Illegal Immigration and Drug Trafficking from Mexico into U.S. and Current Policies

Geospatial Intelligence
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The fight against drug trafficking and illegal immigration has been a grueling task for the US government, despite strong measures such as constructing a border wall being proposed to curb the problem. Despite the significance of border guards along the US-Mexico border, immigration has never witnessed a significantly more significant spike than in 2019. The US Border Patrol apprehended roughly 100,000 migrants along the US-Mexico border between February and March that year. That was the eighth month of successive apprehensions, which had dwindled to specific levels at some point. Despite this, the US government has been fighting to regulate and control drug trafficking, which is tied to immigration at the border to some level. Throughout the three sections, it is possible to see how an increase of migrants exacerbates and deteriorates attempts to prevent and deter unlawful activity. The articles' main points are to show a strong link between illegal immigration and drug trafficking from Mexico into the United States and assess if the current policies are successful.
According to estimates, the illegal drug trade costs the United States $80 billion a year (S. 89, 2001). The principal carriers of the powerful drugs smuggled into the United States are Mexican drug traffickers. A significant percentage of illicit narcotics enter over the 2,000-mile shared border between Mexico and the United States. 90 million cars, 5.0 million trucks, and 300 million persons entered the United States from Mexico in the fiscal year 2000. Drug traffickers have utilized each of these means of transportation to smuggle their commodities across the border. A tractor-trailer conveying legitimate cargo, for example, may have hidden marijuana bales; a legal immigrant could be carrying concealed heroin packets past a border crossing, or a passenger automobile could have packs of cocaine hidden in a tire or other hidden compartments. While the quantity of marijuana entering the US stays stable, other forms of drugs trafficking are on the rise. This shows that an increasing volume of cocaine is passing through New Mexico on its way to being distributed across the United States. Methamphetamine manufacturing in Mexico is also rising, with the drug making its way to the United States via New Mexico. Heroin is still available in large quantities. The impact of drug trafficking in New Mexico has grown significantly. These Mexican cartels and the drugs they trade across the state have an impact on the whole state of New Mexico. Marijuana seizures are still being made all around the state. Mexican traffickers dominate the marijuana market, but there is evidence that marijuana is cultivated in New Mexico. Marijuana is cultivated in California and Arizona, and it does enter New Mexico's borders, but it is usually headed for the United States' northeastern shore. Multi-ton marijuana seizures are made every year along the Southern New Mexico Border and the three interstate arteries.[Orrenius, Pia M., and Roberto Coronado. "The effect of illegal immigration and border enforcement on crime rates along the US-Mexico border." (2017).] [Ibid 1]
At the ports of entry and between the ports of entry, marijuana is trafficked into New Mexico. The specific site of the smuggling fluctuates based on the Border Patrol Agents' and Customs and Border Protection Inspectors' enforcement activities. New Mexico has fewer Border Police agents assigned to patrol the border between New Mexico and Mexico and fewer CBP inspectors to guard the ports of entry, providing smugglers more fantastic opportunities to carry narcotics into New Mexico, increasing the threat to New Mexico.. In New Mexico, cocaine seizures are on the upswing. Increased law enforcement activities in California and Arizona are directly linked to an increase in cocaine-related activity.[Slack, Jeremy, and Daniel E. Martínez. "Post removal Geographies: Immigration Enforcement and Organized Crime on the US–Mexico Border." Annals of the American Association of Geographers 111, no. 4 (2021): 1062-1078.]
Drug traffickers have also transported narcotics into the United States via planes, high-speed "go-fast" boats, and cargo ships. Regardless of the approach, drug traffickers have used a variety of customs to evade detection of the substances they convey. This research paper will develop a GEOINT plan that will respond to illegal immigration and drug trafficking.[Ibid3]
Location-Based Information
Most of this illegal immigration and drugs trafficking has been taking place on the Southwest Border with Mexico. The Southwest Border continues to be the principal entry point for illegal drugs into the United States, with up to three-quarters of all narcotics passing through it. For decades, the Las Cruces-El Paso corridor has been home to some of the country's most significant drug smuggling operations, and the problem isn't going away.. Drug seizures in this area have increased dramatically over the last decade while falling in other country regions. Almost every week, police enforcement authorities in this area, particularly at the El Paso port of entry, uncover massive narcotics. Drug smuggling and related criminality have harmed the environment and the quality of life for local citizens and posed a threat to the entire country.[Zavaleta, Antonio N. "US-Mexico Border Spillover Violence 2010-2019." RIO GRANDE V (2020): 283.]
This border poses both obstacles and opportunities, and it's a place where historic cohabitation coexists with everyday border dynamics. Even though organized crime, mainly connected to drug trafficking, and the passage of illegal migrants are not a traditional adversary, the United States' interests have made them part of Mexico's national security agenda. Figure 1 below shows the image of the Southwest Border with Mexico, where illegal immigration and drug trafficking have been mostly taking place.
Figure 1: Mexico-United States Border
According to the research 2017 INCS report, most drugs entering the country [90 percent] flow through Central America. With the rise of Mexican criminal gangs and their networks with Colombian groups during the 1990s, this tendency has accelerated.. The impact of drug trafficking and its earnings also demonstrates the ineffectiveness of international drug cooperation and binational collaboration and management on this Central American issue in the previous 30 years, all of which are based on a national security agenda. According to geospatial data, Guatemala made its largest cocaine seizure, consisting of 13.7 tons of cocaine..[Shirk, David A. "The escalation of US–Mexico border enforcement." In Borders and Border Walls, pp. 27-48. Routledge, 2020.] [Ibid 3]
Over the past years, there has been increased immigration from Mexico to the United States of America, which has resulted in increased drug trafficking in the United States of America. Figure 2 below shows statistics obtained from geospatial data on immigration. The vector geospatial data below will be significant in developing a measure to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking along the southwest of the U.S-Mexico border.
Figure 2: Graph on Southwest Border Migrant Crossing
From the graph, during the first four months of 2019, the Customs and Border Protection department caught approximately 100,000 migrants every month, with the bulk of those apprehended being families or youngsters. Regardless of the increased cases of arrests, June witnessed a significant decrease in trepidations, with a 38 % decline from May to June. In the first seven months of FY2019, the total of migrants intercepted at the southwest border had surpassed the total number of migrants caught in one fi...