In an article by The Washington Times, sheriffs across the country are warning about the violence occurring in the interior of the United States as a result of Mexican Drug Cartels entering the US illegally through our porous southern border. These cartels engage in such activity as prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, kidnapping and money laundering. If that isn’t bad enough, these cartels are recruiting “affluent white teenagers” to help them encrypt software for digital money-laundering and “hacking into government databases.” More shockingly, these same cartels are recruiting our own agents into their organizations to keep one step ahead of the law.
Sam Page, sheriff of Rockingham County, NC, knows firsthand about the illegal activity conducted by these cartels in our interior; one of the cartels established a drug warehouse only a mile from his home. Page states the cartels are out-gunning sheriffs’ departments, and contends every sheriff will become a border sheriff if our borders are not secured. Sheriff Page supports tracking those entering and exiting our country saying, “We can’t have open borders. If we don’t know who’s here, how are we going to protect ourselves.”
Rusty Fleming, spokesman for the Hudspeth County, TX, sheriff’s office and director of the documentary “Drug Wars,” says the US side is losing when it comes to combating these cartels. Fleming, who has testified before Congress regarding the drug trade, maintains these cartels are spreading rapidly and deep into the US interior infecting more than 3,000 US cities. These cartels recruit gang members, former prisoners and our own teenagers, according to Mr. Fleming, who is on the front lines of this battle.
Frederick County, MD, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins believes the federal government can’t take care of this problem alone. He thinks all state and local law enforcement officers “need to be able to enforce immigration laws to be effective.” In 2008, Jenkins’ office partnered into an agreement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to counteract this problem. In Frederick County, MD, the sheriff’s office “detained 1,250 illegal immigrants, 50 of whom had connections to Mexican drug cartels and organized crime,” Sheriff Jenkins said.
Jenkins maintains this program works, but it receives considerable backlash from “groups opposed to the federal mobilization of local law enforcement in immigration enforcement.”
Sheriff Page maintains, “tracking expired visas, using biometrics at the points of entry along the border, and further empowering ICE and local law enforcement would help tremendously. Even Rusty Fleming agrees that more harsh measures are, in fact, needed.
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According to Fleming, “There is a very, very big opposition to calling these organizations what they really are: narco terrorists. When you label them as narco terrorists, we can pursue and target them under the Patriot Act. This is one of the major things that we need to do because of the level of sophistication they have. We have a saying on the border: ‘If it gets by us today, it’s going to be your problem tomorrow.'”
What is it about anyone in government that just can’t seem to learn the KISS principle – “keep it simple stupid.” Yes, if it gets by the border patrol today, it will become everyone’s problem tomorrow. The simple solution is to secure the border period and not to let it get into the US in the first place. Only when that is done can the interior clean up begin. Anything else is spinning the wheels of a car deeper into the mud in which you’ve become stuck.
Most American would agree that immigration into this country is welcomed as long as the individual who immigrates follows the law. Violation of that law results in the individual becoming a criminal and subject to the full jurisdiction of that law: period, end of story. Illegal immigration poses a threat to this nation, as it would any other nation in the world, thereby creating an invasion scenario that must be dealt with accordingly.
America has seen what the PATRIOT Act has done to our freedoms under the guise of the “war on terror.” Adding another group considered terrorists only serves to grow the list with the potential to further encroach on our freedoms. It does nothing really to protect the US from the invasion of illegal immigrants that is occurring faster than the flapping of a hummingbird’s wings. These drug cartel groups are violent, break the immigration and a host of other laws, and threaten the safety of Americans. However, Americans have seen what the passage of the PATRIOT Act along with its implementation has done to catch terrorists; it has done nothing but erode freedom and individual rights for all Americans.
While Sheriff Page is spot on with tracking expired visas and furthering empowerment of our border patrol, the use of “biometrics” at points of entry at our borders is highly questionable. Illegal immigrants do not enter through “points of entry” but cross illegally through unsecured areas. Therefore, securing the border must occur period before any implementation of other measures to clean out these unsavory cartels begins.
And, just who is the biometric technology going to be used on? One can guarantee it won’t be used on the illegal entrants, but rather on American citizens if the current status quo is maintained. The only people the government would be able to track effectively with this technology would be its own citizens with the border in the condition it is now. Granted, illegal immigration or immigration period would certainly slow with the advent of biometric tracking of those entering via the south. However, the US government would not impose such requirements against those crossing into the US through Mexico because of the repercussions it would cause internationally: Better to offend your own citizens than those who are not.
Sheriffs’ departments partnering with ICE federal agents can be a recipe for disaster. America has seen a growing number of violations of individual rights committed by local law enforcement, including sheriff’s offices. This “increased” authority and power, while it may sound good at the outset, has the potential to result into a nightmare scenario for Americans should sheriffs who betray their oath to the Constitution now enter into a pact with the federal government.
It is highly unlikely the federal government will repel any invasion by illegal immigrants. Congress and other entities are pushing for amnesty for those already here illegally and are planning to increase the invasion along our southern border. Since the federal government is not protecting Americans from the incurring invasion of illegal immigrants and illegal immigrant criminals, it then becomes the responsibility of the states and the people to protect themselves.
Under the Constitution, which is still the law of the land, this is inherent in Article I, Section 10:
“No state shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.” (emphasis mine)
It is not logical to conclude the invasion of our country by illegal immigrants is an act that creates imminent danger that must be thwarted immediately? It seems these sheriffs hold this opinion but fail to see the remedy is contained in the Constitution allowing them to act without a partnership with the current corrupt federal administration.
While the Border States are constantly dealing with the issue of invasion, it is an issue that affects every state and as such, every state should be ready to assist our southern border sovereign states in securing our nation against further encroachment.
Suzanne Hamner (pen name) is a registered nurse, grandmother of 4, and a political independent residing in the state of Georgia, who is trying to mobilize the Christian community in her area to stand up and speak out against tyrannical government, invasion by totalitarian political systems masquerading as religion and get back to the basics of education.
