Roadmaps for Illegal Immigrants
Category: News Commentary... Society & Culture... Thinking Allowed... War on Terror...
Posted Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 03:45 PM [GMT-6]

A Tucson-based organization called Humane Borders has prepared detailed maps of certain remote portions of the US/Mexico border to assist illegal immigrants in their journeys. The maps show, among other things, the locations of water stations and rescue beacons (which may be activated by people in distress to attract the attention of the US Border Patrol), and the extent of cell phone coverage in the mapped areas.

The group has also prepared and will distribute warning posters describing the dangers of attempting to cross in these remote areas. (For a graphic description of those dangers, read Urrea's The Devil's Highway, a review of which is here.) These posters (and the maps, for that matter) also pinpoint known locations of previous deaths related to attempts to cross the border, presumably as a warning to those contemplating a similar undertaking. Somewhat ironically, the posters also show the estimated walking time to cover the required distance.

I don't question the righteous intentions of the folks behind this project -- they want to save human lives -- but I do believe they're seriously naive about what it will accomplish. For example, setting aside the fact that the group is facilitating an illegal activity, here are a few flaws in their approach:

• It's unlikely that most illegals will have either the skill or the equipment to effectively use these maps; I doubt that most have ever seen a compass, much less used one. In any event, they'll likely be relying on a coyote or guide (often with disastrous results, as Urrea points out in the above-linked book).


• Even if you have a map and the skill to use it, that shouldn't give you the confidence of surviving the hellish trek through the Sonoran desert in high summer. How many people will overestimate their survival abilities based on having a map? How many can actually assimilate the reality of walking 40 miles over brutal terrain in 100° temperatures -- at night?


• The posters are designed to educate and warn folks about that previous point, but how many of the immigrants (a) can read, or (b) will view them as anything other than American propaganda designed to keep them from the Land of Opportunity? In any event, I doubt such posters will remain posted very long considering the huge amounts of cash accruing to the organized criminals engaged in smuggling human cargo across the border.

The real problem is, of course, the last thing we need to do is provide a terrorist with resources designed to make undetected entry into our country easier. A terrorist who, by the way, will surely have both the skills and the equipment needed use those resources.

In a pre-9/11 world, we might just shake our heads at the well-intentioned but ultimately misguided efforts of these folks. Today, however, the stakes are considerably higher, and the unintended consequences could literally reverberate through our nation.

Tip: GOPUSA's The Loft

Technorati tags: Illegal Immigration | Humane Borders