Most 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.
ALAN BERSINAs a result of the U.S.-Mexico War in the 19th century, and the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, half of what was Mexico was severed and became much of the western part of the United States.
More Alan Bersin Quotes
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This joint security program has been in place for at least six years and is a huge asset.
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In large part this is because of the success of policies followed by the United States to create an environment, a peaceful period in history in which economies could grow and countries could benefit.
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I think there’s no question that the barriers, the fences and in certain urban areas, the walls, have had an important effect in terms of increasing the manageability and the security of the border.
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The law change during the Bush administration gave the Department of Health and Human Services a central role in relocating Central American minors in the United States.
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We have to secure the flow of goods and people by engaging with foreign entities.
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Every air traveler entering Mexico is vetted against US databases.
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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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America should be working more with the Mexicans to prevent the flow of guns going south into Mexico that have fueled so much of the violence there.
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And the smuggling of cash and the money laundering that transnational criminal organizations have instituted in North America, including in the United States.
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Mexico now has the 13th largest 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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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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The idea was to restore the rule of law, to bring order to a chaotic situation.
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In the last two years, the Mexicans have detained nearly 400,000 migrants whose intent was to come to the United States.
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And there are places on the border, such as the Arizona desert or the open terrain around the Big Bend in South Texas, where Mother Nature has created her own barrier that is not easily passable. Or if you do pass through it, you are easily detected.
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