Sunday, June 20, 2010

U.S.-Mexican border security continues to deteriorate, officials say

Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officials interviewed by The Washington Examiner say it is Mexico's bad policies that pose a security risk to law enforcement in the field. "Do you think U.S. Border Patrol agents would allow American teenagers to throw rocks at Mexican police or military from our side of the border into Mexico?" a Department of Homeland Security official said. "It would never happen. But daily, agents and officers are confronted by thugs while Mexican law enforcement rarely lifts a finger and many times are a part of the problem." Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officials pointed out Mexico's Grupo Beta, described by Mexican officials as a migrant welfare agency group, for criticism. The group assists 150 to 200 migrants a day who are seeking to enter the United States illegally with water, maps and other services. The Mexican government's foreign ministry in 2005 issued a 32-page comic book that is still circulating on illegal smuggling routes providing tips on how to enter the United States illegally. The persistent corruption among Mexican law enforcement agencies complicate the problem with violence on the border, American border agents say. Mexican police who are not corrupt are intimidated by powerful drug trafficking organizations, U.S. agents said. "It is a storm that's only going to get worse," said a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who has investigated Mexican drug cartels...more

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