Pot times
Border Security - Drug Law And Immigration
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1097/a04.htmlNewshawk: Empower Activists http://www.mapinc.org/donate.htm
Pubdate: Sun, 10 Jul 2005 BORDER SECURITY: DRUG LAW AND IMMIGRATION REFORM WOULD HELP
SHERIFFS
Source: Monitor, The (McAllen, TX)
Copyright: 2005 The Monitor
Contact:
letters@themonitor.com
Website: http://www.themonitor.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1250
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm
(Decrim/Legalization)
The 16 Texas counties that border Mexico face challenges that the rest of the
state - the rest of the nation - might have a hard time understanding.
From the intricacies of a border economy in which customers walk to another
country for afternoon shopping trips to the irrigation needs of farmers in a
drought-prone region, life along the Rio Grande contains elements not found
anywhere else in Texas. Add law enforcement in the form of anti-illegal
immigration and anti-drug efforts, along with security concerns in the ongoing
battle against terrorists, and you get police work intertwined with foreign
policy.
At a conference in Del Rio last week, border sheriffs said they don't
necessarily have the resources to deal with illegal immigrants, drug smugglers
and possible terrorists attempting to infiltrate the country. They also
pointed out that federal law enforcement agencies aren't sharing information
with their local counterparts along the Rio Grande.
The sheriffs want to see their departments receive more federal grant money,
citing their role as "the first line of defense for the country," as
Terrell County Sheriff Clint McDonald said. That's not unreasonable.
After all, homeland security grants should go to the agencies that could use it,
for personnel and equipment.
But that's not where the money's going. Instead of being used for real
security measures, the funds go to pork barrel projects such as a $100,000 gym
for the Port Isabel Volunteer Fire Department. If Congress would ensure
that homeland security grants went to agencies that actually need them, it would
go a long way to helping overworked sheriff's departments.
Still, the sheriffs and their deputies have plenty to do. Congress could
make their jobs even easier if it would reform our immigration and drug laws,
freeing up all law enforcement agencies to go after violent criminals and watch
out for terrorists.
The current immigration system does little more than provide incentives for
human smugglers to bring more people across, providing an infrastructure that
terrorists could use to sneak into the United States. It also forces
noncitizens looking for work to take desert routes that often result in death.
A guest worker program - one that includes protections for workers, so
unscrupulous employers can't take advantage of them - would take that pressure
off the Border Patrol, allowing legitimate workers into the country and freeing
agents to concentrate their efforts on the bad guys.
In a similar vein, this nation needs to reform its drug laws. Right now,
U.S. drug policies enrich drug lords, because prohibition causes scarcity,
which in turn causes prices to rise. If it decriminalized certain
substances and focused on treatment instead, the U.S. would cause drug
prices to drop and cartels' income to plunge. This would also free up law
enforcement agents to look for terrorists instead of worrying about drug
runners.
The unique aspects of the Texas border present a challenge to those who live
along it. We hope federal lawmakers recognize that challenge and act to
help residents face it.
