WAR ON DRUGS VS. WAR ON IMMIGRATION: HOW DIFFERENT ARE THEY?

I am currently reading "Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond" which has brought up some interesting points I thought I might discuss. Many have heard about the "War on Drugs" which was started by former President Nixon, but what some may not be aware of the coincidental correlation this movement has had with the increasing attention on illegal immigration. The need for border enforcement first began drawing attention in the 1960's when Americans increasingly concerned about border security, and how much control the government had over it. This carried over into the 1970's, which was the beginning of a new era in American history; both the "War on Drugs" was launched, and there was an obvious increase in attention being focused on the U.S.-Mexico border (Nevis: 2010, 77-80)

Former President Nixon, who launched the war on drugs, continually looked toward Mexico as the source of illicit drug sales and supply in the U.S.  President Ford, who was elected after Nixon, put General Leonard Chapman in charge of the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), continuing to point the finger at immigrants from the South for illicit drugs and economic problems. As one can probably predict, the media also began influencing these movements, airing stories that focused on the problems immigrants from Mexico were creating in the U.S.

Moving into the Carter administration in 1977, it was announced the size of the Border Patrol would be doubled, which led to a very large increase in federal resources being given to border enforcement; it had become a national security matter. Former President Reagan than took office in 1981 when "congressional funding appropriations increased 130 percent and staff positions grew 41 percent for the INS" (Nevis: 2010, 84). This major increase in funding was justified by maintaining the goal of decreasing drug trafficking from the border and ultimately the "War on Drugs" was being intertwined with the war on immigration once again. During former President Reagan's time in office, Border Patrol began to take on the role of Drug Enforcement agents as well.

In my opinion, it seems as though, starting with former President Nixon, the Federal government has been successful in masking the "war on immigration" behind the highly publicized "War on Drugs". This goal of curtailing illicit substances from being smuggled in to the U.S. has been used as a justification for the explicit amounts of energy and money being put into border enforcement. Immigrants coming from Mexico have been portrayed as dangerous, drug dealing individuals who need to be stopped. It would not hurt for people to take a step back and think twice about why America has the policies it does, and where these policies originated.

Nevins, Joseph. Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond. 2nd. New York: Routledge, 2010. 76-85. Print.