Smuggler's Blues
Tighter Border Enforcement
By Daniel Muniz

For decades, drug runners and illegal aliens trotted across the nearly 2000 mile porous border that the United States shared with Mexico with impunity. After all, it was a joke since it was so ridiculously easy to cross. There was only token border security which was quite simple to defeat and circumvent. And although every presidential administration liked to talk tough about border enforcement, nothing had really changed so it was natural for the drug and human smuggling operations to never even take it seriously.

But something did change.

Hundreds of miles of sturdy new fences began cropping up along the border as well as a dramatic increase of Border Patrol agents to monitor it. In addition, there is now substantial funding in place that has been used to greatly improve manpower, infrastructure, and most important of all, technology. And to the chagrin of the traffickers, there is now a new unrelenting commitment to actually enforce and secure the border in meaningful ways.

Border Fence Before

Border Fence After

However, drugs and human traffic still represent vast profits so the smuggling organizations are also undeterred.

In fact, the attempts to illegally cross the border have become as brazen as they are ingenious.

For example, near Naco Arizona, traffickers simply created their own private gate in the border fence. With a blowtorch, they cut out a square hole big enough for a truck to drive through. And they also had no intention of leaving a huge gaping opening that could easily be spotted by the Border Patrol so they then welded that square patch back into the fence and fashioned out a gate. And to demonstrate their bold audacity, the smugglers even put a padlock on their clandestine entrance so they could enter the United States at their own leisure.

As result, many sections of the border fence are under constant repair.

But the traffickers continue to find novel ways to beat the barriers.

However, this rugged determination that our country is now exhibiting to thwart the illegal border crossings is really quite breathtaking. The government is actually adapting to the ever changing environment in order to keep abreast with the ever increasing cunning (or desperation) of illegal aliens and drug runners.

As the most popular illicit entry points were being clogged up, smugglers turned their focus to the desolate inaccessible parts of the border. But the Border Patrol simply strapped leather chaps on to their agents and mounted them on horses. As a result, inaccessibility was no longer an issue because agents on horseback could now interdict the traffickers practically anywhere they chose to sneak across the border.

That still hasn’t stopped the illegal border crossings.

There will always be innovative ways to go through, around, above, and below the fence. Some techniques are clever while others are purely desperate and quite dangerous.

Some smugglers have tried to disguise their entry points. If the Border Patrol is unaware that such a path exists, they will not monitor it. And the ideas include using the surrounding brush by breaking off branches and sweeping off their tracks in the sandy terrain. The more sophisticated smugglers use gas-powered leaf blowers to cover up their trails while others use foot coverings such as carpet strips or foam.

And to defeat the vehicle barriers of thick metal stakes driven into the ground, some traffickers have even placed ramps on top of them the so that trucks can soar over the emplacements.

Tunnels are another idea although they are labor intensive and expensive to construct if they are to be effective. It is just too easy for the Border Patrol to spot the traffickers on the Mexican side with heavy equipment. And besides, the dirt has to go somewhere after it is dug up. So the only way to be successful is to dig the hole far away from prying eyes but that astronomically raises the price and the level of effort required. However, a number of tunnels have already been discovered which shows the lengths that smugglers are willing to take.

Of course the countermeasures that are being employed are not foolproof but they don’t have to be.

Easy money is the lure for smugglers. Take the “easy” part away from the equation and that automatically deters traffickers who are unwilling to expose themselves to unnecessary risks especially when smuggling becomes dangerous.

However, it is the “money” part of the equation that remains as the biggest obstacle. Since there are tens of thousands of businesses that are still inviting illegal aliens to come to this country, human traffic is not going to end as long as there is enormous demand for it. The same goes for narcotics as there are tens of millions of Americans who routinely consume illegal drugs.

So as long as there is an addiction in this country to cheap labor and to drugs, smuggling will never go away. But it is refreshing to see the government finally getting serious with the issue. Big strides have been taken which has made the traffic of illegal aliens and drugs increasingly difficult and dangerous.

Any opinions or views expressed herein belong solely to the author and does not represent any employer, organization, political party, governmental agency, or any other entity and do not necessarily reflect the views of the site owner or its participants.