Trouble Down South Border security is one of the main reasons why we are able to feel a sense of safety in this country. Being from South Texas, I feel that I have a better understanding of the U.S.-Mexico border security issue than most Americans. I generally get the idea that Americans think that the border is secure because the media coverage is so bleak. Even in our recent Presidential debates, I remember hearing little to nothing about the security of our borders and how we are being protected from non U.S. citizens. I was so embittered because this is a very important issue to me. Not a big enough deal is being made about the violence that is leaking over our borders, or the illegal immigration and drug smuggling problem. “The Obama administration and the heads of the relevant congressional committees should sit down together to set some sensible targets for border enforcement, agree on the resources needed to reach those targets, and relentlessly monitor progress towards those goals.” (Alden, Control 120). America needs to better secure our borders with Mexico to ensure overall national security by combating gang violence, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. Our government leaders have the responsibility of ensuring border security for the nation, but they are failing us. I’ve seen the repercussions of poor border security first hand in Texas, as well as the people who have been negatively affected in one way or another. The drug cartels are more violent, active, and powerful than ever before in history. The two most powerful cartels, who are actually feuding with each other, are the Sinaloa and Los Zetas. Their violence and ruthlessness shows no boundaries or mercy. All these gangs care about is money and drugs. Respect for human life is disregarded. Mexico’s border towns were once a place Americans enjoyed to visit and shop, but now, the threat of being robbed, murdered, or kidnapped is so great, our government deters us from visiting those areas in lieu of our safety. “Over 9,000 people have been killed in the drug wars along the southwest border of the U.S. and Mexico between 2007 and 2009, with at least 1,000 of the deaths occurring in 2009 alone.” (Miller 165). For those who own a ranch in Texas close to the border, carrying a gun on them at all times is an absolute necessity. Ranchers have been killed by groups of armed cartel members smuggling over drugs. Living down there, it is not uncommon to hear stories about people having to kill gang members in self-defense, or just pointing their guns at them to scare them away. They are forced to live in fear for their lives every day. Why are people not being helped when they are constantly victims? These Americans need to be protected from foreigners threatening their wellbeing and way of life. There is a huge loophole in the law in which the cartels are exploiting to their full ability. If they do manage to smuggle the drugs over, the product is picked up by trucks and if said vehicle begins to be pursued by law enforcement, all the driver has to do is turn around and drive the truck straight into the Rio Grande River where cartel boats are already waiting to salvage what drugs they can from the “splashdown.” At this point, U.S. officials cannot arrest them or touch them due to border laws. In this way, cartel members are able to escape back to Mexico only to try again, and again, until they ultimately succeed another day. This is why U.S. officials try and do whatever they can to stop these smugglers before they can reach the safe zone. The cartel’s different ways of smuggling the drugs into the U.S. have become extreme to say the least. There have been cases of surgically implanting drugs into humans and animals to be sent over. They have tried everything from using one man helicopters to make a drop of drugs, to launching the drugs over the border with cannons and slingshots. The ingenuity of desperate people amazes me. If it is that easy for gangs