This paper examines the critical relationship between border security and U.S. homeland security policy. It traces how the integration of border protection under the Department of Homeland Security unified previously disparate agencies around shared goals of public safety and economic protection. The paper discusses the vast geographic scope of U.S. borders — over 7,000 miles of land and 95,000 miles of shoreline — and the resource challenges that entails. It also analyzes the roles of personnel, technology, and infrastructure in effective border control, and argues that strong border security is both a front-line defense against terrorism and an essential mechanism for enforcing immigration, customs, and agricultural laws.
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 borders in order to achieve its 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 such threats, it is essential to prevent would-be terrorists and criminals from entering and 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 entering is just one of many roles that border protection services provide in the interest of homeland security. One function of border patrol is the maintenance of the nation's domestic and foreign economic policy — essentially ensuring that all goods entering the United States are assessed and taxed properly to either protect American interests or facilitate legal cross-border trade. Because of the large and varied territory that comprises the United States, and due to the increasing sophistication of technology, the logistics of border security have become complex and 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, though not with the sole goal of gathering intelligence. In fact, border security often reacts to intelligence gathered from other agencies operating within the Department of Homeland Security. Border security functions as a distinct element of homeland security in order to increase overall efficiency and effectiveness. By focusing on preventing the 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 pressing social problems.
Border security remains relatively inefficient considering the billions of dollars already allocated for its operation (Caldwell, 2016). 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 7,000 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 in full. The Department of Homeland Security therefore makes strategic decisions about how to allocate funds and human resources so that the goals of public safety remain paramount to any other objective.
The vast majority — 5,525 miles — of America's land border is shared with Canada, with 1,989 miles on the southern border with Mexico (Bullock, Haddow & Coppola, 2013, p. 146). Although the news media devotes most of its attention to the southern border, the Department of Homeland Security obviously expends energy securing the border with Canada as well. Strategically, the goals of border protection range from preventing the influx of undocumented workers to stopping 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 across the country (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 attacks of September 11, border security and homeland security have been fused under the rubric of the Department of Homeland Security. The fact that border protection services fall under the Department of Homeland Security's leadership illustrates how closely related these two issues are, and how they 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 shared objectives centered on protecting the nation, each section of the Department of Homeland Security can work together effectively to carry out the nation's most important objective: self-protection. The integration of border security and homeland security helps coordinate efforts more effectively and strategically, in accordance with the law.
"Dual goals of safety and economic enforcement"
"Key operational components of border control"
"Proactive prevention and immigration law enforcement"
An effective homeland security policy is impossible to implement without strong border control. Neglecting border control measures would be like installing a sophisticated alarm system in a house but never turning it on. Without strong border control measures, terrorists and other malicious actors could easily threaten national security. A more cohesive and effective border control policy may be necessary in the future to help the nation make better use of its resources. By diverting attention away from low-risk people and activities and toward significant homeland security threats, the border patrol remains integral to the protection of the nation.
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