In defense of the U.S. Border Patrol
The U.S. Border Patrol has been getting a bum rap from the media lately.First, we heard about the sex-craved customs inspector who let drugs through at the Blaine crossing in exchange for sex acts from a Canadian prostitute.
Then, a group of uninformed Seattle University students embarrassed their entire campus earlier this month, when they protested the university's Career Day event. Their anger stemmed from the mere presence of Border Patrol agents - who, like most of the law enforcement groups represented, were there to recruit - at a Jesuit institution. From The Spectator, SU's student newspaper:
Protesters also encouraged passing students to sign a petition against recruiters at Seattle U.You're right, Marianne. It's absolutely shocking that the university would give a legitimate government agency - an agency you and the rest of the idealistic social justice monkeys blame for doing their job effectively - the chance to give students jobs in a workforce where employment are getting harder and harder to find. It's not like the immigrants they work keep out of the country are illegal or anyth---oh wait. My bad.
“The Border Patrol should not be allowed to recruit on our campus because their tactics are responsible for thousands of deaths of migrant people trying to cross the border,” explained Lauren Ressler, freshman environmental studies major.
“The policies of the U.S. Border Patrol seem to contradict the policies of Seattle University; it’s shocking that they would be invited,” said Marianne Mork, sophomore humanities major.
Finally, in yesterday's Times, the Border Patrol is under fire yet again:
A couple of months ago, the U.S. Border Patrol began occasional "spot checks" of every vehicle and passenger arriving in Anacortes off state ferries, the lifeline between these islands and the mainland.A prime example of when rural folks with too much time on their hands let their conspiracy theories run wild. As the article points out, we're not talking Nazi Germany here; you don't have to answer any questions if you're on a domestic ferry, and Border Patrol agents have only arrested 43 people (38 of them Mexicans) in nearly two months of investigation.
[...]
In the islands' coffee shops and the editorial pages of the local paper, then in a crowded, heated meeting last month, a number of people have complained that islanders are being unfairly treated and questioned, even though they haven't left the country and normally wouldn't be subject to such scrutiny.
Terms like "police state" are hurled around, as they say the searches are illegal, unconstitutional — and just a ruse to catch illegal immigrants and petty drug users.
While I would take issue with using the Border Patrol to make arrests for "petty drug use" - or anything that doesn't involve bringing people or products across the border illegally - the article makes no further mention of such activity other than in the sentence quoted above (unsubstantiated fear mongering, perhaps?).
The local stance on illegal immigration baffles me, when the answer to this fiery debate is simple: if you don't want to be hassled for being an illegal immigrant, then don't enter the United States illegally. And if you're an American who has problems with how we guard our borders, then do something constructive about it; immigration is an issue that has to be dealt with through an overhaul of our legal system (which is run by people we elect), not through appeals on emotional grounds. And blaming the Border Patrol is a ridiculously misguided approach to take.
