Existing literature reveal that many countries of the world have faced security challenges for a long period. In particular, the United States has been a target of many terrorist groups both from within and outside the country and efforts have been made by the federal government to enhance homeland security.
According to Chad, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Pennsylvania posed a great challenge to the American government as far as ensuring the security of the citizens especially in densely populated centers as well as areas of high-risk potential is concerned (2010). This is due to the fact that these areas are easy targets for terrorists and other organized crime.
Among other measures, the U.S. government embarked on strengthening the security along the country’s borders with an aim of preventing possible infiltration by terrorists. The U.S. government has also remained committed to the eradication of all known organized crime globally by dedicating huge amount of resources towards the fight against terrorism (Steinmetz, 2011).
However, this war has persisted for about a decade with renewed terrorism attacks on the American people both at home and abroad. The paper discusses the United States border security and the comparisons between the Canadian and Mexican borders.
It compares issues with imports and exports, the terrain, and most importantly, how there have always been border security issues concerning our national security and even more so today. The threat posed by a weak U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders with a focus on terrorist threats within and outside America will be discussed.
It also considers the likelihood of the Al Qaeda network, Iran and other extremists intending to harm Americans using these weak borders as entry points to the U.S. The paper also explores the illegal trades which include drug, firearms, and human trafficking taking place in the southern and northern borders.
The Canadian and Mexican Borders
Trade and Prosperity
Towards the end of the 20th century into the 21st century, “globalization” has been understood in terms of breaking down borders between nations of the world. It has been argued that economic integration and interdependence results in the decline of regulatory measures, more porous borders, and increased lenient cross-border policies.
Advocates of globalization have championed the need for free movement of goods, money, and people across borders. These advocates in America have pushed for an open U.S.-Mexico border where there movement of labor is unregulated. Earlier demands for an open border saw significant advancements in cross-border relations between America and its southern and northern borders (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2010).
The U.S.-Canada as well as the U.S.-Mexico borders has emerged as the world’s busiest land crossings. The coming into effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) resulted in accelerated cross-border commercial flows.
However, NAFTA spells out strong terms of relation between America and her two neighbors. The links between Canada and Mexico are weak compared with those the U.S. The strongest link comes in when the issue is of interest to each of them (Goldfarb, 2005). Matters of security and prosperity bring the two nations together while their individual priorities force them work separately.
The agreement is an indicator that Canada and Mexico are strong trading partners with United States. The tension between Canada and Mexico has been aggravated by the reluctance of each to help the other. For instance, Canada has not been actively involved in helping Mexico overcome its economic development woes caused by stiff competition from the Chinese.
This has resulted in slower rate of development (Ganster & Lorey, 2008). After the September 11 attacks on U.S. soil, the two countries were forced to reconsider their relations in terms of domestic and foreign interests.
There are major differences in the priorities of the two countries that make the possibility of their union a near illusion. Canada’s main priority is to ensure that it can securely and predictably access the U.S. market freely given that it is the world’s leading economy and superpower (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 2010).
Migration of Mexicans is not an issue in Canada because very few of them settle within the country’s territory. Canada believes that it is advanced when it comes to border issues just like its southern neighbor, U.S. The country is therefore more interested on Canada-U.S. (bilateral) relations as opposed to trilateral approaches.
The coming into operation of NAFTA saw the elimination of origin rules and related tariffs. However, non-NAFTA Canadian and U.S. tariff rates have been found to be much lower than those Mexico (Andreas, 2009). This argument has been used by Canada in preferring bilateral approaches.
On the contrary, apart from desiring a secure access, Mexico’s priority is to legalize migration flows across its border with the U.S. as well as to ensure economic development in the country (Zaiotti, 2011). This great priority became more critical after the events of September 11.
Mexico has also had to deal with conflicting interests in terms of whether to pursue bilateral, trilateral, multilateral or domestic economic initiatives. As a result, this difference in priorities makes these countries have little interest in each other as compared to their interest in the U.S. and other countries.
According to Goldfarb, they have so much that can bring them together than those that can separate the two countries (2005). One of the most critical areas of cooperation is on security especially the prevention of organized crime.
Both countries are aware of the fact that they share international boundaries with a country that prides itself of the largest economy in the world. They are also concerned with America’s security policies that may hinder their prosperity. Unfavorable security initiatives may make it difficult and more expensive to cross both the southern and northern borders resulting in slowed growth.
Furthermore, the two nations have been frustrated by America’s introduction of the WTO-inconsistent Byrd amendment that has made the resolution of trade disputes quite difficult (Steinmetz, 2011). The emergence of China and India as potential economic giants is a challenge to Canada and Mexico. In particular, China’s rapid industrial growth has had a significant impact on Mexico (Andreas, 2009).
They both have to ensure that their growth is at a faster rate than those of Asian countries if they are to remain active on the global trade platform. It is clear, therefore, that the relation between these two countries is of great significance to the U.S. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), 2004).
This is particularly so because of their role when it comes to ensuring security of all Americans. The southern and northern borders, as it will be discussed later in this paper, serve as entry points for terrorists, illegal immigrants, and routes for other heinous activities.
Terrain
Canada borders the United States to the north while Mexico lies to the south. According to the statistics hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S.-Mexican land and water border stretches about 2,000 miles along the four states of America: Texas, New Mexico, California and Arizona (U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Van Zandt, 1976).
The Arizona state border with Mexico includes 19.1 miles along the Colorado River. The U.S.-Canadian land and water border line covers about 4,000 miles (CBP, 2004). It is the longest international boundary line. Of the 50 U.S. states, 13 of them share the international boundaries with Canada.
The estimated distances of the southern Mexican border and the northern Canadian border are easy to measure because of the presence of long straight stretches unlike the coastlines. For instance, the U.S.-Canada border stretches about 900 miles along the 49th parallel (Zaiotti, 2011).
The Threat of a Weak U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada Borders
The U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders have been known to be one of the major threats to the security of America owing to the ease with which terrorists and organized criminals exploit loopholes. A weak U.S.-Mexican border, therefore, will serve as the entry point for the criminal gangs if strict security initiatives are not put in place.
For a long time now, there has been a raging debate among Americans especially politicians on issues of border security and illegal immigration. The southern border has been given special attention by many advocacy groups and news agencies since it accounts for a large number of immigrants into the United States (McCaul, 2009).
This border has become a major entry point for terrorists, organized criminals and drug and human traffickers. This has become one of the greatest threats to the security of citizens living along the border. American law enforcement agencies have also been put to task in ensuring maximum security.
The international criminal networks like Al Qaeda who are constantly planning terrorist activities have exploited the existing gangs living in the U.S (Ganster & Lorey, 2008). This is because there is relative to the ease in the exchange of information.
The ever-growing Islamic extremism has also become a source of threat faced by Americans since the September 11 terrorist attacks. Statistics from the security agencies reveal that anti-American Islamic movements within America, Mexico and Canada have increased significantly (Chad, 2010).
U.S. security agencies have made thousands of arrests of suspected international terrorists linked with other criminal networks. These terrorists and criminals smuggle materials through the borders. They are also known for sharing crucial information that is in turn used to execute terrorist attacks on innocent citizens.
Although the U.S.-Canadian border is guarded by law enforcement agencies, it is commonly known as the world’s longest undefended border (Smith, 2011). Compared to the southern border, the northern border had generally not been heavily monitored by the U.S. customs and immigration agencies.
This is because there were no military personnel deployed to defend this international boundary. The U.S.-Mexico border is manned by over nine thousand National Guard troops. It does not have a high fence like the one built along the southern border. Security measures are relatively less stringent for the U.S.-Canada border and this is a potential loophole for illegal immigrants and drug and human traffickers (Steinmetz, 2011).
Canada has emerged as the largest trading partner for America followed by Mexico. This has greatly influenced the type of rules dictating the nature of relations between the two nations and the U.S.
In formulating the rules, America views Mexico as a ‘high risk’ nation compared to Canada and hence the varying terms of engagement especially when it comes immigration which is not included in NAFTA (Chad, 2010). Before the dawn of the 21st century, the U.S. had ignored the need to protect its northern border and in fact the international boundary was nonexistent.
However, the events of September 11 reversed the way in which America treat its border with Canada. The findings of the post-9/11 terrorist attacks revealed that a significant number of terrorists enter the United States through Canada. This revelation has ever since transformed the perception of Americans concerning the border.
It is currently viewed as a vulnerable entry point just like the southern border. Security measurers between America and Canada have been reviewed and are much tougher compared to the pre-9/11 era (Forest, 2008). Canada initially complained of U.S.’s disregard of the northern border but is now in an awkward situation due to the overwhelming negative attention it receives from her southern neighbor.
Compared to the number of agents on the southern border, there was a negligible number of agents policing the northern border before the infamous 9/11 attacks. However, the number of agents sent to police the U.S.-Canada border has been increasing annually due to mounting pressure from Americans (Forest, 2008).
Critics argue that savvy terrorists will still infiltrate the country through Canada since thousands of well trained personnel have failed to stop hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from Mexico despite its much shorter border length.
With the knowledge of huge security threat posed by a weak U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders, the United States security agencies have put in place measurers that regulate the entry of millions of immigrants as well as facilitate the exchange of billions of dollars of legal business each year (Hernandez, 2010).
These regulatory policies have been reviewed regularly and tightened especially during moments of suspected terrorist attacks. However, even with the vigilance at the border, illegal activities perpetrated by criminals persist due to the porous border points of the United States (Smith, 2011).
According to Shirk, the presence of the constant threat from these criminal groups at the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders has made cross-border interaction difficult for Mexican and Canadian citizens as well as law enforcement agencies (2011).
The southern and northern borders are a source of threat to Americas due to the long-standing drug wars, human trafficking and smuggling which have opened up loopholes for the entry of international terrorist networks especially by the extremist Islamic groups like those from Iran and Afghanistan.
Other activities associated with these terrorists include money laundering, weaponry dealings, among other illegal activities which help them reap millions of dollars in revenue each year (Forest, 2008). These terrorists then embark on recruiting more followers, raise funds for their groups, and plan and execute potentially deadly attacks similar to those September 11.
Conclusion
It is undoubtedly paramount to strengthen the security at the southern and northern borders if Americans are to be assured of their long-term safety. The paper has discusses the state of U.S. border security with a focus on the Canadian and Mexican borders.
It has compared issues of trade from a trilateral perspective, the terrain of the northern and southern international boundaries with emphasis on how there have always been border security issues concerning our national security and even more so today.
The threat posed by a weak U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders with a focus on terrorist threats within and outside America has been discussed. The possibility of the Al Qaeda network, Iran and other extremists who are out to harm innocent citizens using these weak borders as entry points to the U.S has also been captured in the paper. It can be concluded
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