Stakes are growing at the Mexican border. Far away from Washington, hard core criminals are pushing their way into this nation. Already, the violence on border officials has grown since last year. In all of 2004, there were just 118 acts of violence. Thus far in Fiscal Year 2005, there have been 163 acts of violence. Shootings have already doubled since last year, and these statistics only involve a small stretch of Arizona land. Washington may avert its eyes from the border, but there is no way to get around these problems. America is threatened by a lack of border security.

Americans should not be mistaken: we truly have no control over the border. One border control agent made this evident and told MSNBC: “If anyone runs from us, we dont chase them. We could have information that there is a nuke in the back of a van, but we dont have the authority to chase them.” It was a similar lack of action that led to the 9/11 attacks. Bill Clinton refused to actively pursue bin Laden in the 1990's. President Bush has done the same with the Mexican border. Danger enters this nation daily on that desert border. Danger comes in the form of crime and drugs, and Americans are paying the price.

This nation is a nation with a serious drug problem. According to a survey on Drug Abuse in the late 1990's, 6.7% of the population over age 12 used illegal drugs. America had some 3.3 million hard-core cocaine users and 977,000 heroin users in the year 1999. Illicit drugs were a $63 billion industry, and Americans had to pay at least $110 billion for treatment of the addicted. These statistics from the turn of the century are bad enough, but these numbers have skyrocketed in recent years due to Mexican drug trafficking.

Guest workers are not the only objects crossing the border. Mexican drug agents played a critical role in introducing the deadly drug Methamphetamine into the United States. In 2001, agents reported over 8000 laboratories seized, but the trade only continues. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, over 1370 kilograms of Meth were seized along the border in 2001. We will never know how many kilograms of the drug passed undocumented. Methamphetamine only represents the very tip of the dangerous drug trafficking industry.

Cocaine poses an even bigger threat to the American people. According to Drug Enforcement officials, some 116 million vehicles cross Americas Mexican and Canadian borders each year. All of these are illegal. Many of these vehicles likely contain cocaine. According to Drug Enforcement: “The US/Mexico border is the primary point of entry for cocaine shipments being smuggled into the United States.” The Mexican border accounts for 65% of cocaine in America. This is the same cocaine that fuels the addictions of more than three million Americans. This is the same cocaine that is one of the most addictive of all drugs

Heroin is another hot commodity on the border. Drug Enforcement officials have noticed a change in American heroin in recent years. They stated: “Over the past decades, the United States has experienced a dramatic shift in the heroin market from the domination of Southeast Asian heroin to a dominance of wholesale and retail markets by South American heroin.” Much of this South American heroin can easily be trafficked across the border due to the lack of inspection.

Drug trafficking into America has sparked increased violence on border officials and within communities. According to the Claremont Institute, there are record auto thefts in Arizona, extensive drug trafficking in Utah, and human smuggling rings in California. These represent just a few of the problems posed by open borders. As crime goes up, so do incarceration costs. Excluding increased spending on all other social programs, Arizonans must pay an additional $80 million per year for incarceration costs for illegal immigrants.

Despite the risks, Arizona Senator John McCain has teamed up with Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy to pursue better guest worker programs and more open immigration. Some Americans may want open immigration, but they are pushing to leave this nation open to violence, drugs, and additional costs. The American people have experienced the violence, drugs, and worry over illegal immigration for far too long. Statistics are clear. Open borders are a clear threat to America. It openly contributes to drug addiction in America, it contributes to crime, and it contributes to higher costs for American taxpayers. Taxpayers deserve better. It is time for safer borders that will keep the drugs and violence in Mexico instead of the United States.