Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, hears a lot of disturbing reports from Texas law enforcement officials working along the U.S. border with Mexico. Poe returned from his most recent trip to the Lone Star State claiming to have seen photographs taken by local sheriffs of Mexican military helicopters in action over U.S. territory. One copter was photographed hovering over a building; the other over a recreational vehicle park, according to the Examiner‘s Barbara Hollingsworth. “We don’t know what their intention was,” Poe told Hollingsworth, adding: “The Mexican military has no business coming into the United States.”
As troubling as is the possibility that a foreign military force may have violated U.S. airspace on multiple occasions, what is even more disturbing is the escalating violence on the border. It’s no exaggeration to say that the Mexican government is fighting a desperate battle with powerful drug cartels for control of the country. Americans who dismiss fears that this violence will spill over into this country should listen to Poe. He recently contacted sheriffs in the 14 Texas counties that share the border with Mexico and found that more than a third of the people in their jails are foreign nationals who have been charged with committing serious crimes in this country.
