For decades, border patrol tactics in the U.S. have focused on screening incoming immigrants and visitors and apprehending those attempting to enter the country illegally. With escalating violence along the U.S.-Mexico border due to the rise of Mexican drug cartels, those leaving the country are being screened, searched, and even detained. Sometimes, as illegal immigrants choose to throw in the towel on their hopes of success in the U.S. and head back to their home country, they are detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and then formally deported. CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin has said, “Southbound inspections are a critical dimension of our work in ways that were not true in the past.”

With illegal immigrants leaving the country in larger numbers due to the poor economic condition of the U.S. and the rash of anti-immigration sentiment that is sweeping statehouses across the country, they are being caught by CBP agents on their way home. However, at least according to CBP, this is but a secondary and even accidental side-effect of the real reason people are being scrutinized as they leave the country. The reason drug cartels and consequently horrific violence continues in Northern Mexico is because Americans are buying their products. Drug lords in Mexico somehow get drugs into the U.S., be it through an underground tunnel or on the backs of illegal aliens as they come to the U.S., low-flying aircraft, or boat. However, they need to get their money back across the border somehow. Previously, this was quite easy for them as persons and vehicles entering Mexico were rarely given a second look and generally considered by U.S. officials as the problem of Mexico.

But legislators in Washington have taken it upon themselves to do something about the domestic issues in a foreign country, not only because it affects the U.S., with stray bullets finding their way onto American doorsteps, but also because Mexican authorities are not making any headway. When Mexico’s current President, Felipe Calderon, took office in 2006, he pledged to crack down on drug cartels. Since then, there have been at least 30,000 drug violence-related deaths. Texas Senator John Cornyn has said in support of outgoing border screening, “If we can find a way to stop the money, we’ll go a long way toward defeating the cartels.” CBP admits there is much work to be done still with only 48 out of 118 lanes out of the U.S. and in to Mexico are equipped with high-tech license plate readers, an integral part of border vehicle screening.

There is much evidence that Mexican violence is fueled by American firearms as well. Drug cartel henchmen purchase weapons at U.S. retailers and gun shows and truck them across the border. This is another thing CBP officials are looking for. However, the otherwise-innocent illegal immigrants who get caught in this web are presenting a unique paradox for those in the U.S. who hope to restrict immigration and would like to see nothing more than for them to leave immediately. CBP says that while illegal immigrants are doing the right thing by leaving, it is still useful to detain and formally deport them as it creates a record of illegal immigrants and allows the U.S. to restrict these people from legally entering the U.S. at a later date.