Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Mexico's Role in Border Security

<p>Border Patrol, Rio Grande Valley, Texas</p>

Fronton, Texas, USA - February 9, 2016: A Border Patrol agent removes handcuffs from a young Central American being taken into custody for illegally entering the United States by crossing the Rio Grande River in deep south Texas. Young Central Americans, most fleeing gang violence and poverty, continue to illegally enter the U.S. at near record levels.

The Cipher Brief is taking a look this week at the national security situation along the southern border.  On Sunday, Congressman Will Hurd told NBC, “We need to make sure that countering human smuggling is a national intelligence priority so that we have CIA, the NSA, the FBI working with our allies in those countries to stop root causes there”.

Mexican officials have taken recent steps to help curb the flow of illegal immigrants in light of the overwhelming numbers of refugees that have been crossing into the U.S. in recent months by reinforcing their southern and northern borders and sending additional troops to support U.S. efforts to stop the flow of illegal immigrants. In the meantime, experts tell us that criminals, gang members, narcotics traffickers and human smugglers are exploiting the weaknesses within Customs and Border Protection due to a manpower diversion.  CBP reports apprehending more than 99,000 in April and more 132,887 in May. 

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Related Articles

The Golden Dome is Missing a Key Focus

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION – On January 27, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at defending the U.S. against an attack by [...] More

Getting NATO to Be Able to 'Fight Tonight'

EXPERT Q&A — Last week’s NATO summit in The Hague was largely seen as a success, with all members (except Spain) agreeing to raise the alliance’s [...] More

Report for Tuesday, July 1, 2025

8:18 America/Chicago Tuesday, July 1 [...] More

Covering the Blaze the World Forgot

BOOK REVIEW: Fuji Fire: Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten U.S. Marine Corps TragedyBy Chas Henry / Potomac BooksReviewed by: Bill HarlowThe Reviewer — [...] More

The Math Behind Trump's $1 Trillion Defense Budget

OPINION — “The President's FY ‘26 [Fiscal Year 2026] National Defense Budget requests $1.01 trillion, which is a 13 percent increase from FY '25 [...] More

An Urgent Call to Close the Loopholes on Chips and China

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION -- The core lessons from the Cold War should guide us as we face the new “Axis of Aggressors” today. First among these, [...] More

Report for Monday, June 30, 2025

8:29 America/Chicago Monday, June 30 [...] More

A Good NATO Summit, Though Russia Won a Round

EXPERT Q&A — NATO leaders convened in The Hague this week for a summit aiming to strengthen the alliance's defenses, with the ever encroaching threat [...] More

NATO Wins Will Have an Impact

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT Q&A — NATO leaders convened at The Hague this week and agreed to raise the alliance’s defense spending target to 5% GDP, marking [...] More