With emphasis on the massive new waves of illegal immigrants, many of them unaccompanied children, flowing into our border states, it often gets lost that there is even a more troubling threat from south of the border.  A report from News 4  in Tucson, Arizona indicates that the incidents of American citizens and Border Patrolmen being confronted, and even assaulted, by armed Mexican soldiers on U.S. territory is neither rare nor accidental.  These stories include Border Patrolmen being held at gunpoint by Mexican soldiers with automatic weapons, a citizen’s ranch being invaded by troops brought in by Mexican Army helicopters, and even a U.S. citizen being shot.  The wounded American is still looking for justice as he faces over $40,000 in hospital bills from his injuries.  The rancher said the FBI investigated, but he has heard nothing more from them, and the U.S. government only says the government of Mexico is “looking into it.”

When asked, the Mexican Army simply says they “got lost” looking for drug dealers.  More likely, either they are looking to rob drug dealers or they are the narco-traffickers themselves.  While these deliberate armed violations of our sovereignty by representatives of the Mexican government are ignored by Washington, D.C., our own former Marine, Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, still rots in a Mexican jail for the crime of making a wrong turn.  When President Obama recently spoke on the telephone with his Mexican counterpart about the recent crisis with immigrants coming through his country to ours, the president did not see fit to even bring up the subject of Sgt. Tahmooressi.  Perhaps if Tahmooressi were a deserter who may have collaborated with enemies of our country, the president would have found him more worth saving.

With our Border Patrol being overwhelmed with babysitting and changing diapers, there are even larger gaps in our border for drug dealers and assorted miscreants to pour into the United States.  Since President Obama likes to brag how he has “ended” the war in Iraq and drawing down forces in Afghanistan, perhaps he can use that “peace dividend” to spare the border states their own National Guard forces to secure their borders.  From his past behavior, it is unlikely that Obama really has any interest in border security, and he will probably divert those troops to working on climate change and income inequality.  Some say it is better to have people fear you rather than love you, because at least through fear you merit respect.  It seems today’s America, due to government indifference, is deserving of neither.

Victor Keith writes from Burbank, California and can be contacted at victorakeith.com.