Napolitano: US-Mex Border in Control

(Washington, D.C.) In a speech yesterday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asserted the U.S.-Mexico border is not out of control and insisted that border communities are "open for business."

Meanwhile in the border community of Juarez, it's reported that 130 workers lost their jobs at the SkyBridge Corp. maquiladora, which simply closed its doors. A reason for the closing wasn't reported but workers' families are now receiving groceries delivered by the government.

Also in Juarez, gunfire at a bar on Thursday left 10 people dead and another four died, including a 10-year-old boy, at a burrito stand on Friday from more 'not out of control' border gunfire.

Granted, the preceding examples of violence and death and a business shutting its doors are anecdotal, however, they are also representative of the lawlessness and uncertainty that exists all along the border from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

Whether it be Tijuana or El Paso or Nogales or Laredo or Mexicali or Brownsville, gruesome murders, maimings and kidnappings are regularly reported. Armed drug smugglers, weapons smugglers and human traffickers frequently leave dead bodies behind. The border area is a war zone.

One must wonder exactly what Secretary Napolitano was thinking when she said the border is not out of control and it's open for business.