]

11. no

n/t

[DuctapeFatwa]

10. Go ahead, bring em all back from Iraq, Korea, Europe, Africa,

Line em up, shoulder to shoulder along 2000 miles of border.

Order the media not to show soldiers murdering you don't wanna know how many mostly teenagers and little kids every day.

Nobody is really sure what the population of Mexico is. Add the Central American countries.

How many soldiers you got?

Order the media not to show the immediate acceleration of the reclaiming of the continent as a human wall, 2000 miles long, of the indigenous people of the Americas give a demonstration of the old chant "If you kill me, 10,000 take my place."

Bring it on, suckazzz.

[UpInArms]

5. isn't it odd that

during the Clinton admin the border and customs on the Mexico and Canadian borders were able to actually stop some real troubles?

and now....

hmmmmm...

errrr....

we let them through with visas ...

[UrbScotty]

7. Is this 'Latest Breaking News' material or 'DUH' material?

?

[amazona]

8. getting along won't stop terrorists but i see your point

Trying to go along to get along wouldn't stop any dedicated terrorist. I don't think the Europe of the 1970s was a terribly unfree or hateful place to live, and yet it was simply riddled with terrorist actions. That said, having crossed the Mexican border several times recently, I don't see where any real attempt is being made to stop people freely crossing the border with the equipment and substances of their choice. There is somewhat of a blind eye being turned to the purchasing of medicines, for instance, which our elders can purchase MUCH more affordably in Mexico than in the U.S.

Going into Mexico, despite the free availability of guns and the desire of Mexico to avoid imported gun violence, they seem to have thrown up their hands and not be checking anyone. They just put up a sign saying something along the lines of "Guns are illegal in Mexico. Don't bring your guns." And a quarter of a mile down the road, then another sign: "Um. We don't want your ammo either." But no one checked anyone to see who the hell you were or what you were bringing into the country. I didn't speak to a Mexican customs agent once in several border crossings.

Going back into the U.S. there was a token attempt to pretend that an agent was looking at you and people walking over the border had to get their bags X-rayed. But it was nothing anyone was taking too seriously.

Customs agent to woman ahead of me in line: "What did you buy in Mexico today?"
Woman: "Crap."
Agent: "I need a more specific answer than crap, ma'am."
Woman: "Stained glass."
Agent: "OK. Next."

It is in the interest of both the U.S. and Mexico to have a fairly porous border. We benefit from their workers and their reasonably priced drugs and health care, and they benefit from our dollars. Also, many people share friends and families on both sides of the border. So after a certain point, you can't really create a Berlin Wall at the border -- it would create too much human hardship. Not sure what the answer is. The Millenium bombings were stopped at the Canadian/U.S. border which used to be just as porous if not more so. Maybe an alert, trained custom agent can "tell" most of the time who is out of place. I would tend to doubt it, but I would also tend to hope I am wrong.

I feel that I perceived some weaknesses in our security but I am not going to point them out. If I am right about those weaknesses, they don't need to be aired on a public forum. If I am wrong, which I hope to be the case, a trap is being set for the ambitious terrorist that would not be sprung just to catch someone who wants to drive a cab or clean a hotel room.