Mexico Doesn't Allow ICE Agents to Carry Guns

Katie Pavlich | February 17, 2011 2:16 PM

Government idiocy at its best.

Earlier this week, one U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another was severely wounded after drug cartels shot them

in Mexico, knowing they were U.S. federal agents.

Come to find out, the Mexican government won't allow U.S. ICE agents to be armed while conducting operations in Mexico.

Though Mexico is seeing record rates of violence, it is rare for U.S. officials to be attacked. The U.S. government, however, has become increasingly concerned about the safety of its employees in the country.

The U.S. State Department has taken several measures over the past year to protect consulate employees and their families. It has at times authorized the departure of relatives of U.S. government employees in northern Mexican cities.

Maybe the State Department should start protecting employees and their families working in Mexico by insisting the Mexican government allow U.S. federal agents to be armed.

ICE officials confirm U.S. law enforcement cannot carry weapons in Mexico. That could have made the difference between Zapata and his partner surviving the attack Wednesday.

Although this is a dangerous job, the Mexican government does not authorize U.S. law enforcement working in Mexico to carry weapons. They may only carry guns if they are in one of the country's embassies.

It is true that the United States does now allow Mexican agents to carry guns while working in America for the sake of sovereignty, however, the streets haven't been taken over by drug cartels yielding AK-47's in America either. It is also a fact that the United States is aiding or enforcing (hence Immigration and Customs Enforcement) the Mexican government in its war against the cartels. We can't fight cartels with spit balls or by playing nice, just doesn't work that way and sending American agents into a war zone unarmed is idiotic and clearly dangerous.