Border Patrol in Arizona

Alexa Ibarra English 102 Mrs. Nowotny-Young April 7th, 2010 What can we do to mitigate the affects of drug smuggling in Arizona? According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy there were 5,225 juvenile and 24,145 adult drug arrests in Arizona during 2006. The state of Arizona is a state of high intensity drug trafficking, which has therefore lead Arizona to be a state of great danger. The crime dealt with locals, the location of how easily accessible the border is and the networking that has become so large and causes immense crime in Arizona.

What can be done to mitigate the affects of drug smuggling in Arizona? For those who are neighbors to the border, they are very influenced by the drugs, crime and risk their lives daily because of the positioning of their home. For most who live near the border it is a matter of culture and heritage. Payan demonstrates a “birds eye view” and how officials disregard the opinions and thoughts of those who live in the bordering areas. Apparently, they believe that the government should come up with a new approach, which could provide citizens with more privacy and more security in their neighborhoods due to high crime.

Another big problem is that because these areas by the borders are so poor, locals feel pressured to become involved in these illicit activities in the drug smuggling business. The newspaper article by Eckholm demonstrates specific drug smuggling in Sells, Arizona. Tribes in Sells have been feeling as though they are being put in the middle, and that security is not strong enough too protect them from the dangers of drug smugglers. Residents of neighborhoods of bordering towns of Mexico those who believe that security in bordering towns must be more secure and refined.

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The purpose of the article is to give readers a taste of how it is to live in such an area, and that residents are in great danger because of the drug smuggling corruption. Many residents are often times afraid to leave their homes because of the violence and mischief they deal with at nighttime when serious crime is done. Many think this is unfair due to the government’s lack of support to the locals, which would benefit them and put them in less harm and danger. “The smuggling of people and drugs across their backyards is something residents here have dealt with for decades.

But, they say the killing of Krentz cements a disturbing evolution that began a few years ago - illegal border activity has gone from irritating to deadly dangerous. ”(Mccombs 1) the killing of Robert Krentz 58 was killed by a suspected illegal immigrant. Most residents here say they believe the killer was a Mexican drug smuggler. “Many blame the U. S. government for ignoring their warnings about the increased criminal activity and for failing to protect them. The Krentz family says it holds no malice toward Mexican people. They say political forces in U. S and Mexico are accountable for the death. (McComb 1) Arizona shares a 370-mile border with Mexico. This border area, a large portion of which is open and sparsely populated, cannot be continuously monitored by border enforcement agencies and is used extensively by drug trafficking organizations to smuggle illicit drugs into the United States. Significant quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are smuggled from Mexico into Arizona. Federal-wide Drug Seizure System data indicate that Arizona ranked second in the country behind Texas in the total quantity of illicit drugs seized in 2002.

Arizona is a national-level distribution center for illicit drugs, largely due to its multifaceted transportation infrastructure. Drug traffickers commonly use private vehicles and commercial trucks to smuggle illicit drugs into and through the state. Couriers traveling aboard commercial aircraft, commercial buses, and passenger railcars and package delivery services also are used by traffickers, but to a lesser extent. DTOs and criminal groups generally use Interstates 8, 10, 17, 19, and 40 as well as U. S. Highways 85 and 86 as primary routes for transporting drugs throughout Arizona and from Arizona to other regions of the country.

Interstate 8 extends from San Diego through Yuma and terminates at I-10, approximately midway between Phoenix and Tucson. Interstate 10 ps the entire country, connecting Arizona, particularly Phoenix and Tucson, with the West Coast at Los Angeles and the East Coast at Jacksonville, Florida. Interstate 17 connects Phoenix to Flagstaff and provides access to eastern and western states via I-40. Interstate 19 connects Nogales on the U. S. -Mexico border with I-10 at Tucson. Interstate 40 originates at I-15 in Barstow, California, passes through Arizona, and terminates at Wilmington, North Carolina.

US 85 begin at the U. S. -Mexico border and ends in the Phoenix metropolitan area. US 86 split from US 85 and extend eastward to Tucson. The Obama administration would like to invest in an “invisible fence” which would take up to 672 million dollars in costs to create. The Bush administration launched the project in 2005 to help secure the border against illegal immigrants, drug smugglers and other intruders. It was conceived as another layer of protection, in addition to thousands of Border Patrol agents and 650 miles of real fences.

The system was supposed to let a small number of dispatchers watch the border on a computer monitor, zoom in with cameras to see people crossing and decide whether to send Border Patrol agents to the scene. Although there are sensors, cameras and radar at many points along the border, they are not connected to cover large expanses. Originally, the virtual fence was supposed to be completed by 2011 but due to technical problems it has been changed to 2014. “Among other things, the radar system had trouble distinguishing between vegetation and people when it was windy.

Also, the satellite communication system took too long to relay information in the field to a command center. By the time an operator moved a camera to take a closer look at a spot, whatever had raised suspicion was gone. ” (Billeaud 1) The technical issues that follow the virtual fence, along with funding problems keep delaying the creation of the virtual fence. According to Jorg Raab he explains that networking can often lead to crime. Networking is being negatively used for drug trade and putting many people in danger because of it.

Raab focus is directed to those who view networking as a negative action, and believes that these networks should be confronted if western democracies wish to deal with terrorism, drug smuggling and manifolds pathologies that confront failed states. The Minutemen group has been created through a voluntary group, which is dedicated to preventing illegal crossings of the Unites States border. Arguing that the government is insufficiently concerned with securing the U. S. border they have organized several state chapters, with the intention of providing law enforcement agencies with evidence of immigration law violations.

Minutemen are a positive volunteer group but because they are risking their lives with no pay this puts the minutemen at very low numbered group members. The drug smuggling problem has become huge in Arizona. Whether it may affecting the locals, its relative closeness and easily navigable location or that networks have completely taken over the streets drug smuggling is something important and extremely important to understand in order to affectively change it. Some believe that the key to keeping danger away is to focus less on illegal immigration and focus more on drug traffickers who are creating danger to citizens of the border.

The Obama administration is hoping to assess an invisible fence, which would keep illegal immigration and drug smuggling out of the United States, but with funding this, may take years to process. The minutemen system has been effective but the fact that it is voluntary puts the volunteers in dangerous situations, which can be misleading. Overall the drug smuggling problem in Arizona has brought much crime and danger to citizens and must be taken care of before drug smugglers expand and put more neighborhoods at harm. Works Cited Billeaud, Jacques. "Invisible fence at U. S. -Mexico border in real trouble. " The Commercial Appeal.

N. p. , Jan. -Feb. 2010. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. Eckholm, Erik. “In Drug War, Tribe Feels Invaded By Both Sides. ” The New York Times 24 Jan. 2010: n. pag. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. McCombs, Brady. "Chiricahua neighbors fearful as never before. " Arizona Daily Star 3 Apr. 2010: n. pag. AZstarnet. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. Payan, Tony. The three U. S. -Mexico border wars: drugs, immigration, and Homeland Security. Westport: Praeger Security International, 2006. N. Print. Raab, Jorg, and H Brinton Milward. "Dark Networks as Problems. " Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 13. 4 (2003): 413-439. Web. 14 Mar. 2010.

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