Because what we don't need in the middle of an election is a bunch of border patrol agents running around down there doing their job and trying to stem the flood of illegals crossing the border. That just won't do - especially when there's ethnic pandering to be done to please some Hispanics.

Fox News:

The Obama administration is moving to shut down nine Border Patrol stations across four states, triggering a backlash from local law enforcement, members of Congress and Border Patrol agents themselves. 

Critics of the move warn the closures will undercut efforts to intercept drug and human traffickers in well-traveled corridors north of the U.S.-Mexico border. Though the affected stations are scattered throughout northern and central Texas, and three other states, the coverage areas still see plenty of illegal immigrant activity -- one soon-to-be-shuttered station in Amarillo, Texas, is right in the middle of the I-40 corridor; another in Riverside, Calif., is outside Los Angeles.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it's closing the stations in order to reassign agents to high-priority areas closer to the border. 

"These deactivations are consistent with the strategic goal of securing America's borders, and our objective of increasing and sustaining the certainty of arrest of those trying to enter our country illegally," CBP spokesman Bill Brooks said in a statement. "By redeploying and reallocating resources at or near the border, CBP will maximize the effectiveness of its enforcement mandate and align our investments with our mission." 

But at least one Border Patrol supervisor in Texas has called on local officers to "voice your concerns" to elected officials, warning that the "deactivation" will remove agents from the Texas Panhandle, among other places. Several members of Congress have asked Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher to reconsider the plan. And local officials are getting worried about what will happen once the Border Patrol leaves town, since they rely on those federal officials to assist in making immigration arrests. 

"It could impact us tremendously since we've only got two agents up here now for 26 counties," Potter County Sheriff Brian Thomas told FoxNews.com.

 It would make sense to have depth to our interdiction efforts so that if the illegals escape detection at the border, they could be picked up further inland. The Obama administration is putting all our marbles in one basket, making it a hit or miss situation where if the illegals manage to avoid agents at the border, they are almost home free.

And the phrase used by the spokesman -- "align our investments with our mission" -- would seem to indicate there are budget issues also.

This will please Hispanic groups like La Raza who believe in open borders. A helluva price to pay for a little political good will.