Jerry Seper
Border War: (Cont'd)
Wed Sep 25 06:18:03 2002
208.152.73.47

The politics of immigration
The White House opposes the stationing of U.S. troops on
the Mexican border for "cultural and historical reasons."
President Bush, former governor of Texas, has sought to
appeal to Hispanic voters through such initiatives as promoting
a Western Hemispheric free trade zone, giving amnesty to 4
million to 7 million illegal immigrants in the United States and
allowing immigrants visas that would be renewable each year
as long as they hold jobs.
"Some look south and see problems," Mr. Bush said in a
speech last year to State Department employees. "Not me. I
look south and see opportunities."
But Mr. Tancredo said he wants "an explanation of these
'cultural and historical' reasons why we can't protect our
nation's borders." He said it was "time" for the U.S.
government to order troops to the border to assist in controlling
illegal immigration and drug smuggling, both of which he
described as "national security concerns."
Earlier this year, some House Republicans called on Mr.
Bush to station military forces along the Southwest border,
citing a need to stop the persistent flow of illegal immigrants
and to combat drug smugglers, who have taken over several
areas of the lengthy border.
The lawmakers said the number of violent encounters along
the border, including incursions involving the Mexican military,
was increasing, "creating a need for immediate action on the
part of our government."
"We are extremely concerned about the porousness of both
our northern and southern borders," said Rep. Jim Ramstad,
Minnesota Republican, who joined in the call for stationing
troops. "It is particularly disturbing that Canada and Mexico
are still not adequately screening immigrant and cargo traffic in
and out of their countries."
The Bush administration has placed 1,100 National
Guardsmen on the borders with Canada and Mexico after the
September 11 terrorist attacks, but those deployments ended in
summer.
Meanwhile, officials at the Border Patrol's Tucson sector
office, which is responsible for 261 miles of international
border, continue to negotiate with the Mexican military about
the problems of drug trafficking, alien smuggling and
incursions.
"We have attempted to maintain an active dialogue with a
number of the generals in the Mexican army," said Carlos X.
Carrillo, assistant sector chief. "There is no question that when
there is an incident, it is of grave concern to us."
"The safety of our agents and the possible violation of U.S.
law concerns us deeply."
Assistant Chief Carrillo also said Tucson sector supervisors
have a "strong liaison" with Mexico and have been "very
active" in reaching out to their Mexican law-enforcement
counterparts. He said sector officials have "actively sought an
open line of communication in an effort to reduce the potential
of these kinds of incidents."
But despite the continuing dialogue, there has been no
decrease in the amount of drugs coming out of Mexico into the
United States. Additionally, the number of illegal aliens
crossing annually though the Tucson sector has skyrocketed.
"Things have improved," said a top U.S. law-enforcement
official. "But corruption is so deeply entrenched in Mexico, it
will take years to identify and remove those who are still
involved. Many Mexican military officers operate with total
autonomy, particularly in faraway places like the border."
"The drug smugglers have a ton of money to persuade them
to the dark side."
At the Tohono O'odham Nation, which shares 76 miles of
international border with Mexico, the reservation's 75-member
police department will spend more than $3 million this year on
all border-related issues, including the towing of up to 40 cars a
day abandoned by alien smugglers and drug smugglers.
"The problems of illegal aliens and drug smuggling impacts
significantly on the level of service we can provide to our own
community," said acting Assistant Police Chief Joseph
Delgado. "The Border Patrol has pushed the illegal immigrants
out of the cities and towns and to our reservation, where we do
not have the manpower to deal with the crunch. The
community is upset that we can't focus on them."
Chief Delgado noted that because of the flood of
immigrants and drug smugglers, the reservation has become a
violent place for the 13,000 people who call the Tohono
O'odham nation home. He said alien smugglers and drug
smugglers refuse to stop for police and often race their
four-wheel-drive vehicles over the reservation's many dirt
roads at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.
"Our children are out in the community, and every day they
have to face these ruthless people," he said. "It is very
frustrating that we have had to divert our attention and our
resources to focus not on our own community but to deal with
this rising immigration and drug problem."
"We're literally the front line of defense for the United
States, and we are doing the best we can," he said. "But I
assure you, it's going to get worse before it gets better.""
Part Two: "We are overwhelmed."
Part One: New strategies to slow the flood of illegal
immigrants.
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MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A federal judge declared the federal death penalty law
unconstitutional Tuesday in a ruling defense lawyers said could provide a new
argument for challenging capital cases across the country.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions said recent cases, including a U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that found juries and not judges must hand out death sentences, have rendered
existing death-penalty law unusable.
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