LatinaLista — Since members of the Minuteman group took their stations over the weekend along the U.S. Mexico border near Nogales, Arizona on the lookout for anyone trying to slip into the United States illegally, a funny thing has been happening.
In less than 24 hours since they arrived, the Minuteman group have already reported encountering over 300 undocumented immigrants.
Minuteman on patrol at US/Mexico border.
(Source: suitablyflip.blog)
What’s so funny?
Well, their report comes just days after the Border Patrol reported that apprehensions were down sharply compared to previous years.
A third party, a human rights organization known as Humane Borders, agrees with the Minuteman figures that illegal immigration traffic is as high as ever.
Of course, the Border Patrol disputes that finding.
If they had the same numbers as the Minuteman and the human rights groups, then it would reflect badly on all the investment Congress and the White House have made for the border.
Nobody is saying that the money allotted is not needed. With the recent news of the Border Patrol’s seizure of a half-ton load of marijuana, it is more than obvious that the border region needs to be patrolled.
Yet, it would seem, because of the discrepancy in numbers between the Border Patrol and the Minuteman, that the Border Patrol doesn’t have a full handle on the undocumented immigrants at the border.
And that’s bad because without the true numbers, there can’t be real accountability because the truth is distorted.
Without accurate figures, there’s no way to know if Congressional measures at the border with increased funding, increased manpower and proposed high-tech surveillance are really effective.
Without accurate figures, there’s no accurate way to hold the Border Patrol accountable for their actions.
Without accurate figures, we won’t know the full extent of the crisis and the risks undocumented immigrants are undertaking just to get here.
Without accurate figures, we’ll never know the full story.
