This year, federal authorities are on pace to arrest 2.3 million people along the Mexican border compared to the 1.7 million arrests in 2021. We must prevent people from coming in illegally because it leads to an increase in crime and threatens the lives of many Americans. Some illegal immigrants bring harmful drugs across the border that should not be in the hands of Americans. 

  The first reason why we need more security on the Mexican border is because we need to prevent drug cartels from operating inside the United States. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, “The amount of fentanyl seized by Mexican authorities nearly quintupled between 2019 and 2020.” Mexican drug cartels are the leading suppliers of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other illicit substances to the U.S. Many of these drugs are used abusively by Americans and lead to many cases of overdosing. Not only do cartels put toxic substances in the hands of Americans, the Mexican cartels and drug trades fuel corruption and violence throughout both countries, causing tens of thousands of homicides each year. 

  Another reason why we must increase our border security is because the human trafficking is getting out of control. Drug cartels that operate between Mexico and the U.S. use children to help smuggle drugs across the border. The author Gabrielle Fonrouge from the New York Post explains that cartels are buying children from wannabe immigrant families, and then having members pose as the childrens relatives in order to cross the border. Hidalgo County Sheriff, J.E. Guerra from the front lines of the US immigration battle in Texas stated that, “Anywhere from $1,000 to $1,500 for every single body, and you put the number to it, and you figure out how much money they’re making,” he said of the cartels and what they charge immigrants to help them illegally cross the border. Unfortunately, these children are then forced to work in the cartel where they are raped and used for labor.

  Overall, we need a more secure border to prevent crimes and drugs coming into the U.S. from drug cartels. One solution to this problem is to have more security on the border, especially on the Rio Grande river in southern Texas. The Rio Grande river is one of the biggest marajuana corridors in the U.S. According to USA Today, “in the Rio Grande Valley, for every load they capture, 10 slip through,” local officials estimate. This is just one of the examples of the lack of security throughout the Mexican-U.S. border. For the future, and prosperity of the U.S., we need a strong border that prevents these monsters from coming into the U.S.