Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies has published an alarming report on The Federalist website, detailing how current U.S. immigration policies are enriching and enpowering the Mexican cartels.
The profit to be made by the cartels from human smuggling and trafficking now exceeds that from smuggling drugs. The overt welcoming signals being sent by the White House to migrants around the world have drastically driven up both the demand for illegal smuggling into the U.S. as well as the amount migrants are willing to pay. As a consequence, the cartels have grown far wealthier than ever.
To make matters worse, much of their new-found riches is being spent on weaponry. For example, in a recent raid on a Sinaloa Cartel compound in the Mexican State of Sonora, Mexican soldiers “recovered 2.8 million rounds of ammunition, 89 hand grenades, 20 machine guns, six .50 caliber sniper rifles, more than 150 handguns and automatic rifles, and bulletproof vests.”
As the cartels grow in both economic and military power, their influence over Mexican politics and government grows commensurately. Eventually, the U.S. may find itself bordering a criminal narco-state, ruled by violent gangs. If so, the “root cause” will have been America’s own disastrous border policies.
For more, see The Federalist.