Among the many groups who hoped President Trump wouldn’t come into office, there is one group that especially hates Trump: the drug cartels.
In what can only be described as a significant shift from the lax Obama-era regulations, the Trump administration is letting customs officers screen cargo trucks entering the US from Mexico – something that sources are saying has Mexican drug cartels enraged.US Customs and Border Protection will be using X-ray technology and other nonintrusive methods to screen every single cargo truck that crosses the southern border. This is a welcome change after eight years of sporadic, random screening that the Obama administration permitted, according to a story from Judicial Watch.
It’s no surprise that Customs and Border Patrol agents have been enthusiastic about these changes. “We felt like we were the welcoming committee and not like we were guarding our borders,” said Patricia Cramer, veteran agent. “We want to enforce the law. That’s what we signed up for.” In fact, one official went on to say that cattle trucks would pass without inspection during the Obama presidency all because Mexican farmers complained that the security frightened their cows. “Our guys were livid that we were not allowed to check cattle.”
The situation had gotten so bad under the Obama administration that a report published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a nonpartisan agency that provides Congress with analysis, concluded Mexican drugs were entering the US at record rates as of August 2016. The western states, in particular, had essentially become a “Heroine Transit Zone” for the cartels.
Drug cartels operate like efficient businesses and are constantly watching out for new security loopholes to capitalize on. They regularly have spotters who watch with binoculars from hideouts near the border checkpoints to determine how tight the security screenings are at all times and the most opportune times to cross the border. With their preferred method of transporting drugs into the country being cargo trucks, this procedural change by the Trump administration could threaten the cartel’s lifeblood.
Not only will these changes promise to halt the flow of drugs into our country, it will also help stop human trafficking and the many illegal immigrants who perish trying to reach the sanctuary cities. Many recall the recent incident in San Antonio where ten illegal immigrants died while being smuggled across the border. The conditions were so bad that they had to take turns breathing through a hole in the truck. Deaths were caused by heat stroke and dehydration, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Thankfully, these Obama era policies are being scrapped, and the border looks like it’s going to be properly secured – a welcome change from these past eight years of indifference. According to Fox News, border agents on the front line have been enthusiastic about the change, with the head of the National Border Patrol Council stating, “Energy among agents is best I’ve ever seen. We signed up to do a job, and this president is allowing us to do that.”
Trump is living up to the promise he made on the campaign trail: making America safe again.
