Border security -- what should be done?

[AndrewR]

Ok, so anyone has to admit that border security pretty much sucks. Other countries patrol their borders with paramilitaries or with regular militaries yet the US uses underfunded law enforcement agents to ensure our borders.

Simple question, probably complicated answer: If you think border security is a serious issue, would you support the use of the military to secure the borders or the use of a beefed up paramilitary US Border Patrol, authorizing lethal force for each to secure the nation's border with Mexico? Discuss (please ignore the Posse Comitatus issues -- don't want this to be legalistic). Or, what other options do you propose?

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Originally posted by: AndrewR
Ok, so anyone has to admit that border security pretty much sucks. Other countries patrol their borders with paramilitaries or with regular militaries yet the US uses underfunded law enforcement agents to ensure our borders.

Simple question, probably complicated answer: If you think border security is a serious issue, would you support the use of the military to secure the borders or the use of a beefed up paramilitary US Border Patrol, authorizing lethal force for each to secure the nation's border with Mexico? Discuss (please ignore the Posse Comitatus issues -- don't want this to be legalistic). Or, what other options do you propose?

1) Get out of Iraq.

Instead, put money towards:
1) border patrol
2) intelegence gathering.

That's what hthis will take ane Kerry's comment on terrorism being reduced to a nuisance is VERY accurate. I think comparing it to the KKK is more accurate than what Kerry has mentioned in the past as they are both hate groups. Occasionally, the KKK does something stupid, but for the most part, people don't sit around worrying about the KKK. And we watch them closely using intelegence gathering techniques.

 

[jackschmittusa]

They tried Marines on the boarder before. They concluded that since military personel were trained to use deadly force to respond to threats of any level, there would be too many dead Mexicans.

Since many of these people are repeat offenders, who are only shipped back across the boarder for a short distance, maybe they need a longer trip. Let's take them all to Mexico City (where they will also be an inconvience to the Mexican government as well) and see how many try to cross the boarder again.

Maybe we could tattoo the ones we catch and require employers to check for the tattoos before hiring.

Maybe the above are all unrealistic and I don't know enough to figure out how to handle it. I would certainly think there are people on the federal payroll that have enough access to information, technology, tactics, and policy to figure it out. If so, maybe their opinions and decisions should become public knowlege so the general public can evaluate how the government is progressing on this.

 

[Gravity]

I have a friend that's been in CA working border patrol for over a decade. He says we would need billions more to even put a dent in it. The southern border along CA is so porous that it's impossible to patrol for walkers, riders or people in large trucks.

The folks openly trying to cross are so voluminous that there's no way we can stop them let alone those that are trying to do so under the radar screen.

I'm not sure what the solution is but what we've always done isn't working.