Misalignment: US Border Patrol

A CNSNews.com report today summarized data reported by the office of Congressman John Culberson, a Republican from Texas. According to the report, 83.6% of illegal immigrants apprehended by the US Border Patrol last year were never prosecuted.

Assuming the report is accurate, this data represents a misalignment between the Border Patrol's superordinate goals and systems (or processes). Ostensibly, the superordinate goal of the Border Patrol is to prevent illegal immigration to the United States (and to prosecute offenders). However, the systems of the Border Patrol are not set up to prosecute those that break immigration law, which is presumably of key importance in preventing offenses, particularly by repeat offenses. The end result is that many illegal immigrants are apprehended, released, and then illegally cross the border again. If the Border Patrol really wants to achieve its superordinate goal of preventing illegal immigration, it will need to change its systems to allow for greater prosecution of immigration law offenders.

Of course, it could be argued that the superordinate goal of the Border Patrol (an arm of the US government) of preventing illegal immigration is misaligned with the United States' shared value of welcoming immigration. But that's another issue entirely, and one that I wouldn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole.