{"id":478188,"date":"2017-12-07T14:55:49","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T21:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=478188"},"modified":"2017-12-07T14:55:49","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T21:55:49","slug":"proposal-to-expand-border-walls-and-boots-will-harm-public-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2017\/12\/proposal-to-expand-border-walls-and-boots-will-harm-public-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Proposal to expand border walls and boots will harm public safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>COMMENTARY:\u00a0<\/strong>On Nov. 21, Senate Republicans quietly unveiled their proposal for the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s (DHS) fiscal year 2018 budget. If passed in December, the bill would fully fund President Trump\u2019s request to expand the border wall and hire an additional 500 Border Patrol agents.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_478193\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 336px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-478193\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Erickson-Brian-336x246.jpg\" alt=\"Brian Erickson\" width=\"336\" height=\"246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Erickson-Brian-336x246.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Erickson-Brian-768x562.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Erickson-Brian-771x564.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Erickson-Brian-1170x856.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Erickson-Brian.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy photo<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brian Erickson<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For millions of residents who call border communities home, President Trump\u2019s border wall was never about national security. It\u2019s political theater intended to stoke division and justify more wasteful, discriminatory policing of our communities.<\/p>\n<p>Congress has already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2016-election\/trump-s-wall-would-add-billions-u-s-spends-border-n640251\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">invested<\/a> billions to highly militarize border towns with hundreds of miles of walls and surveillance technologies developed for theaters of war. Since 2004, Congress also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/magazine\/story\/2014\/10\/border-patrol-the-green-monster-112220\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">doubled<\/a> the number of Border Patrol agents hired by our nation\u2019s largest police force \u2014 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).<\/p>\n<p>This has led not only to a large number of agents, but a poorly-trained, heavily armed police force responsible for widespread racial profiling and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/fact-sheet\/fatal-encounters-cbp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dozens<\/a> of unjustified killings and brutal beatings.<\/p>\n<p>CBP\u2019s own former head of internal affairs has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revealnews.org\/article-legacy\/ousted-chief-accuses-border-agency-of-shooting-cover-ups-corruption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a> dozens of Border Patrol shootings he reviewed \u201chighly questionable\u201d and alleged supervisors changed or distorted facts to cover up wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>Left unchecked, border agents also regularly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/blog\/immigrants-rights\/ice-and-border-patrol-abuses\/checking-border-patrol-checkpoints-stop-racial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">abuse<\/a> their authority to stop, frisk and interrogate New Mexicans at interior checkpoints located up to 100 miles into the country. These checkpoints disrupt daily commutes to work, school or to run basic errands in Las Cruces, with little to show for it.<\/p>\n<p>The Government Accountability Office recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/GAO-18-50\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concluded<\/a> Border Patrol\u2019s interior checkpoints accounted for 2 percent of total apprehensions nationwide from fiscal years 2013\u20132016. An investigation of government documents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acluaz.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Record_of_Abuse_101515_0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">obtained<\/a> by the ACLU reached similar conclusions and uncovered complaints far outnumbered apprehensions at certain checkpoints in Arizona.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day, our nation\u2019s immigration laws and how they\u2019re enforced should be guided by a simple goal.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>We all want to live in safe communities.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the Border Patrol\u2019s misguided practices too often undermine border communities\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2016\/02\/23\/border-communities-have-lower-crime-rates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">safety<\/a> by instilling fear, not trust, among residents.<\/p>\n<p>Already this year, border agents have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.themonitor.com\/news\/article_1ced27f4-970e-11e7-a609-47c4564b53ec.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">harassed <\/a>DACA recipients at checkpoints and swiftly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/world\/2017\/04\/18\/first-protected-dreamer-deported-under-trump\/100583274\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">deported<\/a> Dreamers, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2017\/09\/20\/552339976\/border-patrol-arrests-parents-while-infant-awaits-serious-operation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">detained <\/a>parents waiting in a hospital for their infant\u2019s emergency surgery, and <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4998940\/girl-detained-cerebral-palsy-texas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arrested<\/a> a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, who languished for days in a government shelter while her parents anxiously awaited her return home in Laredo, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>The agency also refuses to collect basic demographic information on who agents stop and search, a widely accepted police best practice. New Mexicans regularly report to our office harassment by border agents based on their race or ethnicity.<\/p>\n<p>In a state that values diversity, these practices leave over half of our community <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/congress-blog\/judicial\/288927-checking-up-on-border-patrol-checkpoints-to-stop-racial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">feeling<\/a> like second-class citizens and make our communities less safe for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>DHS recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/national-security\/border-security-is-tougher-than-ever-dhs-report-finds\/2017\/09\/18\/5d198328-9a46-11e7-a527-3573bd073e02_story.html?utm_term=.019cf44f1a7a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">concluded<\/a> the border is more secure than ever before. Their Inspector General also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oig.dhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/assets\/2017\/OIG-17-98-SR-Jul17.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">found<\/a> insufficient data to justify the Trump Administration\u2019s request to hire thousands of new Border Patrol and ICE agents.<\/p>\n<p>As CATO Institute recently <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/trump-wants-more-border-agents-we-simply-dont-need-them-714153\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cautioned<\/a>, hiring more agents isn\u2019t only unnecessary but dangerous given Border Patrol\u2019s disproportionate rate of corruption and misconduct compared to other federal agencies.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than grant Trump\u2019s request to build a wasteful, divisive wall or expand his deportation force, Congress should invest in bipartisan solutions that expand oversight and accountability for CBP.<\/p>\n<p>This fall alone, Rep. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, expressed bipartisan agreement to add investigators to CBP\u2019s Office of Professional Responsibility, the House narrowly failed to pass an amendment to equip agents with body-worn cameras in a bipartisan floor vote, and Congressman Steve Pearce, R-N.M., again <a href=\"https:\/\/pearce.house.gov\/press-release\/pearce-o%E2%80%99rourke-reintroduce-border-accountability-bill\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">partnered<\/a> with Congressman Beto O\u2019Rourke, D-Texas, to re-introduce their Border Enforcement Accountability, Oversight, and Community Engagement Act.<\/p>\n<p>As Congress debates next year\u2019s budget, New Mexico\u2019s senators should join in publicly supporting reforms that ensure border agents treat all New Mexicans with respect and work to block Trump\u2019s request to rapidly hire new agents.<\/p>\n<p>Failure to do so would repeat the mistakes of the past with disastrous consequences for public safety.<\/p>\n<p><em>Based in Las Cruces, Brian Erickson serves as interim director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu-nm.org\/what-we-do\/regional-center-for-border-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ACLU Regional Center for Border Rights<\/a>.\u00a0Agree with his opinion? Disagree? We welcome your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/commentary-submissions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Mexico\u2019s senators should join in publicly supporting reforms that ensure border agents treat all New Mexicans with respect and work to block Trump\u2019s request to rapidly hire new agents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":478193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[140,116],"class_list":["post-478188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-border-and-immigration","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}