We can’t defend the country by looking at the borderline as the first line of defense rather than as the last line of defense.
ALAN BERSINMost people who live at the border or are familiar with the border know that a Berlin-like wall stretching from San Diego to Brownsville is not necessary. And the costs would be prohibitive.
More Alan Bersin Quotes
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More Mexicans are leaving through deportation and voluntary return than are entering the United States legally and illegally.
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Mexico has become a robust democracy with a robust press and an active legislature.
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During the last eight to 10 years there have been continued efforts which have resulted in a strategic alliance with the Mexicans and improved safety and security at the border.
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Mexico now has the 13th largest economy in the world.
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For the first time since the second World War, we are not the sole dominant economy in the world.
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You need a strategy that involves layered defense: deployed patrols, sophisticated sensor equipment, and surveillance from the air. That is what has had a positive impact over the last generation.
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This is true despite the significant poverty, and the class and geographic inequality that have deep historical roots.
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We have to secure the flow of goods and people by engaging with foreign entities.
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There have been enormous advances since 9/11 to build a very robust set of targeting procedures and watch lists to screen travelers coming to the United States.
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Walls and barriers alone are insufficient to insure security.
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Every air traveler entering Mexico is vetted against US databases.
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The Mexican people are increasingly middle class, and Mexico has substantially become a middle-class society.
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If you build a 50-foot wall, you’ll soon be confronted with a 51-foot ladder.
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Four out of five border-crossers detained in South Texas are Guatemalan, Honduran or Salvadoran. They are driven by violence and poverty in their home countries and the desire for family reunification.
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Not only are the numbers of migrants entering the United States at the lowest levels in a generation, but they are now largely Central American.
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