Defending The Borders?

The situation on the southern border of the US ....

Scenes Like This On Mexican US Border Disturb Republicans

 ....has been a bone of contention between Democratic President Biden's administration and the Republicans for most of 2021 and 2022.

This has been particularly true of Republicans in those four US states that border Mexico, where although Biden won California, Arizona and New Mexico (losing only Texas), in the 2020 Presidential Election, the local state legislature of Arizona and Texas are both Republican controlled. 

Bridge Banner Threat .... Raised Tensions

Matters and tensions ratcheted up a few more degrees, when in July 2021, the leader of one of Mexico's drug/trafficking cartels posted a banner on a pedestrian bridge on the Mexican side of the border, in the town of Juárez, but still clearly visible to US Border officials with the threat: 'Bullets can also cross the river and the (border) wall'

The banner went on to warn the municipal, state and ministerial police, the Mexican national guard and "la migra" (slang for the US immigration police - Border Force), to stop messing with "polleros," or human smugglers. The banner was signed was signed in vulgar slang "La Mera Verga de Todo Juárez" ... literally meaning "the biggest penis [dick] in all of Juárez," or perhaps more politely 'The big man of Juárez'

The full text was "Warning. This is for the municipal [police], state, National Guard and for the fucking gringos of La Migra [U.S. Border Patrol]. Stop fucking with the polleros [human smugglers] or we will kill you. Bullets also can cross the river and the [border] wall, so stop fucking us around.”

This is the background to a move by a Republican Arizona State Representative, Jake Hoffman to file a formal request for a legal opinion from the Arizona Attorney General on whether or not the federal government has failed to uphold its obligations, to protect US states from invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. 

Not Defending US From Invasion?

This part of the constitution states that the federal government will protect US states from invasion. Four states, Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas have been seeing unprecedented attempts by people traffickers to smuggle thousands across their borders with Mexico. 

In the request he makes several claims about crime increases in Arizona:

• In Financial Year (FY) 20, CBP arrested 2,438 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions. In the first 8 months of 2021 alone, CBP has arrested 9,728 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions (299% increase). 
• 511% increase in Assault, Battery and Domestic Violence arrests from FY20 to FY21.
• 314% increase in Driving Under the Influence arrests from FY20 to FY21.
• 401% increase in Illegal Drug Possession and Trafficking from FY20 to FY21.
• 187% increase in Sexual Offences from FY20 to FY21.
• 1,666% increase in Homicide and Manslaughter from FY20 to FY21.
• So far in FY21, CBP has seized 9,337 pounds of fentanyl. In the entirety of FY2020, CBP seized 4,776 pounds of fentanyl (95% increase)

 

All of which, if true are actually rather alarming increases in crime across the board (particularly the 1,666 per cent increase in homicides and manslaughter). Obviously whether you consider the illegal migrant crisis to be an 'invasion' or not, is a matter of political perspective. Mr Hoffman defines invasion as “the act of entering a place in large numbers especially in a way that is harmful or unwanted,” which he takes from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of the word 'invasion'. 

 

Of course its highly unlikely that the Biden administration would mobilise the army and authorise the use of lethal force to defend the borders, even if Arizona's Attorney General decided that legally the US Government had failed in its duties under Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. 

 

But its an interesting challenge to the way we view one of the increasingly intractable issues of our times.