In the last several months, the United States has been embroiled in controversy over illegal immigration. Mass protests were staged by predominantly Hispanic populations all across the US (see BBC reporting here) to put pressure on Congress to allow the estimated 11.5 MM illegal immigrants to begin applying for citizenship. Though it is clear that major immigration reform is needed and many of the illegal immigrants in the United States should be able to apply for citizenship, it is not clear to me that we can continue to allow our porous southern border and thus, an ever increasing influx of illegal immigrants from the south to exist. President Bush addressed that exact point in his national address several days ago, saying:
First, the United States must secure its borders. This is a basic responsibility of a sovereign nation. It is also an urgent requirement of our national security. Our objective is straightforward: The border should be open to trade and lawful immigration, and shut to illegal immigrants, as well as criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists. [...]
[...] Training thousands of new Border Patrol agents and bringing the most advanced technology to the border will take time. Yet the need to secure our border is urgent. So I’m announcing several immediate steps to strengthen border enforcement during this period of transition:
One way to help during this transition is to use the National Guard. So, in coordination with governors, up to 6,000 Guard members will be deployed to our southern border. [...]
You can read the national address in its entirety here.
Interestingly, Mexico is quite unhappy with the U.S. tightening its borders. In fact, it expressed its anger in the most American way possible, lawsuits! Yahoo News is currently reporting that Mexico plans to file lawsuits in U.S. Courts against the United States if National Guard is actually used to protect the Southern border.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – Mexico said Tuesday that it would file lawsuits in U.S. courts if National Guard troops on the border become directly involved in detaining migrants.
Mexican border officials also said they worried that sending troops to heavily trafficked regions would push illegal migrants into more perilous areas of the U.S.-Mexican border to avoid detection.
President Bush announced Monday that he would send 6,000 National Guard troops to the 2,000-mile border, but they would provide intelligence and surveillance support to Border Patrol agents, not catch and detain illegal immigrants.
“If there is a real wave of rights abuses, if we see the National Guard starting to directly participate in detaining people … we would immediately start filing lawsuits through our consulates,” Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez told a Mexico City radio station. He did not offer further details.
Read the rest of the story here.
That is among the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in a while. The Mexican government seems to think that our government is accountable to them in some way.
“This is not a natural disaster, and this is not a military conflict, and [the Guard] is not trained for this. The is a very difficult situation,” said Mr. Quijano (deputy editor at the Ciudad Juárez newspaper Norte). “The Border Patrol is much more prudent. But these troops are taught to use force as the first option.”
I personally fail to see why force isn’t being used as a first option. What exactly does Mexico expect us to do? Roll out the red carpet for illegal immigrants? Write manuals for illegal immigrants on how to cross our borders? After all, Mexico uses the military to guard its own southern border with Guatemala…
