Texas Border Cities Do Not Need The Military
This afternoon President Obama told the Dallas Morning News that no military troops will be sent to the U.S.-Mexican border. “We’ve got a very big border with Mexico,” the president said. “I’m not interested in militarizing the border.” “I don’t have a particular tipping point in mind. I think it’s unacceptable if you’ve got drug gangs crossing our borders and killing U.S. citizens.”
The situation in Mexico remains tense as the Mexican Army continues to fight daily with elements of the Mexican drug cartels in Northern and Central Mexico. Most of the violence has occurred in two cities, Tijuana (across from San Diego) and Ciudad Juarez (across from El Paso). Recently there was there was outbreak of violence in Reynosa (across from McAllen) which resulted in about 20 deaths. Although the death count for this year totals over 6000 on the Mexican side despite rumors to the contrary it has not so far really spread to the United States.
Mayor’s of two major border cities, McAllen and El Paso Texas, have made formal requests against placing federal troops on the border. The governor of Texas and Senator John Cornyn had previously indicated that such a move might be necessary. Cities like McAllen and El Paso have up until recently been avoiding the national recession because their strong ties to Mexico as a trading partner. Border trade in Texas contributes significantly to the state being the number one exporting state and generally having the best economy in the nation.
Local elected officials certainly agree that Mexico is in a dilemma but say that those who call it a “failed state” are wrong. Many businesses and factories “maquiladoras” are still functioning. Border traffic is down about 5% from last year but there is considerable commerce across the border benefitting both countries. They also point out that the there have been too many media exaggerations and falsehoods about Mexican cartel violence on the American side of the border. Mexican kidnappings that have occurred were usually involving relatives of associates of the cartels over criminal debts.
Sending the military at this time to the border would send three wrong messages. First it would be telling the world that we believe President Calderon’s fight with the drug cartels is lost. There is considerable evidence including the capturing of many cartel kingpins that argue against this opinion. Secondly it would signal that the Border Patrol and local law enforcement are doing an inadequate job for which again there is no evidence. Finally it would be saying that the Texas border is a bad or unsafe place to do business or live which is absolutely not true.
The McAllen area has a 0.3% violent crime incidence which is almost 1/2 that of the whole state of Texas at 0.52%. Compare this low rate of crime to Atlanta which is three times as much at 1.55% We have more job growth and new business than just about any other area of the country. Low living costs, robust economy, and a Hispanic family driven culture make the border even today a great place to live. We are still seeing some of the most rapid population growth in the country from people moving here from all over the United States and especially the “Rust Belt” looking for a better life. I do not always agree with the President but this time he is right.
Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served as an officer in Army Reserve, and holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years.He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
