Looking for help on the border: those who claim that the federal government lacks the resources to secure our borders should consider the enormous human and economic resources allocated elsewhere."First, the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. must secure its borders," declared President Bush, in his May 15 televised address to the nation on immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. . He continued: "This is a basic responsibility of a sovereign nation. It is also an urgent requirement of our national security.... The border should be open to trade and lawful Licit; legally warranted or authorized. The terms lawful and legal differ in that the former contemplates the substance of law, whereas the latter alludes to the form of law. A lawful act is authorized, sanctioned, or not forbidden by law. immigration, and shut to illegal immigrants illegal immigrant n. an alien (non-citizen) who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa. (See: alien) , as well as criminals, drug dealers, and terrorists." Putting On a Show This was not the first time the president had delivered tough talk about border security. But, critics point out, it has been just that--talk--he has never delivered on the promised goods: the increased personnel, budget, and infrastructure necessary to actually gain control over our badly broken borders. To convince skeptics that he really means business about border security, the president said that he would be sending "up to 6,000" members of the National Guard to our southern border, while gradually adding 6,000 Border Patrol officers. Those numbers may sound impressive to some, but knowledgeable observers of the president's disastrous immigration record are unimpressed, seeing it as too little, too late and too susceptible to reversal. Experts who have been calling for deployment of U.S. military forces on the border have usually cited the need for 15,000-25,000 troops to deal adequately with the current crisis situation. Former Border Patrol sector chief and Border Patrol Academy director (and former Bush supporter) William King William King may be:
1. Contraction of he is: He's going to school today. 2. Contraction of he has: He's already been to the museum. already saying that they won't be allowed to do anything substantive. So they'll be put there for show for a few months before the election. President Bush has shown over and over again that he's very good at making promises to secure the border, but also very dependable on breaking those promises." What about the promised 6,000 additional Border Patrol agents? Mr. King reminds us that in 2004 President Bush made a similar pledge, promising to add 10,000 Border Patrol agents, and even signed it into law. But two months later he reneged on the deal. Instead of the promised 10,000 agents, the Border Patrol got only 210! "That was a step backward," says King, "since it didn't even make UP for the Border Patrol's losses to attrition Attrition The reduction in staff and employees in a company through normal means, such as retirement and resignation. This is natural in any business and industry. Notes: ." Words Versus Deeds Just how serious is the federal government about securing our borders, arguably ar·gu·a·ble adj. 1. Open to argument: an arguable question, still unresolved. 2. That can be argued plausibly; defensible in argument: three arguable points of law. one of the most important functions the federal government is supposed to provide? Not very serious at all, to judge by the lack of priority given to this function in terms of manpower and budget. The U.S. Border Patrol has fewer than 12,000 agents to protect over 7,000 miles of border with Mexico and Canada, and a budget of $1.4 billion. Even with the president's proposals to add 6,000 new agents and spend an additional $1.9 billion, the Border Patrol barely accounts for a blip on the mammoth mammoth, name for several large prehistoric elephants of the extinct genus Mammuthus, which ranged over Eurasia and North America in the Pleistocene epoch. 2.7 million-man federal workforce and annual federal budget in Fiscal Year 2006 of $2.47 trillion One thousand times one billion, which is 1, followed by 12 zeros, or 10 to the 12th power. See space/time. (mathematics) trillion - In Britain, France, and Germany, 10^18 or a million cubed. In the USA and Canada, 10^12. (which the president proposes to raise to $2.87 trillion in FY 2007). As Chart #1 shows, there should be plenty of room for discretionary cutting of personnel and budgets in other agencies to provide the resources necessary for genuine homeland security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States . The Department of Agriculture, for instance, has 112,071 employees and Health and Human Services Noun 1. Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Department of Health and Human Services, HHS has 63,413. Is it really impossible to trim a few thousand bureaucrats from these and other agencies and departments in order to secure our borders? Still another way to test the seriousness of our political leaders' commitment to true border security is to look at the deployment of our nation's military personnel and assets. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Department of Defense press office, we currently have 430,000 active duty military personnel serving in 174 countries, but zero protecting America's borders. The numbers shown in Chart #2 do not even include the U.S. Department of Defense civilian personnel serving abroad, which total 46,823. Nor do they include the total number of foreign nationals under hire by Department of Defense at our various overseas deployments: another 52,851. Thus, all told, we are employing nearly 530,000--over half a million--U.S. military personnel, U.S. civilians, and foreign nationals to defend other countries and alleged U.S. interests abroad, while leaving our own nation undefended. Tough-sounding rhetoric cannot hide the fact that securing our borders has been, and remains, a low-level priority for the powers that be in Washington. Chart # 1 Federal Dept./Agency Manpower Budget * HHS 63,413 $676.9 billion Agriculture 112,071 $96.3 billion Interior 77,557 $9.3 billion EPA 18,000 $7.6 billion Transportation 57,130 $64.6 billion Energy 15,021 $21.0 billion Border Patrol 11,300 $1.4 billion * Estimates are for the current fiscal year. Chart # 2 Federal Dept./Agency Manpower Budget * HHS 63,413 $676.9 billion Agriculture 112,071 $96.3 billion Interior 77,557 $9.3 billion EPA 18,000 $7.6 billion Transportation 57,130 $64.6 billion Energy 15,021 $21.0 billion Border Patrol 11,300 $1.4 billion * Estimates are for the current fiscal year. |
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