Introduction
I’ve decided to write a series of monthly essays on a vision for restoring the United States to preeminence and thereby making the world a more secure place. These are merely ideas of mine, most of which will probably never be considered by our leaders. It is unfortunate that the United States has not paid due diligence to its long term interests. The question of who to blame is one that is important to understand, but often the dialog on the matters of American preeminence stops here and goes no further.
Pax Americana: The American Border
Many liberals and even professing conservatives want America to have open borders. They claim that this will bring prosperity to the American nation and that it will be a boon to business. Even if this were true, at what price would this temporary prosperity come? Our homeland would be teeming with foreign nationals with little to no allegiance to the state or its people. Rather than a community of loyal citizens, we would have imported an entire population with different interests, desires, and sympathies.
Imagine a fictious software company in Minnesota (Company A) that develops an embedded operating system for home entertainment applications. The board of directors passes a measure to allow employees from a rival company (COmpany B) based in New Mexico to work for the Minnesota based company. Adopting an analog to “open borders”, these employees of Company B would be allowed to work for Company A, come and go as they please, and have company ID cards issued that would allow them unrestricted access to Company A.
Moreover, these employees would not be forced to sign NDA (non-disclosure agreements) and could steal Company A’s trade secrets and take them back to Company B. They would get the same benefits and perks that everyone at Company A had, even the Company A employees who had worked there for 25 years.
Furthermore, they would not have to learn Company A’s protocols. They would not have to abide by the dress code or code of conduct. They could come and go as they pleased, and even though the quality of their work might be sub par, since they were being paid less, they would be retained.
With the above in mind, lets answer a few questions.
How long would it take for stockholders in Company A to grow tired of this arrangement? How long until Company A became known as a laughingstock in the technology industry? Would you invest in a company that allowed rivals to come and go in such a manner as described above?
Open borders work great if you want a population of unrestrained criminals to enter without any deterent. They work great if you wish to impoverish your land, see the talents of its people become a commodity, and their welfare threatened.
As Mexico has done nothing to halt the flow of its citizens into our nation, and bears responsibility for the 12 million of its people who have invaded the United States, I believe a comprehensive solution to the above problems must involve punitive measures against Mexico.
I would propose annexing a twenty mile wide belt of Mexico’s territory along the southern border to be set up as a neutral zone. This region would be tightly monitored by both satellite and infrared systems as well as human sentries. From the Mexico border to five miles into this zone, Mexican citizens would be permitted to do business, shop, and conduct legitimate activities. At the five mile limit, conspicuous postings would warn potential intruders, or those who accidently strayed into this second area that they had entered the second belt of the neutral zone.
At ten miles from the Mexican border armed patrols, consisting of a combination military units, ICE agents, and state police would intercept anyone attempting to cross over to our soil. Lethal force would only be used when intruders initiated force against our personnel.
At the fifteen mile limit, any Mexican citizen who had made it past the first set of patrols would be subject to being engaged with lethal force on sight. While this sounds barbaric to some who profess to have academic sensibilities, it is perfectly reasonable. By providing a generous buffer zone, the odds of an unintentional crossing into American territory is virtually eliminated. The proposal is also compassionate, as the first series of patrols will not use lethal force unless required to do so.
By involving the Mexican government in the solution, both in financing the expenses incurred by our border patrol and maintenance of the security systems involved, and using their territory for a buffer zone, it requires them to be proactive in their efforts to combat illegal immigration.
While the United States must take the lead in securing the border, that does not excuse Mexico from its responsibilities. Many conservatives urge the US to act definitively, which is certainly a necessary step. It is also necessary; however, for Mexico to cooperate to make this effort the most successful. That cooperation may not be voluntary, and may require the United States to apply strict military and economic punishment to Mexico to garner compliance.
The question in this case, is not whether we are capable of using our military arm to persuade and educate Mexico, but whether we have the will.
Posted by -kf 
