re-due /Politics / due today

The Three U.S.-Mexico Border Wars: Drugs, Immigration, and Homeland Security Book

Report

This book, “The three U.S.-Mexico border wars: drugs, immigration, and homeland

security” by Tony Payan (2016) is a very insightful book. It focuses more on the three central

issues that continue to dominate the U.S. - Mexico relationship today: drugs, immigration, and

security. Interesting is that this book is backed up by various sources including a[n academic]

journal [article] by Kellner & Pipitone (2010), book by Kan (2012), and an article by Turbiville

(2010). These mostly serve to reinforce the idea of the author on the anecdotes throughout his

book. In addition, I loved his book and gained many new insights that enable me to comprehend

the information about the background of the conflict and the likely effects. In general, the

[Payan?] book covers the U.S.-Mexico economic relationship, the deployment of technology, the

bureaucratic interests that control the border landscape, the democratic deficit, and a detrimental

lack of policy coordination.

One of the many valuable insights I gained from this book is about the historical

perspective that is necessary to understand today's border conflicts. It is with the provision of a

detailed, history-based examination of the evolution of current conditions on the border, that

these revelations are made. These include: the reason [the preceding sentences are “throat

clearing” — better to get to the point, eg., “Payan provides insights into…] why corruption at the

U. S-Mexican border has increased, the reason why Mexico is now suffering due to the cartels

that have been established at the border. Payan (2016) argues that they exist due to a steady

growth in the security concerns of the U.S. over almost two centuries. He also carefully

considers how much September 11th strongly affected U. S-Mexican as many of the towns and

Comment [1]: avoid praise that doesn’t convey anything of substance

Comment [2]: Make this your lede and then say that Payan (& identify who he is) devoted his 2016 book to these issues.

Comment [3]: this doesn’t tell the reader anything of value

Comment [4]: which conflict?

Comment [5]: very vague, best not mentioned until you can explain, or at least refer to this as “what Payan calls a ‘democratic deficit’ between _[year]_ & __[year]___ “

Comment [6]: better to refer to the specific author

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cities across the Southwestern side of the U.S. experienced the consequences of the new security

in the U.S. that is oriented towards the practices and ethos first hand.

He also indicates that the first priority was to make the border areas safe through the

prevention of illegal entry which was enhanced by the strict scrutiny of those getting in

especially through the U.S. - Mexican border. These are among the aspects that are embodied

within the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Mainly, it is brought about by the need for its

implementation along the 2100 miles that are found along the border between U.S. and Mexico.

In the past, there was the optimistic talk that was related to investment, trade, and the economic

integration in the 1990s in the North America. It is through his book that I was exposed to the

idea of the "balloon effect". This has been very helpful to me in understanding both drug

trafficking and undocumented crossing. He has convincingly shown the need for security and

especially, the need to secure all the points of entry as well as exit points in the U.S. It is this

strategy that he did convincingly illustrate the comprehensive security that permeates the three

major wars at the border. These are mainly the war on drugs, the need for the enforcement of the

immigration laws and the war on terror (Turbiville, 2010).

He also indicates that there have been major effects associated with the three wars that

take place on the border land. It is in this case that I think they are very significant as they

include the loss of the local autonomy. He has also highlights the various conflicts between the

priorities that exist in Washington and those among the local population. He suggests that this is

powerful information on development of a rigid international line, which represents some of the

barriers to social, cultural and economic integration among the communities through the high

Comment [7]: vague

Comment [8]: Should not start a paragraph with a pronoun — make clear who you are referring to

Comment [9]: eliminate all personal references

Comment [10]:

Comment [11]: avoid such opinion-sounding descriptions — even if “unconvincing” can be acceptable when properly supported

Comment [12]:

Comment [13]: does he refer to three “wars” — & specifically to immigration enforcement as “war?

Comment [14]:

Comment [15]:

Comment [16]: I know of this firsthand but you need to explain

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level of corruption and cartels among the law enforcement officers has also become a major

problem.

Moreover, through his penetrating analysis, I am able to understand why these wars have

become a great source of fear and have also caused suspicion between the two neighbors. I think

this is what has driven the author to trace the history for the policies that are enacted at the

border that help in the discernment and the understanding of the evolutionary patterns that are

common and help in joining the three policies that exist today together as shown by Kellner &

Pipitone (2010). His argument has been on the gradual tightening and the increase of militarized

activities at the border throughout its history. It is this powerful statement that makes it easier to

understand the existence of the restrictive laws that are present at the border today. The author

makes it clear that the changes that have taken place in relation to the law enforcement officers

are drastic and have the potential of causing problems not only to the Mexicans but to the U.S. as

well. This is a worry, and he says relevant and fast measures need to be taken as soon as possible

to curb the issue and to place the border activities to their initial state where the Mexicans will no

longer live in fear of the presented effects.

Surprisingly, he creates a picture of the border as a place of hope in need of better

management rather than reinforcement of the security regime in the last decade. Therefore, the

book makes an attempt to show me the different ways that the residents at the border are

suffering and trying to cope with the strict security that is maintained at the border and the

environment that is filed with the newly formed cartels. His book also provides the effort to

navigate through their daily lives with the massive increase in the number of federal bureaucrats

and the many programs that have been designed to close the border. Specifically, it offers an

Comment [17]: Payan’s (?) analysis allows us to understand… Comment [18]: Comment [19]:

Comment [20]: whose, now?

Comment [21]: ok if you say why this is surprising, eg, “After having explained ______________, Payan (?) surprisingly…

Comment [22]:

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examination of the evaluation efforts done towards the understanding of the significant conflict

that exists between the efforts of the government to close the borders and those of the

communities that live at the border to open it.

In a detailed explanation and elaboration, the book offers an explanation for the reason

that makes the issue about the U.S.-Mexico border a hot topic both for the two countries as well

as in other places around the world. In particular, through the exploration of the focus on the

policy that exists in the U.S. after the September 11 terrorist attacks he reveals that this idea is

also a contentious one. It is in this regard that through his book, I am updated on the happenings

that are being experienced at the U.S. – Mexico border and their causes. According to his

argument the factors are a result of the steady growth [of what?] that has been present due to the

security concerns that have been held by the U.S. for over two centuries. In this way, it becomes

possible for him to show that the activities at the border have gone through several historical

stages that eventually have led to the crippling of the region in the form of the numerous cartels

in which the law enforcement officers are involved to make the residents of the region suffer in

fear. Substantially, I feel he has backed up his idea with relevant example.

The author manages to combine breadth and depth to cover the economic relationship

that exists between the U.S. and Mexico through the ability to deploy technology and to cater for

the bureaucratic interests they control the landscape at the border, the deficit that exists in the

democratic space and the detrimental lack of coordination of the policies. He explores a number

of the issues that affect the area such as drug trafficking and the homeland security which is also

considered. Moreover, the book also demonstrates the contradictory logic that is found within the

internal aspects of the American policy that is established to cater for the border activities. In this

relation, he provides the argument that the current conditions are likely to cause the return of the

Comment [23]:

Comment [24]:

Comment [25]: address?

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authoritarian rule in Mexico and the concurrent rise of the sentiments against the Americans

(Kan, 2012).

Payan (2016) indicates that there were presidents in the U.S. and Mexico who knew each

other and had formed partnerships together before the September 11 attacks. In particular, he

mentions the time when Bush was the Governor of Texas. He goes on to show how George W.

Bush and Vicente Fox were involved in the economic activities and the human costs that would

be realized following the delays at the border. It is through his couple examples that make the

situation is more human. Further, for this reason, an effort was made to implement the idea of

having an open border that would be related to the aspect that was raised by the European

community in order to enhance the integration efforts of their economies. However, after the

attacks, there was a wayside demolition and fall of the walls. This was because of the opinion by

the U.S. that there was need for more control regarding the border and its activities in order to

stop any likely terrorist, the trafficking of illegal drugs as well as immigrants. In a

methodological way, he points out sound policy separately and highlights the related folly and

the wasted resources that are directed towards this effort.

All in all, he asserts that the policies in the U.S. are leading to hostility towards its

neighbors and thus ending up in the detrimental economies of both countries. This may mean

that the efforts being put up are futile since the U.S. has not been able to stop the war on drugs

by stopping their flow. Finally, he says that the war on drugs only acts to enhance the situation as

also expressed by Kellner & Pipitone (2010).

Comment [26]: be sure to be precise — does he refer to the EC (European Community) or EU (European Union) or what? Different names at different times. Comment [27]: clarify — “fall of the wall” is taken to mean the Berlin Wall that fell in 1989 — a dozen years before 9/11

Comment [28]: I don’t think you’ve given supporting evidence to justify this language

Comment [29]: incomprehensibly vague

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There’s lots to fix, frankly, to make it more readable and allow a focus on substance. All the self references, the unhelpful opinionating (mainly excessive praise), the overuse of pronouns instead of referring to authors by name — those are all serious distractions that stand between the reader and what you may substantively have to say. The assigned report is not supposed to be a “book report” but rather a report on the best sources you’ve found on a particular question or topic. Taking care of all the needed cleaning up, answering the questions I raised in the comments, and balancing the report among several sources instead of organizing around the Payan book is plenty to do.

References

Kan, R. P. (2012). Cartels at War: Mexico’s Drug-Fueled Violence and the Threat to US

National Security. New York: Potomac books.

Kellner, T., & Pipitone, F. (2010). Inside México's drug war. World Policy Journal, 27(1), 29

37.

Payan, T. (2016). The Three US-Mexico Border Wars: Drugs, Immigration, and Homeland

Security: Drugs, Immigration, and Homeland Security. ABC-CLIO.

Turbiville Jr, G. H. (2010). Firefights, raids, and assassinations: tactical forms of cartel violence

and their underpinnings. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 21(1), 123-144.