In the Rio Grande Valley, the Border Patrol Is the ‘Go-To Job’

Wow why am I not surprised that in the first 10 comments here there was a comparison between Border Patrol Agents and Nazi Concentration Camp Guards? I mean, every other country gets to have borders and respects people who provide the service of protecting those borders. Is it a crime against humanity to have the rule of law? Is it a crime against humanity to have a group of people preventing drugs and gang members from entering this country? Are the cartels that are making millions of dollars extorting money from migrants good people in the eyes of the commenters to this newspaper? I respect that bilingual people, often legal immigrants to this country, are willing to put their lives on the line to protect their fellow citizens and legal residents. I respect these human beings and would never compare them to Nazis.

I realize this is not the primary subject of this article but, if you read the caption to the lead photo, it says: “Emily Briones, 19…while her mother… takes care of Ms. Briones’ 3-year-old son.” This means she had her son at the age of 16. An enormous amount of our nation’s problems and our world’s problems can be minimized or even eliminated completely if young people would wait until they are much older and more financially established before they reproduce. We have extreme overpopulation in this world. And, I blame the Catholic church for much of this. Contraception should be freely available everywhere. And pro-choice policies should be encouraged everywhere.

It is an embarrassment to say the least that any American want this job. All border patrol, ICE Agents, all working on the border will be part of the overall investigation into separating families and child abuse. The Nazis Kapos tried desperately to plead for mercy that they were only the "enforcers" of rules and policies handed down by the Nazi regime. Not so and they were brought to justice and are still being hunted. Border Patrol nor ICE Agents nor Region Directors will be able to escape crimes against humanity.

[E]specially on remote sections of the 1,900-mile border with Mexico. ___ From Brownsville, TX, to El Paso, the Rio Grande is 1854 miles. The 1,900 mile border reference, is that only a land border? There is a distinct misnomer when describing the efforts of Customs and Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley compared to the unlawful crossings and drug trafficking over the land crossings.

Service in the United States Border Patrol is an honorable profession fulfilling the nation's needs at the border. The problem is the failure of accountability for the criminal actions by some. Simply look to the case of Compean and Ramos 10 years ago to see the problem. Charged with attempted murder and convicted only for assault, their actions were condoned by various Republicans across the country, eventually leading to a commutation of their sentences. The false narrative of Democrats being opposed to border control is simply another way to stoke the base voters of Trump. Democrats on or off the border fully support border control only demanding that it be humane. Where the lines should be drawn as to who is or is not admitted will eventually be determined by a hundred stakeholders influencing any final Congressional bill. Whether wanting more H-2B visas authorized for foreign non-agricultural workers (as Trump has obtained precluding at least 60 Americans from employment at Mar-a-Lago) to determining who can or cannot be admitted under our asylum laws, it is a complex problem not addressed with a soundbite out of the White House. As for a border fence, it is simply a tool appropriate in some areas but not others. Yet Trump made it a defining issue, demanding fencing in some of the most inhospitable land in our nation. And instead of working with Congress, he chose to circumvent them, with all the problems that entails. And so it goes.

Sad that to make it in Texas, a Mexican-Americans has to work locking up her/his relatives for the supposed benefit of white, Christian, pro-life Anglo Texans. However, I grew up in Texas. I remember that when I was a child, white Christian pro-life Anglo-Saxon Texans referred to all brown persons with Spanish names as "Mexicans", even if the person's ancestors came to Texas centuries ago. Happily, I left decades ago...to live in Nuevo México, where half the population is brown and speaks Spanish, and where there are still Native Americans (white Christian pro-life Texans exterminated most Native Americans, who they loathed even more than the loathe "Mexicans."

Working on Border Patrol has to be one of the most difficult jobs in law enforcement and may become more dangerous if the aggressive, hostile behavior of migrants recently exhibited in southern Mexico moves north. Speaking Spanish could be a real plus in this job.

"Beefing up" = careless hires = corruption = minority agents abusing minority migrants. That ever happen before?