Ranchers on the US-Mexico border
During last week's visit to the Kino Border Initiative, I also had the opportunity to listen to US ranchers whose properties are located along the US border. They had mixed opinions about just about everything, One couple supported Donald Trump's wall. I don't think that they took him literally in that they expected a 2,000 mile-long wall, or even his sometimes scaled-down 1,000 mile-long wall, but they did support adding miles of border wall (gasp fencing!) along the border (particularly the land they own).
However, they did not see the wall as a solution to the problems along the border.
Their main concern is drug trafficking and the violence associated with it. They believe that the US has to do more to stop the flow of drugs crossing the southern border. To do that, they want the US to invest more in helping Americans stop partaking in illegal drugs. They had some strange understanding of other aspects of illegal drugs but that was my main takeaway from their talk. Reduce violence along the border by reducing drug consumption in the US.
And while they are in favor of a wall to stop migrants from crossing the border, they believe that a more effective solution is a massive guest worker program along the lines of the old bracero program. Migrants will always find a way to get across the border but if we provide them with a legal alternative, it would be a win-win for all.
Finally, if you are going to invest in a wall you also need to build a road near it so that border agents will be able to patrol the area. What use if having a wall if you are simply going to watch migrants go over or under it. They are already annoyed with drones and cameras that take photos of migrants but do nothing to stop them. (They are utterly convinced that members of the US Congress are on the take of drug cartels and that's why there is little effort to stop migrants, many of whom are forced to carry drugs in return for help crossing the border.)
Similarly, you need to locate some forward operating bases out in the desert. It makes no sense to be aware of migrants jumping a fence when it is going to take one-to-three hours to get some officers out there. And what good are two agents going to do when they are chasing ten-to-twenty migrants?
For a variety of reasons, they had very local concerns. They seemed to be unaware of everything the US already does to secure the border with Mexico, including the addition of guards, stepped up deportations, changes to US drug laws, increased opportunities for people to come legally (at least until last Friday) and cooperation with Mexican and Central American authorities.
I heard the couple speak a few years ago. The only thing that I remember changing from their story is that now they are less convinced that ISIS is crossing the southern border. While in the past their story centered on rumors that prayer rugs had been found in the desert, today ISIS members crossing the border is only a possibility.
However, they did not see the wall as a solution to the problems along the border.
Their main concern is drug trafficking and the violence associated with it. They believe that the US has to do more to stop the flow of drugs crossing the southern border. To do that, they want the US to invest more in helping Americans stop partaking in illegal drugs. They had some strange understanding of other aspects of illegal drugs but that was my main takeaway from their talk. Reduce violence along the border by reducing drug consumption in the US.
And while they are in favor of a wall to stop migrants from crossing the border, they believe that a more effective solution is a massive guest worker program along the lines of the old bracero program. Migrants will always find a way to get across the border but if we provide them with a legal alternative, it would be a win-win for all.
Finally, if you are going to invest in a wall you also need to build a road near it so that border agents will be able to patrol the area. What use if having a wall if you are simply going to watch migrants go over or under it. They are already annoyed with drones and cameras that take photos of migrants but do nothing to stop them. (They are utterly convinced that members of the US Congress are on the take of drug cartels and that's why there is little effort to stop migrants, many of whom are forced to carry drugs in return for help crossing the border.)
Similarly, you need to locate some forward operating bases out in the desert. It makes no sense to be aware of migrants jumping a fence when it is going to take one-to-three hours to get some officers out there. And what good are two agents going to do when they are chasing ten-to-twenty migrants?
For a variety of reasons, they had very local concerns. They seemed to be unaware of everything the US already does to secure the border with Mexico, including the addition of guards, stepped up deportations, changes to US drug laws, increased opportunities for people to come legally (at least until last Friday) and cooperation with Mexican and Central American authorities.
I heard the couple speak a few years ago. The only thing that I remember changing from their story is that now they are less convinced that ISIS is crossing the southern border. While in the past their story centered on rumors that prayer rugs had been found in the desert, today ISIS members crossing the border is only a possibility.
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