Apprehension

Apprehension is an interesting word. It has three definitions, according to my dictionary.
1) capture or arrest
2) perception or understanding
3) anxiety or dread

All three definitions come in to play at the border.

For example, the Bush administration reports that apprehensions are down at the border, meaning that they are capturing fewer illegals trying to enter the United States. The party line implies that fewer people are being caught because fewer people are attempting to cross. (Personally, I’m not so sure about that theory since we are famous for the illusion of security. If Bush wants it to appear that the flow of illegals is slowing, all he has to do is change the way the Border Patrol does business. And they have been known to do that before.)

Definition two is a hallmark of the illegal alien problem. Frankly, this nation doesn’t understand what’s going on here because Washington doesn’t get it.

Definition number 3, anxiety or dread, is way up at the border right now. There may be fewer captures, but there is a great deal more violence at the present time.

Here’s a quote from an AP story published yesterday: “In general, violence along the U.S. border has gone up over the years. Seven frontline border agents were killed in 2007, and two so far in 2008. Assaults against officers have also shot up from 335 in fiscal 2001 to 987 in fiscal 2007.

“There have been 362 assaults against officers during the first four months of 2008, according to Border Patrol statistics. The pattern has been that when more security resources are deployed along the U.S. border, violence against officers spike in response.” (end of AP quote)

On the Mexican side there was the assassination of the national police chief last week and three high-ranking police officials have sought asylum at the border because they can’t trust their own organizations.

And 24,000 Mexican soldiers have been deployed to fight the war on drugs. Several brutal gun battles have been fought recently in border towns. (Mexico has a zero tolerance gun control policy. It doesn’t seem to be working. They say it’s because the US keeps supplying them bootleg guns.)

I’d say anxiety is rather high at the border these days.

So, you wordsmiths out there will relish the idea that the level of apprehension is truthfully both up and down. For once politicians can be right!