Border Incursions

According to a report released by the Department of Homeland Security, there have been 216 border incursions by the Mexican Army since 1996. Most, if not all of these, are instances where the Mexican Army appears to have been assisting drug smugglers.

A total of 216 incursions by suspected Mexican military units have been documented since 1996 — 75 in California, 63 in Arizona and 78 in Texas, according to a Department of Homeland Security report

As usual, those involved on the other side of the border, deny the validity of the report.

But Rafael Laveaga, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, denied that Mexican military personnel are crossing into the United States.

“I strongly deny any incursions by the Mexican military as inaccurate allegations,” Laveaga said. The Mexican military is a well-respected institution with strict rules on how to control Northern Mexico. It maintains a protocol of not going within a mile of the border, and those who would trespass would be severely punished.”

These border crossings have, for the most part, flown under the radar for quite some time. All of this is just another example of the failure on the part of the Bush administration to adequately secure our southern border. In a time of war, these events should not be taken lightly. It’s high time that we open our eyes and get deadly serious about the protection of our border with Mexico.

UPDATE: 9:40 P.M. 1/24/2006: The Dallas Morning News weighs in with a bit more information on the latest incursion. Republican congressman Tom Tancredo, from Colorado, also throws his hat into the ring:

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., a frequent critic of the administration’s border security efforts, called Tuesday for the federal government and the governments of southern border states to immediately deploy troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in light of what he termed “recent armed assistance Mexico’s military has given to drug smugglers.”

“Our border has literally turned into a war zone with foreign military personnel challenging our laws and our sovereignty,” Mr. Tancredo said.

“The only way to deal with this dangerous situation is to tap the resources of our own military,” Mr. Tancredo said. “I call on President Bush and the governors of border states to immediately deploy military personnel to defend our borders against the Mexican military.”