Terrorism: Border Security Issues - Essay Example

Border security measures have their advantages and limitations.  One of the first strengths of the border security measures is that it is the country’s first line of defense.  If meaningful immigration reforms are to be imposed, borders measures are of utmost required and often they play an important role in stopping terrorism, controlling the entry of illegal drugs and hazardous substances into a country (GAO, 2011). It is one of the most important measures that are required to defend a nation against terrorism.  When a nation’s borders are weak, they can serve as an entry for terrorists and illegal immigrants. Once the terrorists enter a particular nation, they can mix with the locals and escape from being caught (Fischer, 2010).

However, border security measures also have certain limitations. Terrorists and illegal immigrants can easily evade border security measures as they can find illegal routes into a particular nation.  Even if the border measures are stricter, the terrorist may choose more dangerous ways of attacking a nation and this may be catastrophic. Another problem is that border security measures may not be an effective way of controlling the entry of terrorists into a particular nation. For example, even if a person has a criminal record in another nation, the same may lack detection when entering the US-Mexico border. The terrorist may also not carry any weaponry and may use the material locally available to build a weapon. Border measures are also wastage of resources as most often the money spent on border patrol forces is very high and difficult to sustain (Fischer, 2010).

Many people in the US feel that the border security measures currently present are not only inefficient but also very difficult to sustain at the public cost. Hence an array of measures is being suggested as alternatives. Firstly, a fortress should be built in areas needed to ensure that at places such as the US-Mexico border, people cannot enter. It is estimated that the cost of building such a wall would be less than the amount spent on patrolling and much more effective also. The second alternative is to understand the border threats that exist in a dynamic and decentralized manner. For example, when there are chances that people may come in search of jobs in the US, immediately the police monitoring should increase. Lastly, unmanned monitoring should be used at the borders to ensure that any kind of illegal activity is monitored (Fischer, 2010).

Drones pose as an alternative to manual monitoring across the US-Mexico border. They seem like an important tool as the surveillance can be improved, infrared cameras can be used to monitor for entry which is much for accurate than visual monitoring, and thirdly computational methods can be used to determine movement. Often having a drone goes undetected and hence, people who feel that they have crossed the border undetected may not be unseen. The cost of having such drones requires a huge investment, but the running costs of having manual monitoring may be very high, and in the long-run drones may be a cheaper option. Drones are also much faster, and probably the task of 10 patrolmen can be done by 1 drone. To have a drone patrolling the border is a boost as it can obtain very accurate patrolling of the border. Drones can also patrol in the nighttime when manual forces may find it difficult to monitor or the environment may not be safe.  However, there may be certain limitations in using drones. Firstly, their investment costs are very high, and they may be difficult to sustain. Secondly, even though they may monitor the entry of people, they cannot do anything to prevent people from entering, and in such a circumstance they would require manual support. Hence, the process of monitoring the border should have both drones with manual support to ensure better control of the flow of people and goods across. Manual support whenever required can be immediately provided. Besides drones are also useful to monitor areas of the border that have been fenced (Lavandera, 2010; & Booth, 2011).