Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Local News
Immigrant apprehensions skyrocket
BY BILL HESS
Tuesday, August 3, 2004 12:03 PM MDT
Herald/Review
COCHISE COUNTY - The number of illegal immigrants apprehended by the
U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector agents jumped 136,700 this fiscal
year and assaults against agents have likewise spiked upward.
There have been about the same number of assaults this year as there
were at this time in 2003, but the degree of violence is significantly
higher, Border Patrol spokesman Andy Adame said Monday.
As enforcement is beefed up in Arizona, the busiest illegal entry
point along the 2,000-mile border, smugglers are getting more
desperate, Adame said.
"They're starting to see some losses," he said, "And when you talk
financial gain with smugglers and the loss of it, they're going to
react violently."
Adame said the agency has seen dramatic increases in violence
involving guns and vehicles. Smugglers have been ramming Border Patrol
vehicles with their cars and chasing down agents while driving or on
foot.
There also has been a rise in smugglers attacking agents with
softball-sized rocks to divert their attention away from border
crossers.
"We're not talking about the rocks you throw at the lake or around the
neighborhood as a kid," said Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels.
"We're talking about big, honking rocks."
The most serious rocking incidents result in agents losing
consciousness and blood, and requiring hospital and recovery time.
"We're more forceful along the border than we've ever been," Adame
said. "So smugglers are getting desperate and lashing out against
agents."
Immigrant apprehensions
Cochise County has seen nearly 47 percent of those taken into custody
in the sector during the first 10 months of this federal fiscal year,
an increase of 61,851 for the same period of the previous budget year
- Oct. 1, 2002, to July 31, 2003.
Spokespersons for the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns
say their candidates have a solution that will secure the
international boundary with Mexico and ensure citizens living along
the border and throughout the country will be protected from
terrorists.
However, the head of the private and non-profit American Border Patrol
said neither party's proposals will be successful.
The figures provided by sector spokesman Rob Daniels on Monday does
not break down the nationalities of the illegal border crossers.
Daniels said usually the number of illegal immigrants from other than
Mexico "are in the low single digits."
The Department of Homeland Security cites national security concerns
the figures for other than Mexican apprehensions are prohibited from
being released, he said.
From Oct. 1 through the end of July - Saturday - 418,146 illegal
immigrants were apprehended compared to 181,446 from Oct. 1, 2002, to
July 31, 2003, the spokesman said.
Of that number, 198,624 were caught in Cochise County during the first
10 months of this federal fiscal year compared to 136,773 for the same
period of the previous budget year, Daniels said.
Last month, nearly 50 percent of the 38,898 - 19,433 - taken into
custody in the sector were apprehended in Cochise County, he remarked.
Last July, 34,201 were apprehended in the sector of which 19,392 were
taken into custody in Cochise County, Daniels added.
President has best plan
Danny Diaz, the Southwest spokesman for the national Republican
campaign said President George W. Bush and Vice President ***** Cheney
know the importance of stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into
the United States.
Since Bush has been president there has been an increase in the number
of U.S. Border Patrol agents as well as "hundreds of millions of
dollars" for other support, Diaz said Monday.
Bush does support a better guest worker program to allow people from
other countries to come into the nation to work but only after no
United States citizen can be found to fill a job, Diaz said.
The president's plan is all inclusive to ensure the country is
protected by not only apprehending illegal immigrants but making sure
those who enter the country legally are tracked when they come in and
when they leave, the spokesman said.
A proposal to allow those in the country illegally to work will allow
them to continue working for a certain period and then they will have
to leave the country, he remarked, adding, "it is not an amnesty
program."
By establishing the Department of Homeland security, the president has
joined 22 federal agencies under a single leader and the department
"is the best for fighting terrorists," Diaz exclaimed.
Kerry to improve security
Sue Walitsky, the Arizona communications director for the John Kerry
and John Edwards campaign said Kerry strongly supports real
immigration reform "to strengthen our economy and our security and to
honor our traditions as a nation of immigrants."
Kerry will offer a reform bill in his first 100 days in office that
strengthens border protections, encourages and rewards legal immigrant
and facilitates family reunification, she said.
As part of his reforms Kerry will reach a new accord with Mexico to
improve security along the border and stop illegal smuggling that will
include national security databases and watchlists "that keep out
those who come to harm us," Walitsky said.
By moving the shadow workers into the sunlight, he will make America
more safe and free, she added.
Like Bush, Kerry's program includes a new guest worker program.
Republicans, Democrats are wrong
Glenn Spencer whose headquarters for the American Border Patrol is in
Sierra Vista, said the current Republican leadership has done nothing
to secure the border.
He also said if Kerry is elected an open border policy is assured.
Spencer said his group has proven how easy it is for terrorists, who
could carry weapons of mass destruction, to enter the United States.
The San Pedro Corridor is "Highway 101 for illegals," he said.
A member of his group carried a fake WMD across the border fence on
two separate occasions without being challenged by U.S. Border Patrol
agents, he explained.
There have been reports of al-Qaida operatives being discovered in
Texas and that is additional proof the border is not secure, Spencer
said.
"I'm not impressed by George Bush and the Department of Homeland
Security," he said.
As for Kerry's proposals, Spencer is extremely wary because his main
Hispanic supporter and others in position of leadership in the
Democratic Party are advocates of open borders, Spencer said.
If Kerry is elected not only will there be open borders, those who are
in the country illegally "will be given amnesty," he said.
Marijuana seizures up
Not only was the number of illegal immigrants apprehended on the rise
- Daniels said the amount of marijuana seized also increased this year
compared to last.
From Oct. 1 through the end of last month 401,493 pounds of marijuana
was confiscated within the sector, compared to 319,416 pounds from
Oct. 1, 2002, to July 31, 2003, he commented
The amount seized in Cochise County during the first 10 months of this
budget year is 107,534 pounds compared to 68,698 pounds in the last
fiscal year, Daniels said.
Last month 30,685 pounds of marijuana were seized, up from 17,770
pounds in July 2003, he exclaimed.
In Cochise County 4,790 pounds of the illegal drug was confiscated
last month, versus 2,323 pounds in July 2003, Daniels said.
The Associated press contributed to this report
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