Advice for President Obama on Requiring Vehicle Searches

Max's advice for March 20, 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 President Obama.

Require all vehicles crossing the border to allow a search.

Max believes that the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, such as being free from unnecessary searches in one's home, need to be protected. However, when people choose to exercise a privilege, then such rights do not exist.

Mr. President, there has been an acusation by the Mexican government that much of the violence in Mexico is the result of guns and money smuggled across the border from the United States.

On top of Mexico's complaint, it has been reported that up to 2,000 guns are being smuggled to Mexico every day. If this number is even close to true then the Mexican government surely has a case.

At thousands of airports every day millions of bags containing personal items are inspected to prevent any person from bringing so much as a knife on board the plane with them. This is a legal search that people must comply with if they choose to fly on a commercial airline. It requires that everyone comply without exception, including pilots and flight attendants.

The right to cross an international boundary is a privilege as well. It makes sense that if 6,000 Mexicans and some Americans have died in the last year due to illegal firearms, this need to inspect is at least as important as it is at our airports.

If the inspections include everyone and every vehicle then there should be no Constitutional issues. By making the inspection necessary on exiting the United States, it will also set a baseline for re-entry. This can be used by the customs agents to validate that people are not avoiding taxes.

Of course, this is not a remedy for the vast stretches of border that need to be protected. It only deals with eliminating exit points as sources of terrorist firearms and the illegal export of funds and goods.

Getting an agreement with Mexico to perform a similar search on vehicles leaving Mexico would help reduce the flow of drugs and other items from their side of the border.

Both nations can use selective screening and random searches both to validate the other country's method and to check for compliance.

It is a shameful thing that has brought our countries to the point where what was once an open border and a generally friendly relationship has fallen to a criminal element driven by greed.

Placing our borders into a secure mode until we find better ways is the best way to protect both nations.

Max wishes you well in all your efforts to make us secure.

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Link one is an article on a joint Mexican/Texas effort to stop arms smuggling.

Link two is a CNN article on the carnage in 2008.

Link three is about the Mexican military.