CAROB flier for Border Security Expo

This flier was passed out by CAROB and associates nearby the Border Security Expo that took place in Phoenix recently. It was handed to passersby- mostly baseball fans, others coming from the light rail station, a few people from the expo itself, and whoever else happened to be walking by...


The same mindset that has brought us freeway cameras is behind a Border Security Expo being held this Tuesday through Thursday at the Phoenix Convention Center. The event is sponsored by Raytheon, a company that manufactured a missile that killed 62 civilians in a Baghdad market in 2003*. Some of these technology companies are raking in millions, even billions of dollars to “secure the homeland”. But where does that leave us?

What does it mean that Homeland Security has nothing to do with making sure we all have homes?

Especially when so many people are losing their homes, security should mean shelter, food, health care, safety… Not more creepy biometrics devices. The government clearly is more concerned about fortifying the military and helping big business than it is about us.

Why are we allowing the government to manufacture enemies so it can award contracts to private companies? We know that private companies are making loads of money off of being part of one war or security effort or another. We know that lots of people profited from the lies that led to the US involvement in Iraq. The same companies (Boeing, Halliburton, Blackwater) are profiting or looking to profit from the continued militarization of the US-Mexico border.

The information communicated through the media about immigration is often created or distorted by white nationalists and others such as business owners who have an interest in the migrants being scape-goated. They would like us to blame the desperate and vulnerable migrants for our economic problems, rather than those who are profiting from those problems. They want workers to not get along, based on a silly concept like race, so they can continue taking advantage of us all, but especially immigrants.

What is the threat? Let us keep in mind that the first border patrol and physical barrier on the border are less than one hundred years old, yet some act like we’re doomed if we’re without a border wall. The billions upon billions of dollars to build a wall, buy border security technology, pay border patrol agents, detain hundreds of thousands of migrants, and deport them is hardly justified by the alleged costly impact migrants have on the economy. The impact of supposed over-population is nothing compared to the impact that big corporations- especially weapons manufactures- have on the planet.

And now the big deal is the drug cartels? The criminalization of drugs and people have created the unsafe conditions related to drug and human smuggling. Even though studies show that drug treatment is far more effective than enforcement, the government wants to perpetuate the violence at the border by increasing militarization.

How can we expect people to not migrate here if we are not willing to correct the damage we benefit from? Rich guys from the US who have investments in Mexico, such as car-parts factories, have an interest in and the power (with the participation of rich powerful Mexicans and cooperation of other US-based forces) to maintain the poor economic conditions in Mexico that ensure a cheap labor pool. US citizens benefit from the cheap products from Mexico, turning a blind eye to our participation in maintaining a situation in which people from Mexico need to seek better opportunities.

Do you think the increase in technology on the border will not affect you? What about the pastor from Tempe who got tased and beat up by DPS officers after refusing to open his trunk for the border patrol? How long till the border patrol check points are as maddening as going through security at the airport?

No to increased border security! No to the created divisions between us and our brothers and sisters based on immigration status! No to continued invasions on Indian land to supposedly secure the homeland! No to destroying the environment to build a wall!

*Corpwatch.org