How Border Security Interacts with Homeland Security Term Paper

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National borders are far from arbitrary; they are important demarcations between one sovereign state and another. The foundation of national sovereignty depends on each nation protecting its own border, to achieve its own homeland security goals. In the United States, homeland security goals center on protecting the nation from foreign and domestic threats. To protect the nation from threats, it is essential to prevent would-be terrorists and criminals from entering, and also to prevent hazardous goods from crossing the border. Border security prevents the illegal flow of people, and therefore protects the world from human trafficking, illegal weapons trafficking, and drug trafficking. Preventing contraband from coming in is just one of many roles the border protection services provide in the interest of homeland security. One of the functions of border patrol is the maintenance of the nation’s domestic and foreign economic policy, essentially ensuring that all goods that enter the United States are assessed and taxed properly to either protect American interests or to facilitate legal cross-border trade. Because of the large and varied territory that comprises the United States of America, and due to the increasing sophistication of technology, the logistics of border security has become complex and complicated, as well as expensive. Border security involves maritime as well as land border protection, requiring extensive and ongoing funding. As it now falls under the province of the Department of Homeland Security, border security is aligned with the goals of customs and immigration policy. Ultimately, strong border security is the cornerstone of an effective homeland security policy.

Border security primarily entails monitoring the flow of goods and people into the United States, but not with the only goal of gathering intelligence. In fact, border security often reacts to intelligence gathered from other agencies operating within the province of the Department of Homeland Security. Border security is a distinct element of homeland security to increase its overall efficiency and effectiveness. Focusing on preventing illegal entry of people and contraband, the border patrol can be considered a front line in the war against terror, the war against drugs, and other social problems.

However, border security remains relatively inefficient considering the billions of dollars already allocated for its functioning (Caldwell, 2016).

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Spending on border security has increased, ostensibly in the service of boosting homeland security goals. Yet the vast land and seascape of the nation means that over 7000 miles of territory must be protected in addition to coastal and inland waters (“Border Security Overview,” n.d.). Protecting this much space requires practically unlimited resources, and would be pragmatically impossible to carry out. The Department of Homeland Security therefore makes strategic decisions as to how to allocate funds and human resources, so that the goals of public safety remain tantamount to any other objective. The vast majority (5525 miles) of America’s land border is shared with Canada, with 1989 miles on the southern border with Mexico (Bullock, Haddow & Coppola, 2013, p. 146). Although the news media spends most of its time covering the southern border, the Department of Homeland Security obviously devotes energy in securing the border with Canada. Strategically, the goals of border protection vary from preventing the influx of undocumented workers or preventing terrorists from legally entering the country as immigrants or visitors. Even more daunting to border security officials are the 95,000 miles of shoreline that stretches from sea to shining sea (Bullock, Haddow & Coppola, 2013). Because it is impossible to actively monitor every square inch of America’s land and sea borders, border security officials focus on areas of greatest risk and greatest concern.

Since the shocking attacks of September 11, border security and homeland security have been fused under the rubric of the Department of Homeland Security. The fact that the border protection services are covered under the Department of Homeland Security’s leadership shows how the two issues are closely related and will remain so as global trade and foreign policy become increasingly complex and volatile. Previously disparate organizations in intelligence, law enforcement, customs, and immigration now unite under a common set of goals, values, and policies. With common goals in protecting the nation, each section of the Department of Homeland Security can work together effectively to carry out the nation’s most important objective of self-protection. The integration of border security and homeland security helps to coordinate homeland security efforts more effectively….....

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