Much has been written over the last few years about our problems with Mexico. Illegal drugs, illegal immigrants, tax fraud, job loss and the unpaid medical bills of illegals have placed a huge burden on American taxpayers.

Along with American jobs flowing southward into Mexico, more American jobs are lost as illegal Mexican immigrants flow northward to be hired by unscrupulous employers on our own soil. In spite of this one-two punch, our dynamic economy has thus far prevented a catastrophic unemployment rate. But good economies come and go, and sooner or later we’ll see a downturn. What then? If these crooks are hiring cheap illegal labor while the economy is good, what are the chances of them hiring you or me when the economy begins to slow?

Add to this the fact that last year the Mexican government was openly encouraging illegal immigration by distributing booklets to their citizens describing how to safely slip across the border. And now the Mexican government is providing maps of the border area so the illegals don’t get lost while violating our laws. It’s a known fact that money sent home by illegals to their families is the biggest outside revenue source in Mexico – over 16 billion dollars in 2004.

Let’s get to the real issue at hand. In recent months the Minute Men have created quite a stir both here and in Mexico by monitoring areas known to be popular border crossings for illegals. The Mexican government has complained repeatedly about these activities, which should tell us how obvious it is that Mexico’s President Fox sees America as his nation’s welfare provider. He’s even gone as far as demanding that Mexicans who enter the US illegally should have the same constitutional rights as legal US citizens.

The activities of the Minute Men, coupled with increased vigilance on the part of the Border Patrol, have made it more difficult for illegals to cross. It’s also made it riskier for the drug smugglers, and there lies the gravest danger. A few years ago, Mexico sent a team of commandos to the US to be trained to fight the powerful Mexican drug cartels. Once back in Mexico, the commandos promptly took employment with the drug lords they were supposed to destroy. Now known as “Los Zetas,” these men are well-equipped, well-paid and deadly.

This danger was made pitifully obvious recently when US Border Patrol agents and sheriff’s deputies near El Paso, TX were confronted by drug smugglers aided by men in Humvees with mounted machine guns. Worse, by all appearances the armed men were Mexican military. It remains to be seen whether these men were operating with the blessings of the Mexican government. Were they part of Los Zetas, or were they regular Mexican military? No one here yet knows.

As the Mexican drug cartels grow bolder due to our ineffectiveness, the likelihood of open conflict grows stronger. Unless action is taken quickly, we will see a bloody confrontation along our border.

On top of everything I’ve mentioned above, Mexico receives millions of American taxpayer dollars each year in foreign aid. I’d like to propose a better way to spend that money. Let’s dump our “catch and release” policy regarding illegal aliens and stop sending any foreign aid to Mexico. Use the money instead to build prisons in the Southern US to hold the illegals. Let’s require that convicted illegals spend a minimum of two years behind bars on the first offense.

Oh sure, the liberals here and around the world would scream bloody murder about it. But that’s better than real bloody murder along our southern border.

Related Reading…
Los Zetas: http://www.kpho.com/global/story.asp?s=3366962&ClientType=Printable

Mexico Provides Illegals with US Maps:
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/11828.html

The Minutemen: http://www.minutemanhq.com/

Mexican Army Threatens US Border Patrol:
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/11795.html

Illegal Aliens’ Wages Sent Back to Mexico:
http://www.cairco.org/articles/articles_gen.html

Alan Burkhart is a freelance political writer, cross-country trucker, and proud citizen of the reddest of the Red States - Mississippi. You can reach him via e-mail at: alan@alanburkhart.com or by visiting his website: www.alanburkhart.com.