Editorial - State must organize to fight cross-border crime

The March 27th murder of Cochise County rancher Robert Krentz has renewed calls for increased efforts to secure the border and stop illegal aliens from coming into Arizona. The problem of confronting and winning the war against cross-border crime will take more than politically popular legislation and tough talk that targets petty offenders and made-for-TV illegal alien roundups on the streets and down on the border. Arizona isn’t up against a bunch of misdemeanants; the state is up against the Mexican drug cartels, “the greatest organized crime threat to the United States” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Arizona has become the path of least resistance for the Mexican mob over the years and is now recognized internationally as the “gateway” for drugs and organized crime entering the U.S. from Mexico. The time has come for the governor, attorney general or U.S. attorney to take the lead and design a comprehensive statewide law enforcement strategy that incorporates city, county, state and federal agencies and the National Guard in an all-out attack on organized, cross-border and serious crime throughout Arizona. The job of protecting the people of Arizona, from human and drug smuggling to murder, isn’t getting done...more