To the Editor:
President Biden’s bold immigration plan seeks to offer a pathway to citizenship. It is a noble endeavor for our nation to take on. However, immigration reform is a holistic matter, and other salient issues need to be addressed as well. Many immigrants are fleeing the violence, and poverty that has metastasized across Mexico, and Central America. The drug cartels flourish, funded by America’s voracious, and insatiable appetite for illegal drugs. Our nation’s drug addicts are part of the nexus that keeps the brutality, and state corruption proliferating. According to a Harvard study 70% of Americans with illicit drug problems are employed. Costing an estimated $225 billion in lost production. Most of America’s opium comes from Mexico, with 6 cartels controlling the production. The majority of drugs are smuggled through the border’s points of entry. The justice department estimates $39 billion in profits are made from illegal drugs, that intern buys plenty of corruption, even ensnaring U.S. border guards who cannot resist the avarice opportunity.
The mayhem also is profoundly exacerbated by the arms that continue to head south across the border. It’s estimated by the Mexican military that 200,000 weapons a year flood into Mexico from the U.S. Eventually making their way to El Salvador, and also Honduras. Draconian gangs, such as MS-13, which originated in the U.S. are recipients of many of these weapons. Many of the cartels prefer the ubiquitous AR-15, the same weapon that was used at the Parkland school shooting, and that was also handed out to officers during the Vietnam war, according to author Mark Bowden. The bloody gun battles in Mexico leave a malevolent wake of misery, and death financed by America’s incognizant drug addicts. Many of the weapons recovered from crimes in Mexico can be traced back to guns stores in Arizona, Texas, and California where pernicious profit takes precedent over any sense of humanity. Along the U.S. southern border there are 700-gun dealers, some doing business out of homes. The profit from illegal guns crossing the border is estimated to be about $100 million according to a New Yorker article.
The interdiction of illegal drugs certainly must continue, but the demand side in the U.S. must be dealt with. More drug treatment centers are needed to combat our proliferating addiction rate. President Biden must declare a “war on addiction” and make treatment more easily accessible, and affordable. In the U.S. only 18% of addicts who needed treatment were able to access it. The state corruption in Mexico also contributes to immigration, and it’s imperative that Biden address the issue with President Obrador. The weapons flooding into the region must also be abated. The cartels take advantage of permissive US gun laws such as “straw purchases” that make weapons easily accessible. Unless the U.S. addresses this deadly synergy of guns, and addiction, the immigration crisis will continue to proliferate. Leaving a haunting, and shameful legacy for our nation.
Phillip R. Sanchez
Mason City
Phillip Sanchez of Mason City, is a writer, advocate for the undocumented immigrants and labor leader.
Sources
Alcohol consumption and workplace absenteeism: The moderating effect of social support (nih.gov)
The U.S. Opioid Epidemic | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)
» Working on addiction in the workplace – Harvard Health Blog
https://time.com/5160267/gun-
Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam|Paperback