Assessing the State of Security at the US-Mexico Border

In 2012, citizens in both the United States and Mexico elected leaders to their nations’ highest offices. The simultaneous presidential elections, which only occur every 12 years, brought common issues into the political spotlight, including security concerns along the US-Mexico border.

In a 2012 working paper, “The State of Security in the US-Mexico Border Regions,” Eric L. Olson and Erik Lee create a framework to examine the efficacy of efforts to secure the border. The authors, experts at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, suggest four core areas on which to evaluate border security: incidence of terror related cross-border threats; levels of violence in the border region, seizures of drugs, money, and firearms at the border; and detentions of undocumented and unauthorized migrants.

Olson and Lee reject the likelihood of terror related cross-border threats, citing a lack of conclusive evidence that the border either serves as a port of entry for terrorist organizations or that ties exist between Mexican criminal organizations and terrorist groups. The authors write, “Various public announcements on the part of federal government officials in various agencies state a common theme: no significant terrorist threat to the United States has materialized in Mexico nor penetrated the US-Mexico border since 2001.”

Nevertheless, the report highlights the potential for increased terrorist activity at the border. Analyzing data from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Olson and Lee suggest, “The primary terrorist related concern at the border involve Aliens from Special Interest Countries,” or nationals from countries that harbor or sponsor terrorist activities who are attempting to illegally cross into the United States. Citing a Department of Justice article, Olson and Lee hint at the possibility of emerging terrorist activity at the border, noting, “The threat of terrorism exists wherever criminals regularly exploit gaps in homeland security.”

Regarding violence in the border region, the authors compare statistics from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Statistics and the Office of the Mexican Attorney General to illustrate the north-south security asymmetries. For example, the authors compare 2011 incidences of violence in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua (a total of 1,206 murders) to incidences of violence in El Paso, Texas (a total of 16 murders) to illustrate the disparate effects of violence on each side of the border.

Among their many recommendations, the authors encourage the bilateral use of technology and creativity to make the land ports of entry less bureaucratic and more efficient. They also recommend greater collaboration on intelligence sharing and greater cooperation on border management between US and Mexican officials. Considering the broader geopolitical climate, Olson and Lee suggest that the current state of the border begs “for more comprehensive, creative, and collaborative solutions between these two countries, one a superpower and the other a key emerging power.”

Feature Photo: cc/waynewhuang