Speak+Out+Immigration

=Speak Out Topic 1- Immigration and the Mexican Border.=

Here is the link to the National Discussion along with further information. Immigration and the Mexican Border


 * //The Harmon Discussion runs through the Discussion Tab Above. Click on the speech bubbles icon above to get to the discussion posts.//**

If you post to the National Discussion as well as the Harmon discussion, please note this in your Harmon post.

__Here is the explanation from Speak Out:__

How should the U.S. protect its border with Mexico?

//By Jeremy Quattlebaum, Student Voices staff writer//

Over 15,000 feet above parched desert lands, a Predator drone surveys the landscape using infrared cameras to zero in on a pickup truck filled with people driving down a washed-out road. Hundreds of miles away, the drone’s mission controller asks the camera operator, “Where’s that guy going?”

This may seem like a scene playing out in Afghanistan, but in fact, drones are being deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border to reduce illegal crossings.

Currently, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has employed eight Predator drones to survey the border, mostly at night. Drone deployment is one of the many changes under way along the border as the United States and border states try to enforce the nearly 2,000-mile stretch of some of the driest, rugged land in the nation.

In December 2011, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would reduce the number of National Guard troops on the border from 1,200 to 300. The department said it was able to reduce the number of troops because of an increase in Border Patrol officers in the region. The use of drones has also allowed the reduction of troops.

The drop in troops also means that the Defense Department’s budget for border security would drop by half, from $120 million to $60 million.

The deployment of the drones has been a popular with officials in border states. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer called the deployment “ideal for border security and counter drug missions.” Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a GOP presidential candidate, has said that more drones, not a fence, are the solution for guarding the frontier.

The troop reduction has been more controversial. Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas argues that cutting the troops will undermine border security. “If the Obama administration’s goal is border security, their actions undermine their objective,” he said in a written statement. “We should keep guardsmen on the ground until the Border Patrol can gain operational control of the majority of the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Rep. Silvestre Reyes of Texas supports the drawdown. “While I appreciate the service of our National Guard forces, requiring them to engage in border law enforcement activity is not cost-effective,” he said in a statement.

**What do you think?**

How should the U.S. government secure its border? Will the increase in drones help fight illegal crossings? Will it be enough to lessen the need for troops on the border? Join the discussion and let us know what you think!