I have already written about how critics of the crackdown policy on immigrant issues, particularly the construction of a barrier along the US-Mexican border, are pointing out the growing threat of a surge in corruption among those who are charged with protecting the borders of our homeland. These warnings should be taken very seriously: there is more and more evidence that corrupt border patrol officers and law enforcement authorities are working with smugglers as well as with those who convey illegal immigrants into U.S. territory.

We're not going to list all the recent incidents of criminal charges being brought against corrupt people in uniform. We're just going to mention the most revealing. For example, last month two border police officers working at a checkpoint were arrested. For $200,000 apiece, they agreed to release detained Mexican illegal immigrants and their coyotes [human traffickers]. Not long before this incident, two border patrol officers – brothers, by the way – who had accepted bribes for turning a blind eye to illegal immigrants crossing the U.S. border, went into hiding – an investigation indicates that they could be in the territory of our neighbor to the south.

It should be noted that measures taken in the past to strengthen security at the U.S.-Mexican border prompted an increase in corruption at points that became relatively more difficult to penetrate. Sure, some smugglers and coyotes were forced to change their well-trodden routes, but others took a simpler action – bribery.

Experts believe that the surge in bribery among border patrol officers and law enforcement officers is now enabled by two main factors:

First is the burgeoning number of border patrol officers. Congress intends to allot additional funds to double the current ranks of the U.S. Border Patrol. This would seem to be a good thing: More people in uniform means that criminals and illegal immigrants have fewer chances of making their way into U.S. soil. That may be, but the selection of future officers in and of itself has many shortcomings.

The Washington Post cites a prime example of the gullibility of our special forces. The newspaper, based in our nation's capital, recounts an incident involving a former border guard named Oscar Antonio Ortiz who brought more than 100 illegal Mexican immigrants into U.S. territory. During the course of the investigation, it emerged that Ortiz was himself an illegal immigrant from the same country and had been accepted into the U. S. Border Patrol using forged documents. Ortiz became an American citizen thanks to fake documents. The Washington Post goes on to point out that potential government employees must take a lie detector test, but the Border Patrol is the exception to the rule. It's hard to say why. Indeed, border patrol officers have more temptations than regular police officers.

Experts hold that now is the time to adopt more rigorous standards in selecting border patrol officers and to start running background checks on those applying for such important work. This is the right idea, but will it find support at the highest levels? According to Kristi Clemens, assistant commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, border patrol officers are selected in a very careful manner: Only one out of 30 applications is accepted. But we gather from the words of Clemens, that one person, who could turn out to be another Ortiz, will not have to face a lie detector test for now.

A second factor that enables corruption is that smugglers and coyotes must adapt to stricter border control regulations. This means seeking out Americans who are ready to collaborate with them for substantial compensation. And, not surprisingly, these people can be found, considering the generally modest salaries of border patrol officers and rank-and-file employees at law enforcement agencies. Incidentally, those who earn more are also not always able to resist temptation.

Last year, for example, ten federal agents in Texas were all accused at once of entering into a criminal conspiracy with Mexican drug dealers and human traffickers. During a major operation carried out by the Office of Attorney General's in Arizona, 17 soldiers and law enforcement officials were arrested for helping smugglers transport counterfeit medicine into U.S. territory. They were all counting on receiving large sums of money.

In a Washington Post interview, Clemens stresses that in spite of now well-known instances of corruption, her agency does not believe that the situation is deteriorating. "There has not been an increase in instances of bribery," she states. "There were 22 incidents in 2004 and 21 last year."

Leaders of the border patrol officers’ union are of a different opinion. The National Border Patrol Council confirms that official statistics do not reflect the true picture of corruption. In reality, incidents of bribery are much higher. T. J. Bonner, head of the union, contends that Border Patrol employees are very strictly warned to hold their tongues and not stick their noses where they don’t belong. He believes that this is the source of the sharp decline in the moral climate among Customs and Border Protection officers and employees.

Clearly, a simple build-up of border patrol officers will have little effect on illegal immigration. On the contrary, serving at the border could turn into an added source of enrichment for those in charge of the lock at the border, who will be able to open it every time it is greased well. The fence topped with barbed wire and the surveillance cameras coupled with the roadblocks will only serve as a scarecrow for those illegal immigrants who have decided to enter the United States at their own peril and risk.