Corruption on the borders

On Alexandra's post named, "Immigration," she discusses a $600 million dollar bill that the House and the Senate passed. "The bill includes $176 million for 1,000 new border patrol agents to form a strike force to be deployed at critical areas, $89 million for another 500 customs and immigration personnel, and $32 million to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles or drones."

There are major problems along the U.S.-Mexican borders and its only getting worse. The drug cartels are spilling over into the U.S., specifically in southern Arizona. There is about 3,500 acres along the Mexican borders that officials have been forced to close to U.S. citizens. Pinal County sheriff Paul Babeu said, "We need action. It's shameful that we, as the most powerful nation on Earth, can't even secure our own borders and protect our own families." The police are out manned and out gunned and are not able to stop the drug cartels themselves.

In a Mexico City prison, the warden was arrested for letting inmates out nightly to commit drug related slayings. Corruption is everywhere. The people that are suppose to help are being corrupted by these drug lords, receiving pay-offs to look the other way. Recently in Tijuana, 62 police officers were arrested for having alleged links to organized crime and drug cartels. How is anything going to get better if we can't even trust the very people that are suppose to protect us? With everything I have read it is almost like we are at war yet all the president will give is $1,500 agents.

I do agree that this is a start but feel our effort to secure the border needs to be combined with a comprehensive immigration reform. ICE Director John Morton said, "You've got to have comprehensive reform that recognizes a need for strong border security, a need for strong interior enforcement, but also a means for families and workers to come here lawfully ... and an ability for people who've been here for a very long time to get right with the law by paying a fine and learning English and paying their taxes, and getting to the back of the line."

I partially agree with Alexandra when she said, "to have light on this issue is a good thing and I see a good outcome in the future concerning our border patrol." I feel that the government has finally started to take steps in making our borders safer, but it will take more than beefing our borders up to stop all the illegal immigrants already in America. One thing is for sure, Arizona has the attention of the government, as well as, the entire U.S..