Today's Date: March 28, 2024
Fosun Management on 2023 Annual Results: Focusing on Core Industries with Established Advantages   •   Make-A-Wish and celebrity wish granters announce goal to recruit 1 million people to become "WishMakers"   •   Amerex Group Unveils Red Carter Swimwear's Revitalized Collection   •   VIRGIN HOTELS CHAMPIONS INCLUSIVE TRAVEL FOR NEURODIVERSE TRAVELERS   •   Parkland Corporation Announces the Results of the 2024 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders   •   National University Receives 2024 Military Friendly® Gold Designation   •   Torrid Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2023 Results and Initiates Fiscal 2024 Guidance   •   Taro Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. Expands OTC Portfolio for Children with the Introduction of bébé Bottoms™   •   Jamieson Wellness Publishes Inaugural Sustainability Impact Report   •   YMCA of the USA Partners With Old Spice To Increase High School Graduation Among Boys And Young Men Of Color Through Mentorship   •   Re:wild and Colossal Biosciences team up to leverage revolutionary technology to save critically endangered species on the brink   •   Coachella Concerned That People Have Sex, Says AHF   •   Midea Group releases its first-ever ESG brand story with an unexpected VIP visit highlighting its commitment to sustainability.   •   Visit Visalia Recognizes Autism Awareness Month in April   •   Suffolk Kicks off 2024 “Build With Us @ Suffolk” Program in Boston for Trade Partners, Opening Doors for Minority-,   •   John Legend to Perform at City Year Los Angeles’ 13th Annual Spring Break Event   •   Sypher Secures Strategic Partnership with FAIA to Fuel Growth   •   Carnegie Learning Named 2024 SIIA CODiE Award Finalist for Best Educational Game and Best AI Implementation in Ed Tech   •   Empire State Realty Trust Receives WELL Health-Safety Leadership Award; Becomes Among the First Commercial Office and Multifamil   •   Equalpride Partners with TransLash Media for Trans Day of Visibility, Amplifying Voices of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts
Bookmark and Share

Threat Of Drug Violence Could Lead To U.S. Troops Along Southern Border

Commentary by Jimmie L. Hollis, Project 21 black leadership network





WASHINGTON - There is a rising belief that Mexico is becoming a new drug war-era Columbia, and that our federal government should deploy the military along our southern border right now.

Experts believe conditions exist inside Mexico that mirror those found in Columbia prior to and during the reign of Pablo Escobar’s infamous Medellin drug cartel.

In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations last September, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — our nation’s highest-ranking diplomat — didn’t mince words.  She said: “It’s looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago, where the narco-traffickers controlled certain parts of the country.”

While drug-related violence along both sides of the border would warrant placing our military at our southern border, doing so raises a few questions.

For one, at what point do the conditions along the Mexican border warrant calling in the military?  How would a military presence change the jobs of the U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement?  Perhaps most important, how would the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 come into play if the military began helping with border security?

Progressive activists undoubtedly will in some way raise the issue of the Posse Comitatus Act with regard to any military deployment along the Mexican border.

While these activists are already largely opposed to border enforcement policies, they in particular fear that military involvement in the region will infringe civil rights and cause civilian harm.  In 1997, they likely would argue, a Marine involved in anti-drug smuggling activities along the Texas-Mexico border shot and killed American teen Esquiel Hernandez, Jr. after the goat-herding Hernandez first fired his own rifle in the Marine’s direction.

Literally meaning “the power of the country act,” the Posse Comitatus Act was enacted in the 19th century after years of military involvement in maintaining domestic order during Reconstruction in the South and the settling of the American West.  It was the will of Congress at that time to return the military to duties such as protecting the borders from foreign aggression rather than conducting what had largely become local law enforcement issues.

The Posse Comitatus Act is an act of Congress.  It is not enshrined in the Constitution like the 3rd Amendment’s prohibition of quartering troops in private homes in peacetime.  Congress has passed many laws since 1878 that redefine its scope.

Specifically, Congress has approved the use of the military to aid in anti-drug efforts.  Such “passive” support now allowed includes providing logistics, intelligence, training and other things unique to the military that assist local law enforcement.  Execution of the law is still reserved to civilian authorities.

National Guard troops help with border enforcement right now.  If the President and Congress ever decide to put our military forces on our border with Mexico on a grander scale, they first should sort out all the possibilities, dangers, consequences and legal strategies.

But given the acute political division of today, nothing is ever simple — not even a decision designed to protect the citizens and property of our nation.

Americans want a safe and effective border policy — not one that aids the cause of those who smuggle people, drugs and political upheaval into our nation.  That’s why America must come from a position of strength.  That strategy likely requires a military role.

Sections of Mexico are caught in the grip of drug dealers, violent killers and thugs.  This anarchy, which is close the U.S.-Mexico border in some cases, creates conditions favorable to the rise of a Mexican version of Pablo Escobar.  We cannot put our heads in the sand by pretending this violence along our border will go away.

America must come to grips with this huge problem to our south — sooner rather than later
.


STORY TAGS: Hispanic News, Latino News, Mexican News, Minority News, Civil Rights, Discrimination, Racism, Diversity, Latina, Racial Equality, Bias, Equality

Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News