Nearly 45 percent of American voters say immigration will be a deciding factor in their presidential vote. Immigration is, of course, intertwined with the United States-Mexico border.
It is commonly believed that the nation faces a border crisis because Washington is not adequately policing the zone, and laws are lax. The result goes the reasoning, is a porous border that makes it possible for foreigners and illicit drugs to flood the country.
Consequently, there is a hodgepodge of proposed fixes, such as beefing up the wall, hiring more border cops, constricting asylum, getting Mexico to accept non-Mexicans who are booted out of this nation of immigrants, and convincing our southern neighbor to intercept U.S.-bound migrants.
No public officials or purported experts either will admit or do not know that the phenomenon cannot be significantly altered. Substantial illicit and legal migration to the United States will continue for who knows how long. That is the xenophobes’ most frightening nightmare.
Meanwhile, a non-stop parade of politicians and other public officials travel to the border for photo ops to prove they care deeply about the problem. If you don’t show up, that means you don’t care.
Kamala Harris’s late September border trip is an excellent example of such travel. Here’s a summary, courtesy of the Associated Press.
In her first trip to the international boundary since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris chatted with local Border Patrol leaders as they strode along a rust-colored stretch of wall built during Barack Obama’s presidency. Temperatures in Douglas, Arizona, neared 100 degrees during a conversation that lasted about half an hour.
Later, Harris received a closed-door briefing at the Douglas port of entry on efforts to combat drug trafficking and improve the legal flow of goods and people across the border. Border Patrol agents have “a tough job” and deserve support to do it, she said
In Washington, members of Congress are always speechifying about the border. They yammer without delving into fundamental facts. Doing so would help them, and the American people understand the border situation.
I have gathered some statistics to help us better grasp this vital issue.
In 1970, there were between 500,000 and one million undocumented migrants in the U.S. The now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) gets blamed for messy record-keeping.
The 2002 Homeland Security Act replaced that agency with three separate agencies. Also, in 1970, between 750 and 800 United States Border Patrol Agents arrayed along the Mexican border.
As to be expected, the numbers are radically different now.
Today, the estimated population is between 10.5 and 12 million. That is the most accepted estimate, but some put the total at 16 million. It is impossible to offer an official count, of course.
Meanwhile, nearly 17,000 Border Patrol agents are posted at the southern boundary zone. Some staff the nation’s 71 immigration checkpoints, eyeballing motorists and passengers. The illegal or suspicious-looking are subjected to close inspection.
No question, for many Americans, it is hard to understand that the undocumented population has grown enormously, evidently unaffected by the massive expansion of the Border Patrol force.
You might think that adding so many agents would have slowed the migrant population growth.
History shows us that is not the case. More importantly, it is questionable whether hiring and deploying thousands more agents will stanch the human tide.
The much-ballyhooed wall is another dubious resolution. It does nothing to address the entire United States border, which is astoundingly19,383 miles long. This is the length, including the nation’s land and maritime borders. Our southern border is 1,954 miles long, about 9.84 percent of the total.
An intellectually honest and comprehensive discussion about America’s international boundaries should include every mile.
What about the nation’s seaports?
Illegal immigration through United States seaports is a lesser-discussed aspect of unauthorized entry into the country, as much of the focus is on land border crossings, especially at the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, seaports remain a vulnerable entry point for various forms of illicit activity, including human trafficking, smuggling of drugs and goods, and unauthorized immigration.
In 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a steady increase in human smuggling cases involving seaports. While the exact number of migrants smuggled via seaports is challenging to track, incidents involving containers, private vessels, and cruise ships have been reported.
Smuggling in shipping containers is a notorious method. Smugglers often pack migrants in dangerous conditions, risking their lives for illegal entry. The size of containerized cargo (over 11 million containers entering annually) makes it challenging for authorities to inspect each one thoroughly.
There is much more to report.
Ricardo Chavira Chicano 