Jacob Duffrene

3/8/2018

Criminal Justice Management

Dunbar ASIS Scholarship

Border Security in The United States

 Since President Trump’s campaign for presidency and even before that time, border
security has been one of the biggest issues in society. This has especially been the case when
dealing with keeping terrorists and their weapons from entering the United States while
welcoming all legitimate travelers and commerce. Border Security pertains to officers and agents
enforcing all applicable United States laws, including laws against illegal immigration, narcotics
smuggling, and illegal importation. These border security officers and agents are highly trained
law enforcement personnel who apprehend countless individuals every day for suspected
violations of United States law.
The border security mission is very broad. It is directed by officers from the Office of
Field Operations along United States borders by agents from the Office of Border Patrol,
and from the air and sea by agents from the Office of Air and Marine Operations. Also Border
Security has agriculture specialists which are deployed to protect United States agriculture from
the introduction of pests or disease from overseas sources.
Border Security follows three concept forms which are Security, Resilience, and
Custom/Exchange. To get a more in-depth view of border security’s core mission, border
security focuses the following 5 issues:
1. Preventing Terrorism and Enhancing Security
2. Securing and managing borders
3. Enforcing and administering immigration laws
4. Safeguarding and securing cyberspace
5. Ensuring resilience to disasters. (Border Patrol Overview.)
In regard to the safety of the United States, there are many agencies that follow these missions,
especially after the 9/11 attack. A few of the biggest agencies are the United States Citizenship
and Immigration Services., U.S. Customs and Border Protection., Federal Emergency
Management Agency., U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement., Transportation Security
Administration., United States Coast Guard., National Protection and Programs Directorate., and
the United States Secret Service. (Border Patrol History.)

One of the biggest topics around the world, but especially in the United States is the
creation of the “wall”. The creation of the new wall being built was first introduced when
President Trump became the 45th of the United States. President Trump wanted, as his first
motion, to build a border wall that would be impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, and beautiful,
standing between the United States and Mexico. He directly quoted, “a wall is better than
fencing and it’s much more powerful.” (Donald Trump's Mexico wall: Who is going to pay for
it?). President Trump says this because he believes that the wall we have now isn’t helping and
its mostly fencing which is allowing an increased number of illegal immigrants to enter our
country.
The border that President Trump is looking to create will be 1,900 miles long and
traverses all sorts of terrain. The total cost of the creation of the wall was estimated out to
be between 10-12 billion dollars, but highly qualified engineers said the cost will be a lot
higher between 12-15 billion dollars. (Donald Trump's Mexico wall: Who is going to pay
for it?)
 With all situations in life, some may come easier and some may be more difficult. The
wall will be very difficult to build because of how expensive it will be in addition to the fact that
it crosses over to private lands which would need to be bought out by the government. Trump
implied throughout his campaign, and now presidency, that Mexico would pay for the wall,
which caused a lot of disagreements. Enrique Peña Nieto the President of Mexico was upset
about this claim and made it clear that his country will not be paying. As a result, he canceled his
first visit to Trump’s White House.
There are several other reasons as to why the creation of this wall will be very difficult to
build. One of these reasons is the Border Wall we have now is” 650 miles of fencing and cost
about $7 billons.” (Donald Trump's Mexico wall: Who is going to pay for it?). This shows that
for just a fencing job, which was a small cost of $7 billion, is only going to be a third of the price
of the wall seeking to be built. Trump believes the estimated costs of the wall would be between
10-12 billion, however experts have estimated much higher costs of $25 billion.

Looking at a situation from different perspectives give us an idea of the consequences

that may be faced. There are many issues regarding immigrants entering the United States. While
researching, I was able to break down the pros and cons relating to this issue. A few pros and
cons include:

Pros:
- Immigrants and refugees are becoming entrepreneurs, job creators, taxpayers, and
consumers.
- These immigrants and refugees, “add trillions of dollars to the U.S. gross domestic
product, or GDP, and their economic importance will only increase in the coming
decades as America’s largest generation: Baby boomers”. (The Facts on Immigration
Today). This implies how these immigrants and refugees coming into our country are
helping bring money to the United States and are helping our generation and future
generations.
- Immigration has long supported the growth and dynamism of the U.S. economy.

Cons:
- The immigrants would not benefit when it comes to looking for jobs.
- Americans would get first priority when it comes job opportunities or anything that
requires paperwork over immigrants or refugees.

Regarding Unauthorized immigrants, it was found that, “noncitizens accounted for 4 percent of
the total prison population in the states.” (The Washington Post). This report was founded by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics from 2013 to 2016, which tells us that illegal immigrants are a factor
in our society and it shouldn’t be ignored. In addition, there are many pros and cons concerning
how it isn’t a bad idea to allow illegal immigrants into the United States. These pros and cons
include:

Pros:
- “As of September 2016, more than 752,000 young people have received work permits
and a reprieve from deportation through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or
 DACA, initiative launched by the Obama administration in 2012” (The Facts on
Immigration Today (Nicholson))

Cons:
- In recent years, the unauthorized population has declined slightly after continued growth
for decades. (“The Facts on Immigration Today(Nicholson))

- “In 2014, there were an estimated 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants residing in the
United States. This population reached a high of 12.2 million in 2007 but saw a gradual
decline during the Great Recession.” (The Facts on Immigration Today (Nicholson))

As you can see, there are statistics that show both positive and negative consequences of having
illegal immigrants in our country which makes illegal immigration a controversial topic. At the
end of the day, a decision will need to be made based on not only the best of our society, but the
best of the future.

When we can get a clear view of what the goal is, we must sit and look at the
consequences for security. The consequences for security in the United States is also an issue
with having to deal with people who enter the United States illegally. I was able to find several
pros and cons regarding this issue. A pro was that many Mexican immigrants were returning
home than arriving in the United States, due to the changes to laws and realizing it was difficult
to live in a country that is adapting every day.
Michael D. Nicholson stated in his article, The Facts on Immigration Today, “from 2009
to 2014, 1 million immigrants returned to Mexico while 870,000 arrived in the United States.”
(Nicholson). These statistics show that illegal immigrants and refugees are leaving the United
States, which in this case, helps our security with not having to stop them from entering,
especially if there choosing to leave voluntarily. A con is law enforcement, public schooling,
higher education, along with other areas, would struggle beneath the weight of a suddenly larger
populace. Having all these illegal immigrants and refugees coming in can also cause issues for
the American people, which is never a good thing especially in our society. At the end of the
day, we as the United States need to be able to not only support and motivate those countries
around us, but we also need to make sure we make our people a priority too… and that begins
with making the United States a safer place.
 Work Cited
The CAP Immigration Team and Michael D. Nicholson. “The Facts on Immigration Today:
2017 Edition.” Center for American Progress,
www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2017/04/20/430736/facts-immigration-
today-2017-edition/.

“Donald Trump's Mexico wall: Who is going to pay for it?” BBC News, BBC, 6 Feb. 2017,
www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37243269.

Ingold, David, et al. “Trump's Wall with Mexico: What We Know.” Bloomberg.com,
Bloomberg, 13 Feb. 2017, www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-trump-mexico-wall/will-this-
impact-mexico-relations/.

“Border Patrol History.” Border Patrol History | U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/history.

“Border Patrol Overview.” Border Patrol Overview | U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
www.cbp.gov/border-security/along-us-borders/overview.

Rizzo, Salvador. “Analysis | Trump's claim that immigrants bring 'tremendous crime' is still
wrong.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Jan. 2018,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2018/01/18/trumps-claim-that-immigrants-
bring-tremendous-crime-is-still-wrong/?utm_term=.d22403bc9072.