As we celebrate dictators driven out of power in the Middle East, it is imperative not to lose focus on what is happening closer home. If national security analysts deem the crisis in Libya important enough to send American forces in, surely there must be a more obvious show of outrage with the way drug cartels have left the Mexican government powerless south of our border.
Perhaps the two biggest concerns over the years at our borders have been illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States. With migrants being unwittingly snared by the dangerous game of smuggling drugs, the problem demands urgent attention and decisive action.
Increased troops and greater surveillance have undoubtedly been the reason for higher success in preventing illegal immigration but it has not taken into account the fate of those who are sent back from our doors.
Intent on fleeing toward a better future, migrants are now trying more dangerous and more desperate measures to get into the United States and many have to pay with their life. But with most Central American economies in a shambles, and volatility rife in Mexico, they seem to have no other option.
George Grayson, professor at William and Mary points to the problems. “In El Salvador the government encourages its citizens to head to the United States so that they send money back home,” he said. “It’s a well-known secret.”
But now with drug cartel members and corrupt police in Mexico preying on these migrants, the human disaster is hard to ignore. Some groups are advocating for alternative solutions, having seen traditional methods fail.
One school of thought that has found some level of acceptance is considering the legalization of drugs. A border patrol agent was fired for airing similar views. But more and more people are willing the government to think about it.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is one such group that is making a case for such a move. They say, “Legalized regulation will effectively cripple the violent cartels and street dealers who control the current illegal market.”
But there really is no evidence to suggest that it would be a cure for all that ails our society. And it is definitely hard to believe that Mexico can wish away its cartel problems with such a move. Looking at the pace at which various cartels have been diversifying into different lines of criminal activity, the solution must lie elsewhere.
It is necessary for America to consider ways to address the economic issues that plague the other countries around us. Not one burdened by the need to help private American corporations get a large footprint in these countries but a move that can address problems starting from the grassroots.
Until then, America’s borders will have to be protected the same way high-security prisons are protected in other parts of the world.
