In the wake of the indictment unsealing in the case of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, and in light of Barack Obama’s new immigration policy or should I say lack of one, nine Border Patrol stations across four states are going to be shut down. The controversial move by the Obama administration is catching heat.
Fox News reports,
Critics of the move warn the closures will undercut efforts to intercept drug and human traffickers in well-traveled corridors north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Though the affected stations are scattered throughout northern and central Texas, and three other states, the coverage areas still see plenty of illegal immigrant activity — one soon-to-be-shuttered station in Amarillo, Texas, is right in the middle of the I-40 corridor; another in Riverside, Calif., is outside Los Angeles.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it’s closing the stations in order to reassign agents to high-priority areas closer to the border.
While many are upset about the move, it does seem to make a bit more sense to have border patrol agents actually on and around the border. Having border patrol agents 100 miles inside the border then subjects law abiding citizens to violations of their Fourth Amendment rights. For they are then having to submit to an unlawful stop and questioning about themselves without warrant and without probable cause.
Some in the Border Patrol agency claim that the stations hundreds of miles inside the border act as a secondary to catch those that may come across the border undetected.
CNN reported,
But the Federation for American Immigration Reform said the interior stations are a needed “second line of defense” to track down and apprehend illegal immigrants who make it past international borders and into heavily traveled corridors in the United States.
Brooks said the decision has been in the works for some time, but local officials and the media are now being notified. He said the move was not influenced by any recent news events involving immigration.
Administration officials have said regular apprehensions of illegal border crossers are at their lowest levels in decades, indicating the administration’s border strategy is succeeding. That view is not echoed by some in Congress.
The reason for less apprehensions claimed by those on the front lines are because they are being told not to apprehend the illegals but to chase them back into Mexico. So while the numbers are down, they are not for a lack of illegals trying to get into the country, but because the Obama administration doesn’t want them caught.
I’m all for Border Patrol guarding our borders. Remember though that putting these agents closer to the border while demanding that they not use a weapon is only going to add to casualties among the agents. Instead they are being taught to run away and hide.
