"President Trump had it right on the campaign trail and he still does. Build the wall. Secure the borders. A nation without secure borders will not stay a nation for very long."
This is another one of those days. I am going to conflate two separate and distinct articles from this morning's newspaper into the same topic. Both have to do with events taking place south of our southern border, and both are very bothersome. So, here we go.
Topic 1: The Re-emerging Meth Crisis - Wait a minute. There must be some mistake here. We don't have a "meth crisis". That was so very yesterday. We now have a very serious opioid crisis.
Well guess what. The meth crisis is back and in full force. I remember when the meth crisis first became a crisis. I tried to learn more about it, as I really did not know squat. I found out it is made from chemicals that can do really, really bad things to your body. Like forever bad. I learned it was horribly addicting. And I learned that the really good stuff was made in Mexico and smuggled across the southern border. The lesser grade stuff is made in local meth labs.
I also remember one king pin of distribution being caught and questioned. When asked why he was trying to smuggle this poison across our border, his reply was simple and blunt - "Supply and demand bro. As long as you people have such a strong demand, our supply will be there for you."
Well the demand must be very strong once again for the really good stuff, as the supply lines are alive and well coming up from Mexico. Since we cannot control out demand, it is up to our government to choke off the supply lines at the border. Translation = build the damn wall! Secure the border!
Topic 2: The Caravan - I almost penned this article only about this topic. I was going to call it, "what was promised, what was received". I do feel for these people from Honduras and Guatemala. Worthless governments, out of control gangs, and abject poverty. This is ripe territory for "mules". They fill the heads of these desperate people with tales of a promised land, just to the north. Enough food to eat, good schools, endless benefits - all you have to do is get there, cross the border, and plead for asylum.
The problem is, that is not what is waiting for them. Once they get here, they will be caught betwixt and between. They will be detained, and case by case, adjudicated. Some will be sent back, some will stay. The ones who stay will find the "promised land" is not really what was promised. Life is tough here when you have no skills, no education, and don't speak the language. The ones going back, will be in the same hell they tried to escape.
The Nexus - These topics are related how? Simple. Border security. I want our southern border locked down tighter than a drum. I have told this story before. Right after 9/11, when we were reeling from the attack and trying to figure out what just happened, we locked down our borders for a few days. Nothing got across. Not drugs, not anything.
We need to lock down our borders again. Why? Even our border control admit they only catch about 15% of the dope being smuggled in. That is just scrap and attrition for the cartels. Lock it down, and only have a single point of entry from Mexico. It does not matter where it is. Anyone on foot, or any vehicle will be thoroughly vetted and inspected before allowed entry. Enough is enough!
One more thing. If Honduras and Guatemala are that out of control, send in the blue helmets to restore order and have the UN monitor fair elections. That is the right answer. The wrong answer is to turn the citizens of those Central American countries into refugees or immigrants.
President Trump had it right on the campaign trail and he still does. Build the wall. Secure the borders. A nation without secure borders will not stay a nation for very long.
President Trump said Saturday he would shut down the government in September if Congress did not approve enough border funding in next year's budget to satisfy him, a threat he made after criticizing immigration laws as pathetic.
ReplyDeleteThe president did not specify the amount of funding he thought necessary, although earlier administration estimates have cited a level north of $20 billion. He did not criticize Mexico nor repeat his campaign promise that Mexico would pay for the wall.
There’s one problem with the plan: The drugs coming into the U.S. Northeast often arrive by plane, boat, or hidden in vehicles, according to an intelligence report by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Transnational criminal organizations “generally route larger drug shipments destined for the Northeast through the Bahamas and/or South Florida by using a variety of maritime conveyance methods, to include speedboats, fishing vessels, sailboats, yachts, and containerized sea cargo,” the reports reads. “In some cases, Dominican Republic-based traffickers will also transport cocaine into Haiti for subsequent shipment to the United States via the Bahamas and/or South Florida corridor using maritime and air transport.”
If you get a chance, look at the morning's Strib. It has a great graphic of the transportation routes the meth is coming to MN on. All from Mexico, and via land.
DeleteThanks, good article. Same rate of success, 15-20% makes me believe the methods used (hidden compartments) won't need to be changed, even with a wall. They will continue to come through border check points.
DeleteSingle border port of entry won't happen. Too much commerce coming from various locations to make that work.
How come you don't believe demand can't be reduced? It is the key to all economic activity. You must have customers wanting a product before spending resources creating supply.