Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff this week spoke about the necessity of increased apprehension and prosecution of Mexican alien smugglers, or coyotes as they have been labeled. Since taking over the post of DHS Secretary in 2004, Chertoff has been active in expressing his desires and those of the Bush administration to secure US borders from illegal aliens and to detain individuals who profit from illegal crossings. Chertoff also revealed the new priority of his department to apprehend smugglers attempting to cross the US border at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa crossings, both of which have seen increased smuggling operations in the last year. To do so, he has recommended that US Border Patrol agents receive additional help from both state and local law enforcement personnel.

Border arrests have plummeted at the San Diego crossing in recent years. The number of arrests there is often used as a barometer in determining the success or failure of immigration and border security initiatives. However, the continued use of arrest numbers is a misleading statistic and an ineffective indicator in determining the successfulness of administration and DHS policies. Continued apprehensions of smugglers and their “cargo” will escalate tensions along the US-Mexico border between Border Patrol agents and Mexican alien smugglers. As has already been witnessed, smugglers have increased their rates for delivering “cargo” and have used violent means to ensure that successful crossings are achieved.