U.S. Border Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

U.S. Border Security - Essay Example We pride ourselves on our profound and almost unique commitment to liberty, and the legal institutions and civic culture that have made America probably the freest society in history" (Herman Schwartz, Security and liberty in an age of terrorism). Immediately after September 11, President George W. Bush proclaimed a "war on terrorism" that would be global struggle and would continue far into the future. After hours of the attack, Attorney General John Ashcroft made the Department of Justice prepare legislative proposals. Prosecutors denied their old wish lists and created a large proposal, which, with other provisions, became the 342-page USA-Patriot Act. When it was forced through just six weeks later, not many members of Congress had read this bill, and many voted for it with doubts. So great was the pressure to take some protective action against terrorism, however, that only one senator and 66 House members voted against it. The most important point of the proposal was dedicated to United States Border Security; and after the eleventh of September some measures have been taken. The author of this research is going to descry the situation of United States border security, clarify the advantages and weaknesses of American security system. I would like to concentrate on United States Mexico and Canadian borders. The United States Mexico barrier The United States Mexico barrier is in fact several separation barriers planned to prevent illegal immigration into the United States from the territory of neighboring Mexico. Its key target is Mexican nationals and other Latin Americans, though in recent years other groups (for instance Asians of different nationalities) have also been using the porous Mexican border to make safe access to the USA. The barriers were designed as part of three larger "Operations" to prevent illegal immigration, Operation Gatekeeper in California, Operation Hold-the-Line in Texas, and Operation Safeguard in Arizona. The purpose of these barriers is to make immigrants cross the border with numerous difficulties, in order to reduce migration. Several scholars, who scrutinized this subject, state that these operations are just a public relations strategy used to persuade U.S. citizens that the border is "secure", while the economy benefits from the continuing flow of cheap labor across the border. The 3140 km (1,951 mile) border between the United States and Mexico crosses a variety of terrains, including urban areas and deserts. The barrier is situated in the urban sections of the border; actually the great number of migrations took place in this location. These urban areas include California, Texas, San Diego and El Paso. The success of the barrier led to a noticeable increase in the number of people trying to cross the Sonoran Desert and the Baboquivari Mountains in Arizona. Such migrants