There are currently 340 US soldiers helping to secure the United States’ southern border. To that, President Obama has ordered an additional 1,200 national guardsmen to support border patrol agents. They will not be directly confronting undocumented immigrants, but they will be performing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, freeing up border agents.
It is a short-term response—the deployment is for one year—likely to coincide with an additional $500 million in Congressional appropriations for border security. It is also a political response that is unlikely to welcome a significant drop in the flow of immigrants across the border. Reason being, between the sagging economy and increased border patrols since 2006, fewer Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, etc., are attempting to pass into the US illegally. In 2005, the busiest corridor for illegal crossing was near Yuma station, Arizona, where there were 125,000 apprehensions. In 2009, the number was 3,800. That’s progress; it is now harder to sneak across. However, the border zone itself is more violent than ever, thanks to the presence of the drug gangs.
President Obama’s new push to secure the border is the opening salvo of his administration’s attempt to tackle comprehensive immigration reform. Trying to thread the needle will be tough; he needs to act firmly on immigration in order to head off a spate of Arizona-inspired laws—15 other states are considering similar laws. But addressing the surging drug violence that threatens to creep into the United States will have to include changing how guns are sold. Washington’s ability to act will require dropping platitudes and engaging in a type of compromise that doesn’t lend itself to sound bite.
