ANALYSIS OF THE USA BORDER AND COASTAL SECURITY      

ANALYSIS OF THE USA BORDER AND COASTAL SECURITY

Abstract

The United States has, for the last eighty-five years, tried to find effective and operational strategies for the coastal and border security. The discovery of the United States Border Patrol in 1924 manifested the certified commencement of efforts to restore adequate border security. The initiatives range from intercepting unauthorized migration and contraband seizure. Basic principles of the agents set to protect the borders have been preventing the illegal entrance of people in ports of entry together with interdicting and apprehending foreigners who have already made their way in the country. Policymakers claimed that most of the drug trafficking activities took place at the land and coastal boundaries. This encouraged enlarged stress on achieving active regulation to prohibit illegal actions. Furthermore, this new stress led to a review of boundary strategies; and as a result, boundary organizations began highlighting an objective of restriction (along with prohibition). The method for attaining this prevention would include better human resources as well as reserve placement to the boundary counties to observe movement and involve alleged violators.

Introduction

Efforts to restore security in the United States’ border and coastal region, as well as restricting access to the border, has been one of the country’s first efforts for the past years. Policymakers have been finding possible ways to restore the security around the borders. The United States, just like any other country, has monopolized the right to determine who as well as what is given authentic access to the country’s borders. The primary purpose of this report is to analyze what comprises of the existing border structure, whether it is functional, and other alternative ways to achieve border and coastal security in the United States. It addresses these issues through two contending models for theorizing a boundary security scheme, through the scrutiny of prevailing records and facts and using the demonstration of numerous governmental options.    For the opponents and supporters of the United States’ border security policy, there are several ways in which the security at the borders can be improved. As said earlier, this report delivers a summary of the current border security plan, the operationally concerned with tactical fundamentals, and assesses their efficiency. Forms from Congress plus the Administration and other books are used to bring together an all-encompassing image of the border and coastal security. This summary consists of the definition of the meaning of “border protection,” especially in modern background.

Based on this explanation, this report also delivers two theoretic representations for boundary security methodologies founded on free and helpful methods, surveyed by a protracted study of the main fundamentals within the contemporary border security framework. This study also comprises deliberations of how, as well as why some tactical elements, nevertheless, the majority of the current policies related to the security in boarders and coastal regions emphasize the physical boundary instead of theorizing the border in absolute terms. Numerical studies of some crucial signs are applied to assess the influence of the contemporary outline. Last, of all, this analysis gives some strategy alternatives— short-term as well as long-term—for dealing with the efficiency of existing border security strategies. It is vital to understand that even though this analysis deals simply with the migration of the general public and how they affect the border security, the same principles deliberated also relate to the shipment or coastal side of boundary security.

Literature Review

What is border protection?

Border security simply refers to the measures that a country or countries take to control the entry or exit of people, animals, or goods via its borders (US Legal, Inc., n.d).

Binder (2017) claims that boundaries, as a means of regional differentiation, have, for the longest time, been dominant ideas in worldwide affairs and have a significant effect on countries’ overseas and safety strategies. Boundaries are frequently uncertain, and differences are repeatedly more difficult on the marine, as a flawless meaning of sea boundaries is omitted. “The United Nations Convention of the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS)” tries to propose a marine perimeter organization but does not have the tools that purposeful perimeter management would necessitate. UNCLOS has been unsuccessful in regulating different entitlements and boundary disagreements on the coastal regions. This results in the absence of transparency regarding regional differentiation and intensifies the likelihood of fight, which affects safety strategies.

Theoretic Representations for Boundary Security

1. The Fortress Problem

Anderson (2016) explains that the fortress is grounded on the idea of protecting people in a specific country through the establishment of secure perimeters. In the past, the underlying ideology of this model was that security was a unilateral activity, giving fortification against attacks from outside and protecting those within the parameters of a country. Various prehistoric earthworks were fundamentally walled-in communities (Anderson, 2016). This protected the people from external attacks. When applied to the United States security case, it will consist of infrastructure like fences, sensors, other technology, and also the USBP patrolling practices. For several onlookers, together with several researchers, the idea of a fortification has been raised to disapprove the boundary protection and implementation-adjusted border strategies. For these opponents, emplacements pose unfriendly will to the United States and necessarily bring criminal activities founded on avoiding such battlements.

Moreover, challengers of this model claim that a fortress tactic splits societies and local markets that depend on movement. Besides, the debate that a buttresses methodology brings up an aggressive culture that goes in opposition to the American standards and weakens the lawfulness of the boundary security attempt in the society’s awareness. For followers of this model, nonetheless, a substitute containing interdependence as well as decreased walls presents a multitude of defenselessness to boundary security. A mutually supporting methodology undertakes both a readiness to distribute facts and an acceptable capability to detect bomber terrorizations and illegal features. Furthermore, it permits for calm spillover of actions adjoining the borders that might then be controlled outer the United States. Drug vehemence in Mexico, according to the opponents, illustrates the necessity for buttresses (Anderson, 2016).

1. Complex Organism

The inflexibility of certain defensive fundamentals in the fortress classic, such as fencing of the US border, could be branded as unfriendly and not suitable to the contemporary world where terrorizations are bendable and unlawful characters rapidly familiarize. As a result, the new approach may be well appropriate to show the situation supported by various border specialists: the complex allegory organism. Every complex organism consists of multiple systems that play individual and unique roles. However, they are all interdependent. A failure of a single organism leads to collapsing of the whole system. Each organism should be flexible to adjust to any changes within the system. Proponents of this model claim that it is critical to use this model since it shows the possible dangers of viewing the boundaries in segregation.

An inaccessible opinion inclines to outcomes in outlining border relations in aggressive standings and retorting with mobilized strategies absorbed on a stationary “facade.” Such tactics are fabricated around conventions about a country’s enemy that do not substantially delay in a ruling implementation background. Perimeter intimidations are forceful, regularly dispersed, and retort to economic forces, together with bomber occasions, together at the perimeter and inside. As a result, while the fortification model proposes that the edge is a fortified border to be entered, the complex organism model recommends that overlying organizations put their efforts together to eject unwanted fundamentals while simplifying the activities of wanted fundamentals. Though some opponents of this method might oppose that the model is not as safe as the fortress-grounded method, others contend that the complicated organism tactic might mainly result in better safety in the future. The motivation for such an expansion is multifold.           Leading, a multifaceted organism model produces an acknowledgment of the link amid border organizations and those of equally the inner and in distant nations. Secondly, it as well delivers better stability amongst these organizations for the reason that stability is indispensable for the efficient process of the entire. Thirdly, it allocates the danger all over the entity, instead of moving all of it to the perimeter, in that way generating improved safety through safety intersections and holdups. Lastly, an acknowledgment of the more magnificent setting permits the moving services—the source and plea for both authorized perimeter movements together with prohibited border destructions—to be spoken about via non-implementation networks, thus decreasing the burden on the boundary security strategies.

What comprises the existing border structure

The article by Cole & Fabbrini (2016) explains that border officials, together with the Congress, have been working together in developing comprehensive strategies for its border to benefit overall border violators. The topics below categorize the complete structure presently in place and try to excerpt the deliberate cohesions of numerous organization- as well as function-precise premeditated strategies concerning border safety.

The Mission and Goals of the Strategy

The mission of the strategy is to secure and manage the United States’ borders. The goals of the procedure include controlling the United States’ air, land, and coastal borders successfully, safeguard every legal traveling and trading, and recognizing, disrupting, and disassembling all criminal organizations across the nations. If there is proper implementation, the end product of the strategy for security across the borders will generate a regulating place for the movement of individuals through the United States border. This large boundary structure has been completed in the inner by numerous other backgrounds for many border–linked terrorizations that also establish coercions to the internal. As with the boundary plan, these hidden agendas are too entrenched in implementation strategies. Possibly most renowned of these strategies is the structure for fighting illegal entry into the country—an exertion identified as “slow destruction through implementation.”

Strategic Foundations

Various publications are outlining the different strategic foundations required for border security purposes. Some strategies show similarities and differences, but with all this, five elements emerge from these publications, and they include:

1. Organizational
2. Promising strategy route, synchronization, and continuousness of procedures through consolidated DHS management.
3. Endorsing a communal culture inside the organization to advance the organization and accomplishment of objectives.
4. Operational
5. Setting up covered safety through substructure, workforce, and additional labor multipliers.
6. Making the most of territory mindfulness to cope up with risks through leveraging of facts, intelligence, as well as know-how.

• Intensifying the region of safety by nurturing worldwide and national collaboration and organizations.

From an analytical point of view, the interaction between the goals, mission, and strategic foundations in enhancing border security can be understood as an interaction between consistent pillars. In their article, Cole and Fabbrini (2016) explain that the vital elements can serve all three operational foundations, and this helps in giving a response loop that tells the accomplishment of these objectives. For instance, a technical development that advances the capability of screening for lawbreakers amongst explorers possibly will also help in improving the rapidity with which authentic explorers are authorized to have their way through harbors of the entrance.

Its functionality

As stated above, the goals and missions of the frameworks are to enhance border and coastal security in the US. Various researchers have deliberated in-depth the effectiveness of these security strategies. The majority of these studies have been critical regarding the control of immigration. Conclusions from these studies concerning the unsuccessfulness of the existing border security strategies appear more unclear on the subject of ideas of accomplishment or lack of the same. Substantiation, both supportive and disproving the efficiency of the boundary structure, has developed, giving an often unclear image. If it is true that the border strategies serve as unified approaches in combating terrorism, sneaking in of criminals, as well as unauthorized immigration, then analyzing information related to any of these hot happenings can help tell whether the border security strategies are valid or not (Imran & Nordin, 2018).

The unsuccessful congressional endeavor at complete migration transformation concentrated transformed consideration on the United States’ boundary with Mexico and the encounters of criminal border passages and flowed in cross-boundary crimes. In retort to this, the Bush Government added extra Boundary Patrol representatives, set up new expertise at the boundary, as well as raising physical walls. These struggles have led to a reduction in the unlawful extraterrestrial populace in the United States and an extension of cross-boundary safety assistance with Mexico. Supporting these exertions is an indispensable constituent of recovering regulation of United States’ southern boundary and fighting cross-boundary law-breaking interest groups while refining the movement of authorized properties and facilities through the border.

Other alternative ways to achieve border and coastal security

In the article, “Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry,” Argueta argues that the US has not had any other large-scale bomber occurrence ever since 9/11, and this works as a display that the procedures that the country has put in place have resulted in bomber efforts being more challenging. Argueta (2016) recommends that the Trump government should adopt alternative measures that will help in securing the country’s borders, and such may include:

1. Expanding training capacities – Training is essential for new border managers since it will help in maintaining the security of the agent and ensuring that the agent understands as well fulfills his or her mission. Therefore the Congress needs to allocate funds for new classrooms and physical well-being amenities. This comes along with getting new strategies for training the security personnel to improve their performance.
2. Having contractors assist in providing adequate human resources since they can almost complete any border missions, however, if sufficient funds are not allocated for any human resources, tasks are likely to fail; hence, the government needs to invest in border projects and human resources. Private sectors can also be encouraged to invest in such projects. This does not exclusively involve land security alone, but coast border security needs to be improved.

• Expanding the Merida enterprise – dealing with drug cartels is essential for US security agents as well as Mexico. The US and Mexico came up with the Merida enterprise in 2008, an enterprise whose main objective is to deal with drug associations. The initiative has been allocated enough funds to see its success. Therefore, the United States needs to make sure that these funds are used for the right purpose, and by doing this, the coastal and border security will improve (Haughton, 2017).

Attaining maximum regulation of the boundaries is not non-compulsory since the safety of the United States relies significantly on the aptitude and will power of the United States administration to have its populations out of danger. The United States can, and ought to, organize it in such a manner that brings up success for the Americans as well as Mexicans similarly.

Methodology

The methodology used in this research is the content analysis where border security is defined and analyzed.  There is also an assessment of the effectiveness of applying the two models described; the fortress and the complex organism. After-9/11, information is also contained within to evaluate the position of illegitimate perimeter crosser findings and hesitations.

Analysis

Native-born people as per a 2014 report covered approximately 87% of the countrywide populace, although 6% of populaces were adopted citizens. About 7.1% were non-residents. The US rate of unemployment throughout 2014 was 5.8%. The joblessness degree counted lowest amongst adopted inhabitants, 4.6%, and uppermost amongst non-residents, 6.5%. (Elaine & Christine 2020). Rendering to the Medicaid publication, thirty-two federations permitted legally living settler children and expectant women to register in Medicaid or the “Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)” in 2016. The statistics of illegal immigrants differ conferring to the method applied, and there is an interval in the approximations since it consumes a lot of time for precise statistics to be made accessible.

The previous approximation produced by the “Office of Immigration Statistics at DHS” arrived in 2018: in January 2015, the total number of illegal settlers in the United States totaled to 11.96 million. In 2017, the maximum new Pew Research estimation claimed that the whole numeral of illegal settlers was 10.5 million. Generally, this symbolizes a marginal of the immigrant inhabitants, whereby in 2017, it totaled to 44.5 million, 45 percent of whom are accepted people, while 27 percent of the population was long-lasting legal inhabitants (Elaine & Christine 2020). Although anti-immigrant crowds uphold that the movement of illegal settlers has amplified, approximations display that for a lengthier era, the total of illegal immigrants has weakened, starting 12.2 million people as of 2005 up to 10.5 million people as of 2017 conferring to Pew’s approximations (Elaine & Christine 2020). DHS statistics do not go past 2015; however, they approximate that the populace of illegal settlers grew bigger by 70,000 populaces each year from 2010 to 2015, equating to upsurges of 470,000 each year amid 2000 to 2007.

On the other hand, concerning the construction of a wall, as said by specialists and investigates, the real price to build a fortification alongside the outstanding 2,100 kilometers of the perimeter could be as high as $20 million for every mile, which totals to $12.5 million for every kilometer, with a whole price equal to $45 billion, whereby the amount of isolated plot attainments and maintenance of the fence increasing the entire rate more. Looking after the fortification possibly will total to $750 million each year, plus if the Boundary Patrol representatives were to go around the barrier, the extra money would be used.Uneven and distant land on numerous portions of the boundary, for instance, deserts as well as mountains, would make building and upkeep of the wall costly.Authorities also annotate that on deserts that are secured by states and Inherent American reserves, the DHS might have extraordinary inadequate building power, and a barrier could lead to ecological destruction.

                Some approximations display $8 up to $12 billion prices for the development, even though others discover there exist sufficient doubts to push the cost up to $15 to $25 billion. As of February 2017, Reuters described that an interior claim by the DHS assessed that President Trump’s planned boundary fortification would total to $21.6 billion-plus waiting for three and half years to construct (Ainsley, 2017). This approximation is complex than estimations by Trump in the course of the operation ($12 billion) plus the $15 billion estimate from the Republican House Speaker and the Senate Majority Leader.

Conclusion

The border and coastal security strategies, protection of authorized exchange of goods and services, as well as the movement of people across the border are unavoidably unclear since the extensiveness and of the activities and also threats are broader. The goals are based on the idea that any strategy grounded on enforcement can, in the long run, prevent most of the undesirable activities. Border security is simply a complex system, where various organizations work together in enhancing border and coastal protection. According to the above analysis, it can be concluded that border security is still wanting as the number of unauthorized immigrants increases each year. It will be costly for the US government to construct a wall, even though this might enhance security around the borders and minimize and unlawful activities within the country. Future research needs to address whether the current strategies that the United States government is putting in place will lead to an adequate border and coastal security and whether illegal activities around the edges will decrease.

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References

Anderson, J. S. (2016). The Fortress Problem. Homeland Security Affairs, 12.

Ainsley, J. E. (2017). Trump Border Wall to Cost $21.6 Billion, Take 3.5 Years to Build: Internal Report. Reuters World News. February 9.

Argueta, C. N. (2016). Border Security: Immigration Enforcement Between Ports of Entry.

Binder, C. (2017). Border disputes through ill-defined borders: maritime territorial conflicts and   their impact on security. In Border Politics (pp. 33-50). Springer, Cham.

Cole, D., & Fabbrini, F. (2016). Bridging the transatlantic divide? The United States, the European Union, and the protection of privacy across borders. International Journal of           Constitutional Law, 14(1), 220-237.

Elaine Kamarck and Christine Stenglein. (2020, February 18). How many undocumented immigrants are in the United States, and who are     they? Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/votervital/how-many-            undocumented-immigrants-are-in-the-united-states-and-who-are-they/

Haughton, S. A. (2017). Border Security and Cooperative Initiatives to Counter Illicit Drug           Trafficking.

Imran, M., & Nordin, R. (2018). Irregular Cross Border Migration, Emigrant’s Issues, and State             Security. International Journal, 3(9), 1-13.

Olson, E. L. (2017). The Merida initiative and shared responsibility in US-Mexico security            relations. The Wilson Quarterly, 41(1).

US Legal, Inc. (n.d). Border Control Law and Legal Definition. Legal Definitions Legal Terms     Dictionary | US Legal, Inc. https://definitions.uslegal.com/b/border-control/