91 illegals found in truck

[Martin]

Whats the use of spending billions on fences, surveillance equipment, and national gaurd troops...when they can easily just load up in the back of a truck and enter that way..


http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/129880.php

Tip leads Border Patrol to 91 illegal entrants in truck

Border Patrol agents discovered 91 illegal entrants who were smuggled into the country in the back of a box truck Thursday night southwest of Sonoita, an official said Friday.

Around 10 p.m., the Border Patrol received a call from a concerned citizen about possible illegal activity, said Jesus Rodriguez, a spokesman for the agency's Tucson sector. The caller said they believed the truck was picking up illegal entrants.

Border Patrol agents from Nogales and Sonoita pulled the truck over on Highway 82 around Milepost 26, at which time the driver got out and ran into the brush, Rodriguez said.

Inside the truck, agents found 91 illegal entrants, most of whom were from Mexico but some were from Central America, he said.
No injuries were reported and the driver of the truck was not found, Rodriguez said.

The illegal entrants were detained and taken to the Nogales processing center, he said.

[Swiss Miss]

There is a lot of work that needs to be done to control the out-of-control immigrant "situation". Personally, I don't really think it's much of a situation but they are certainly not doing anything effieciently to fix the problem if they're even trying to do so... Which leads me to believe they could care less and are just using the "situation" to divert the public's attention.

[waltky]

Illegal kills family in Texas...

Accused drunken driver in deadly wreck here illegally, police say
Aug. 14, 2007, Accused drunken driver remains in custody in the accident, which killed 3 in a family

A man accused of causing a fiery wreck that killed a family of three on the East Freeway is in the country illegally, authorities said. Juan Felix Salinas, 42, voluntarily returned to his home in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, two years ago, officials said. But he returned to the U.S., eventually making his way back to the Houston area.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Monday they have placed an immigration hold on Salinas but had no other information about his past. Salinas remained in police custody Monday, charged with three counts of intoxication manslaughter in the deaths of Tenisha Williams, 26; her husband, S.J. Williams; and her son, Xavier Brown, 2. His bail has been set at $90,000 — $30,000 for each death.

Houston police said Salinas was speeding and rapidly changing lanes about 8:30 p.m. Saturday when he rear-ended a Toyota Corolla in the 8700 block of Interstate 10. The Toyota caught fire and eventually was engulfed in flames. The family was pronounced dead at the scene.

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[waltky]

Border security breaking down...

Kidnappings crossing into U.S. border cities
11 Jan. 2008 - Drug trafficking, immigrant smuggling rings fuel violent trend

A woman leaving an eyeglass store is grabbed in the parking lot by four men who force her, kicking and screaming, into a pickup. The kidnappers demand a $900,000 ransom. But police soon realize her family is holding something back and isn't fully cooperating with them. Later, investigators find out that relatives have arranged the woman's release on their own. And they discover that members of the family are heavy into marijuana trafficking.

The case illustrates how a terrifyingly common crime in Latin America has moved across the border into the United States: Criminals and their family members are being kidnapped by fellow criminals and held for six-figure ransoms. The abductions are occurring in the Phoenix area at the rate of practically one per day, and police suspect they have led to killings in which bound and bullet-riddled bodies have been found dumped in the desert.

The kidnap victims are typically drug or immigrant-smugglers, who are seen as inviting targets because they have a lot of money, they can raise large sums of cash on short notice, and they are unlikely to go to the police, for fear their own shady dealings will come to light. "We have never had a victim that we have investigated that has been as clean as the new driven snow," said Sgt. Phil Roberts, who investigates the kidnappings. "There has always been some type of criminal element to it. Either they are criminals, drug dealers or human smugglers — or a close family member is."

More Kidnappings cross the border - Crime & courts - MSNBC.com

[waltky]

Immigration raids spare employers...
:?
Immigration raids tend to spare employers
Sun., June. 1, 2008 - No company officials face charges after the biggest raid in U.S. history

After the biggest immigration raid in U.S. history, hundreds of workers have been sentenced but not one company official as yet faces any charges — something critics say is typical of a federal government that is tough on employees but easy on owners. Worker advocates and lawmakers say the fact that nearly 400 workers were arrested in the May 12 raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville — or more than one-third of the total number of employees — proves that company officials must have known they were hiring illegal immigrants.

"Until we enforce our immigration laws equally against both employers and employees who break the law, we will continue to have a problem with immigration," said U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, an Iowa Democrat whose district borders Postville.

Such raids are designed to get headlines and make it appear that the federal government is cracking down on illegal immigration, said Frank Sharry, executive director of the immigration reform group America's Voice. But he says even those who think enforcement is the answer can't seriously believe the 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. can be arrested and deported.

"Even if you wanted to pursue an imbalanced enforcement-first strategy, the only thoughtful way to do it would be to go after employers, make examples of them and try to scare other employers into compliance," he said. "They're not doing that."

Company conducting investigation

See also:

Granny, possum n' Uncle Ferd all wavin' bye-bye...
:p
Immigrants leaving the United States
June 1, 2008 -- Growing numbers of immigrants -- legal and undocumented -- are leaving the United States for their homelands, analysts say.

The Miami Herald reported Sunday that many of those who leave the United States are disillusioned that they were not able to send more money to their families back home. Sociology professor Sueli Siqueira, who interviewed hundreds of returnees, found that 43 percent left the United States because they weren't satisfied with their earnings.

''The cost-benefit of this experience of migration stopped being positive,'' Siqueira said. Hector Salinas, an illegal immigrant in South Florida, said the money he made working a menial restaurant job provided just enough for rent and food, leaving little to be sent to his family in Mexico.

"I never lacked for work, but I never felt good here," said Salinas, 43. "The (bosses) pay only what they want. You live with very little, and then you're also alone, and always fearful of arriving at work and having them come looking for you." In South Florida, many farm workers from Mexico and Central America were leaving for home even before the end of the growing season, said Elvira Carvajal, a volunteer at the Florida Farmworkers Association in Florida City, Fla.

Source

[waltky]

Suspect in officer's death is freed by Mexican authorities...

Suspected Killer of US Border Patrol Agent Freed in Mexico
June 25, 2008 - U.S. officials express shock that a man who allegedly ran over a Border Patrol agent Jan. 19 in Imperial County was released, apparently without restrictions.

U.S. officials have expressed shock that a Mexican judge had freed a man imprisoned in connection with the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in California this year, according to a statement issued Wednesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Border Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar was killed Jan. 19 near the Imperial Sand Dunes in Imperial County as he was trying to stop two vehicles that had entered the U.S. illegally. One of the vehicles struck Aguilar as he was laying down a spike strip to stop it from escaping across the border.

Jesus Navarro Montes, a Mexican national, was arrested three days later in northern Mexico in connection with the killing and had been held over for trial there on migrant smuggling charges. The circumstances of his recent release from a Mexicali prison could not be determined Wednesday. "We are working with a determined Mexican government and our Department of Justice to seek swift justice for the Aguilar murder," Chertoff said in a statement. "We have also assured Agent Aguilar's family that every resource is being called upon in the relentless pursuit of justice."

T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing border agents, expressed disbelief when told of Montes' release. "How can a guy who murdered one of our law enforcement agents just be released like that?" Bonner said it was his understanding that Montes was released without any restrictions. "He could be anywhere by now," he said. Authorities believe Montes left Mexicali in Baja California in a Hummer carrying drugs and headed across sand dunes into the U.S., according to Mexico's federal attorney general's office and Public Safety Department.

MORE

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Congressman's Relative Kidnapped in Mexico
Jun 25, `08 - U.S. authorities are helping Mexican officials investigate the apparent kidnapping and weekend release of a relative of Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas).

A female relative of Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, was kidnapped June 19 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a crime-ridden city across the Rio Grande from El Paso, a federal law enforcement official said Wednesday. The woman, a Mexican citizen, was released after an approximately $30,000 ransom was paid by a relative in Mexico to the kidnapper, the official said, and Reyes' relative was released with another victim. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is active, did not have details about the second victim.

Authorities did not say how the woman is related to Reyes. Another family member was in contact with the kidnapper and agreed to pay the ransom, the official said. It is unclear if the kidnapper knew that the woman was related to Reyes when she was taken. The official said the family of the victim called Reyes' office, which notified authorities. Reyes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was not informed of the kidnapping until several hours later, according to the official.

Vincent Perez, a spokesman for the El Paso congressman's office in Washington, would not comment on the case Wednesday. ICE officials in El Paso said in a brief statement Tuesday that the agency worked with Mexican authorities to "help secure the release of a victim who was kidnapped in Ciudad Juarez." ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said Wednesday the agency would have no further comment.

Reyes has been an ardent supporter of U.S. aid to Mexico to help fight an increasingly bloody turf battle among the country's power drug cartels. Kidnappings and murders have become more common in Juarez and elsewhere in Mexico as the cartels continue to battle for lucrative trade routes and try to fend off Mexican federal efforts to shut them down. So far this year, more than 500 people have been killed in Juarez, a city of about 2 million people, including 20 in less than three days earlier this week.

Source