National Security: The Mexican Border - Essay Example

National Security: The Mexican Border No issue has gained more public attention in the present presidential race than national security. While many people view national security through the lens of the Iraq War and the War on Terror, the nearly 2,000 miles of border with Mexico projects a bigger threat than the Middles Eastern Wars. As millions of illegal immigrants drift across the border each year, they weaken our economy, threaten our workforce, and places the security of the United States at risk.

One of the biggest and most direct threats that the illegal immigration across the Mexican border poses is the threat to the economy. Many of the dollars made by illegal workers gets sent to Mexico and is taken directly out of our economy. That translates to less money spent in American owned stores and shops. In addition, most work performed by illegal immigrants in the United States is not taxed under the legitimate tax system established by the Internal Revenue Service. The economy is hit from two directions as the wages are not taxed and then exported to other countries around the world.

While the work performed by illegal immigrants reduces the money in the economy, it also weakens our workforce. Many times we have heard that the illegal immigrant does work that no one else wants to do. The fact is that the work is only unacceptable to legal workers who compete for wages and can not do the labor at the rates of the illegal immigrant. If the employers were forced to spend $10 per hour to hire legal workers, the American worker would take those jobs. In addition, the acceptance of illegal and artificially low wages scales drives the pay scale down for all Americans.

Illegal immigration costs American jobs and jobs are on of our greatest sources of security.The lengthy border with Mexico is also a direct threat to national security. With vast expanses of un-patrolled areas, terrorists have an easy pathway into the country. The evil acts of 9/11 were carried out by less than two dozen people that used no explosives. Terrorists could easily slip through the Mexican border and plan an attack on US soil. Here the terrorists are using the hemorrhaging of illegal immigrants across the border as cover for their planned attack.

Stopping the flow of immigrants across the Mexican border would make it easier to identify potential terrorists.In conclusion, the 2,000 mile open border with Mexico poses an indirect as well as a direct threat to the national security of the United States. It threatens our economy by taking money out of the local economies and sending it out of the country. In addition, it reduces the taxes legally due the United States. Illegal immigration threatens to weaken our workforce by pulling down wages and taking jobs.

Our country is more at risk when our economy suffers. The border also makes it possible for terrorists to enter this country unnoticed such as the perpetrators of 9/11. Making the Mexican border more secure will increase the national security of the United States.