Advice for President Obama on the Mexican Border

Max's advice for January 31, 2009

Dear President Obama,

Max grew up as the son of a man who knew 'ALL' the answers to the problems of the world. Max's father said so! Many times, his father let everyone know that anyone who didn't know that he had the answers was a turkey or a knucklehead.

The famous Ma Bell, the second most powerful force in the world (next to God of course), thought so much of Max's father's opinions, that she made him 'Supervisor of Troubles'. This is true!

The advice Max promised you, Mr. President.

Find a way to protect the southern border!

Max recognizes that some of the same problems that families and neighbors have on the northern border shape some opinions about the southern border.

Max believes that it should be possible to find a way of identifying people who would reasonably want to cross the border, possibly many times a day, and have a simple ID that they can use.

While we should try not to treat people differently, the southern border poses some difficulty in doing this. The Mexican government has been in a brutal war with the drug cartels. It is a war that from time to time spills over into the United States.

This type of terrorist activity is far more frightening to people in the United States than the more easily recognized terrorist who has been described to us.

The threat from the spill-over from Mexico complicates an already complicated situation. The risk all along the border is that hardened criminal gang members will slip across the border when they need to elude the Mexican police.

The old westerns draw a parallel where outlaws from the western states are shown fleeing south into Mexico to escape justice. When they arrive in a sleepy Mexican town they terrorize the local population.

In real life, Pancho Villa actually did ride north into the United States early in the last century. His 'army' did in fact terrorize Americans. He caused so much ruckus that the government sent the army to hunt him down. They never caught up with him.

In that time the border was much more sparsely populated and even more open.

The length of the border makes the demand for a fence unrealistic over time. A fence or a wall would require constant guarding and maintenance. The entire border patrol budget would be used up for cement and wire.

The true danger to the country would be digging tunnels deep under ground.

A better solution would have the United States Border Patrol and a Mexican counterpart working together to monitor and interdict with staffed-up forces. If each country keeps people out of a reserve area, then the border could be secured at a much lower and less unfriendly cost.

Diplomacy and assistance to Mexico in eliminating its drug cartels might well be a better answer.

Max wishes you well.

Max writes about greenways, rare diseases, timely topics, places to eat, travel and other issues of interest. He encourages you to add your comments.

Link one and two are on drug cartels.

Link three is on tunnels under the border.