Thread by @STUinSD

Thread: A Personal Perspective on “Why the Wall”

1. This triggered a recollection that still makes me furious; I will explain:

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2. Back in the 1990s, I was the commanding officer of an expeditionary Navy surveillance unit whose primary mission was conducting surveillance outward from the shoreline using a variety of sensors (radar, acoustic, electromagnetic, and thermal imaging).

3. Over a few weeks, we were assigned to support a multi-jurisdictional task force operating along the Tijuana River in Imperial Beach. The mission was to interdict the flow of illegal narcotics into the US from Tijuana. And incidentally catch & return illegal aliens also caught.

4. As a DoD unit, the law of posse comitatus applies when operating in the US. This law prevents US military units from conducting law enforcement operations. It is further explained here: rand.org/content/dam/ra…

5. Note that the third bullet explains that “visual search and surveillance by military personnel were found not to violate the Posse Comitatus Act.” Since my unit possessed day/night thermal/visual imaging systems, we were able to support the operation legally.

6. The task force included personnel from the San Diego Sheriff’s department, US Border Patrol, Imperial Beach police department, and other law enforcement organizations. Our primary deployment was directly along the border fence conducting night surveillance.

7. The concept of operations was to search for illegal aliens crossing the border carrying duffel bags/large packages, as these nominally contained illegal narcotics. Upon detecting people carrying bags, the LE personnel were provided their precise locations to conduct arrests.

8. Although the priority was on interdicting the flow of illegal narcotics, a number of illegal aliens were also arrested. Things always got going after dark. Literally thousands of people crossed the border each and every night during our surveillance operation.

9. However, only about 50-60% or so were actually caught each night according to the USBP folks. A couple dozen people carrying drugs were in those caught nightly, as well. It was satisfying to help catch these illegals, but I was surprised at how many escaped arrest nightly!

10. Now here is what really shocked me to the core. A border patrol officer explained the process used by some of those attempting to get into the US. Many of them paid $100 to “guides” in Tijuana to help get them across to the US.

11. Each $100 “ticket” bought 10 chances to get across. The illegals who were arrested without drugs each night were taken back to Tijuana in old yellow schools buses the next day. If caught on the first crossing attempt, the illegal merely found the guide and tried again.

12. Given the arrest rate each night, the law of averages meant that, with 10 chances to make it across, anyone who persevered in trying to get into the US would, over time, make it through the LE net! And most of them ended up in LA.

13. And here is the kicker: over the few weeks my unit was participating in the operation, literally THOUSANDS of illegals tried to get into the US each night, rain or shine. And this has been going on every night of the week since then.

14. A section of border wall built since then has stemmed the flow a bit, but that just shifted the crossings further east where no walls exist. There are still a TON of people who make it across. We have already seen some of the consequences wrought on innocents. #KateSteinle

15. No Democrat/leftist/other fool will ever convince me that we don’t need a wall, or that “walls don’t work.” I’ve seen it all with my own eyes, as well as the results of not having one. #BuildTheWall !! ///The end.