Heath Haussamen
States are grappling with the dual problems of immigration and border security, but it’s a no-win situation for them; real solutions must come from Congress and the president
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asserts that the border is safe. She claims the cartel violence that has plagued Mexico hasn’t spilled over in a serious way.
“There is a perception that the border is worse now than it ever has been. That is wrong. The border is better now than it ever has been,” she was quoted by The Associated Press as saying in El Paso last week.
With all due respect, that’s crap. It sounds to me like political posturing heading into an election cycle in which her boss is up for re-election.
But Napolitano’s words are indicative of something that has me increasingly frustrated.
Congress and the president continue to fail to tackle any sort of meaningful reform that has a chance of improving the very complex and gray situation along the U.S.-Mexico border. That leaves states to grapple with no-win issues like driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants.
Meanwhile, regardless of what Napolitano claims, the situation on both sides of the border is continuing to deteriorate.
Just ask the people of Columbus, N.M., whose mayor, police chief and a city trustee were arrested recently for trafficking firearms into Mexico. I’m wondering, the next time I’m out in the desert near the border, if I’m supposed to question whether the law enforcement agent approaching me wants to see if I’m up to no good – or if he is up to no good himself.
I mean, seriously Napolitano – the cartels have reached far enough into the United States that activity related to cartel gangs has been found across the nation. In the Columbus situation, the cartels seemingly took over a small-town government on this side of the border. The cartels are also recruiting teens from the United States to smuggle drugs across the border for them.
Significant cartel-related crime in Southern NM
There has been significant cartel-related crime in Southern New Mexico that includes murder and burglary. I’m going to repeat some lines I’ve published before:
“A 2007 report to Congress on Mexico’s drug cartels cited the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in stating that the Juárez Cartel has a presence in Southern New Mexico. The report also cited the 2007 National Drug Threat Assessment as saying there is a cartel presence in Las Cruces.
“A 2009 federal report tells the story of a teen who smuggled drugs into New Mexico on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. The cartel had him killed in a ‘remote area of New Mexico’ because he owed the cartel money.
“In January 2009, according to the report, another drug trafficker was shot and killed ‘in a remote area of Silver City’ for failing to pay a drug debt. A week later, the wife of another drug trafficker who owed money was found dead in the same location.
“The report states that cartels ‘also engage in other crimes, including alien smuggling, auto theft, kidnapping, murder, and weapons smuggling to further their criminal enterprises and generate illicit proceeds.’
“‘Many of these violent traffickers obtain firearms by burglarizing businesses, private homes, and vehicles in the New Mexico (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) region,’ the report states.”
I’m not pretending that it’s as bad here as it is in Mexico – that nation is a war zone. According to one recent report, more than 100,000 Mexicans may have fled to the United States as refugees.
But cartel activity in the United States – and particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border, where I live – is very real.
In NM, both sides are trying to address problems
Napolitano isn’t the first on the left to downplay the threat. The Democratic Party did it last year to refute a TV ad from Susana Martinez in the governor’s race. And during this year’s legislative debate on providing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, many Democrats argued the benefits without showing much concern for the negative consequences.
There has been plenty of oversimplifying on the other side as well. Conservatives who argued for ending the practice of allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain licenses showed little or no thought for the negative consequences of doing that.
On the left, many are focused on dealing with the millions of people here illegally – giving them rights, protecting them from crime, letting them drive legally to reduce the rate of uninsured motorists on the roads.
On the right most are focused on the threat from the cartels and, potentially, terrorism.
I wish people would acknowledge that both sides are working hard to address aspects of a serious situation created largely by inaction from Congress and the president.
We need to deal with both realities: There is a very serious security threat along the U.S.-Mexico border. Cartel-related crime has spilled over. The cartels have infiltrated government in the United States. Who knows what else they’re planning.
On the flip side, millions of people are living here illegally; we essentially invited them in by giving them jobs. Now they live as semi-citizens, propping up our economy and participating in our society. We must address their status and deal with the issues their presence creates.
During the state Legislature’s recent debate about driver’s licenses, I believe both sides were honestly grappling with the issue. The problem is that it’s a no-win situation. Giving driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants creates problems. So does taking them away.
The solution lies not with state governments, but in Washington.
It’s time for Washington act
Congress and the president (in fact, the past several presidents) have not shown the courage and resolve to deal with this growing problem. They’ve instead broken promises and kicked the can down the road.
Meanwhile, people are dying and being victimized in Mexico, the United States, and further south in Latin America.
Congress and the president need to deal with comprehensive immigration reform. They need to fully address border security. They need to figure out what to do about the millions of people living in the shadows in the United States – people upon whose backs our economy keeps moving.
And Congress and the president must deal with our nation’s drug addition and the problem of the cartels. The cartels threaten the stability of Mexico, one of the largest economies in the world and our southern neighbor. The collapse of that government could send the world economy into a tailspin.
This is a complex series of problems that Washington can’t afford to leave to the states or kick down the road any longer. It’s time to act.