SandBoxBlogs: Washington Examiner "Border agents dispute claim that illegal immigrant tide is slowing"

Sara Carter:
"The once red-hot issue of illegal immigration has cooled considerably in recent months, in large part because of studies like one from the Pew Hispanic Center that said the flood of people entering the U.S. from across the Mexican border has slowed, and that the number actually returning to Mexico from the U.S. has increased, reversing a decades-long trend.

But federal law enforcement agents on the border are skeptical that the illegal immigrant tide is slowing. And new information from the U.S. financial sector shows that more money is flowing from American cities to Mexico in the form of remittances from immigrants than last year.

Federal law enforcement officials interviewed by The Washington Examiner say security is being compromised as the government seeks to keep a lid on the border as a campaign issue during the presidential election cycle. Department of Homeland Security's Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are being told not to make arrests of noncriminal illegal immigrants, and not to patrol areas of high traffic along the roughly 2,000-mile Southwest border.

A Border Patrol official working along the Texas border said administration officials are deliberately failing to document what is actually happening on the border. "In many cases my supervisors make it clear that they don't want increased apprehension numbers, which means no arrests," he said.

The government is also failing to patrol hundreds of miles of federal wildlife reserves that fall under the jurisdiction of the Interior Department. That has given smugglers and illegal immigrants a clear corridor to enter the county and has skewed national arrest figures, an official said. The U.S. is allowing "drug and human smugglers in without a fight" in parts of the Southwest, he said...." (Read more? Click title)

"Unapologetic pursuit and tracking of patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBoxBlogs: Customs and Border Protection "Border Patrol Seizes More Than One Ton of Marijuana"

"Tucson, Ariz. – Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents seized approximately 2,155 pounds of marijuana worth just over $1 million over the weekend.

 

Yesterday morning, Casa Grande Station agents utilizing imaging technology notified ground agents of 10 possible narcotics smugglers near the international boundary. Agents responded to the area, seized 14 bundles of marijuana and apprehended two subjects. The narcotics and the subjects were transported back to the station for processing. The narcotics weighed 740 pounds with an estimated value of $370,000. The subjects may face federal charges and the narcotics will be turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

 

Willcox Station agents working at the State Route 90 checkpoint referred a vehicle for secondary inspection on Saturday after a canine team alert. Agents discovered three bundles of marijuana concealed in the gas tank after utilizing imaging technology. The driver, a U.S. citizen was placed under arrest and transported along with the narcotics to the station for processing. The narcotics, weighing 18 pounds with a value of $9,000, will be turned over to the DEA. The driver may face federal charges.

 

In a separate incident Saturday, Willcox agents conducted a vehicle stop on a pickup truck and discovered 13 bundles of marijuana in the bed of the truck. The driver, a U.S. citizen was arrested and transported along with the narcotics for processing. The total weight of the narcotics was 212 pounds worth an estimated $106,000. The driver may face possible federal charges and the narcotics will be turned over to the DEA.

 

Ajo Station agents working on the ATV unit located 15 bundles of marijuana abandoned in the desert on Friday. The narcotics weighed 728 pounds worth an estimated value of $364,000. A few hours earlier, during a separate incident, Ajo agents utilizing imaging technology notified additional agents of possible narcotics smuggling near the international boundary. Agents responded and seized nine bundles of marijuana and apprehended four subjects. All narcotics and subjects were transported to the station for processing.

 

The narcotics weighed 457 pounds worth an estimated value of $228,500.

 

The Tucson Sector employs targeted enforcement efforts to deny and dismantle transnational criminal organizations. As a result of the Border Patrol’s enforcement efforts, criminal organizations are becoming increasingly desperate to get their narcotics into the interior of the United States.

 

Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens can report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol and remain anonymous by calling (877) 872-7435 toll free.

 

All CBP assets in Arizona were realigned under a unified command structure in February 2011. Joint Field Command – Arizona unifies the Tucson and Yuma Border Patrol Sectors and Air Branches, as well as the Tucson Field Office, to enhance border security, commercial enforcement and trade facilitation missions to meet Arizona’s unique challenges. Follow us on Twitter @CBPArizona or visit the attached website for more information. ( Arizona )

 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. "

"Unapologetically pursuing and tracking patterns within the news others make since 2010."

SandBox Comments: Customs and Border Patrol "Texas CBP Officers Seize $3.7 Million in Marijuana Disguised as Lettuce"

Read this one closely.

One has to wonder how long they've gotten away with this and what other kinds of fruit and produce is used in this detailed way to smuggle dope in from Mexico?

A ton and a half of pot, street value of $3.7 million dollars.

One semi and one bust.

"On Jan. 17, CBP officers at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge encountered a Sterling tractor and utility refrigerated trailer at the cargo facility. The tractor and trailer were referred to CBP secondary screening for further inspection. Examination by CBP officers in the cargo secondary screening area revealed 1,348 packages commingled within the manifested commodity of fresh cabbage. CBP officers removed the 1,348 packages from the trailer which had a total weight of 1,661.5 kilograms, or 3,662.98 pounds, of alleged marijuana.

 

The alleged marijuana from this seizure has an estimated street value of approximately $3,662,980. CBP officers seized the narcotics and the tractor-trailer.

	click for hi-res More than 1,300 packages weighing more than 3,600 pounds were found in the shipment.

“Finding unique modes of concealment used in an attempt to smuggle illicit narcotics into the country is a daily occurrence for CBP officers on the frontline. This is a large load of alleged marijuana that has been stopped and will not make it into our nation’s cities thanks to the hard work of our CBP officers,” said Efrain Solis, CBP port director for Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas..."

(Read more?  See more photos?  Click title. )

SandBox Comments: Pueblo Chieftain "No-staff crossing planned in Texas "

"BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas — The bloody drug war in Mexico shows no sign of relenting. Neither do calls for tighter border security amid rising fears of spillover violence.

This hardly seems a time the U.S. would be willing to allow people to cross the border legally from Mexico without a customs officer in sight. But in this rugged, remote West Texas terrain where wading across the shallow Rio Grande undetected is all too easy, federal authorities are touting a proposal to open an unmanned port of entry as a security upgrade.

By spring, kiosks could open up in Big Bend National Park allowing people from the tiny Mexican town of Boquillas del Carmen to scan their identity documents and talk to a customs officer in another location, at least 100 miles away...."
(via Pueblo Chieftain)

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SandBox Comments: Tree of Mamre/John Scotus "The ATF’s “Collateral Damage”: 2 Federal Agents and 300 Civilians Sacrificed to Make the Case for Gun Control"

"Operation Fast and Furious was an ATF initiative to allow–indeed, encourage–the purchase of AK-47s and .50 caliber rifles by proxies (straw purchasers) for Mexican drug gangs, and then to let these guns to be taken over the border into Mexico without making any attempt to interdict or trace them, even though both the flow into and the possession of these guns in Mexico is illegal. According to the Mexican government, at last count 300 people have been murdered in Mexico as a result of the guns allowed to walk in Operation Fast and Furious. In addition, two US Federal Officers, including Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, have been murdered with Fast and Furious weapons.

Since the ATF is legally compelled to interdict straw purchases and stop the illegal flow of weapons into Mexico, Operation Fast and Furious was not just unethical and short-sighted: It was illegal. ATF and DOJ memos released earlier this year directly state that the bureaucrats and agents involved expected that there would be “collateral damage” (i.e., unnecessary deaths) as a result of Operation Fast and Furious. Thus, effectively, Operation Fast and Furious was an illegal conspiracy to aid and abet murder. The yet unanswered questions are who approved Operation Fast and Furious, and why it was approved to begin with...."
(John Scotus)

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"Truth goes through three stages. First it is ridiculed. Then it is violently opposed. Finally, it is accepted as self-evident."

SandBox Comments: Summit County Citizens Voice "U.S. Border Patrol detains fugitive Breckenridge attorney Scoop Daniel, wanted on charges of felony theft"

"SUMMIT COUNTY — A prominent Breckenridge lawyer who disappeared in 2007 has been detained in San Diego after trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico.

The U.S. Border Patrol contacted local law enforcement agencies Wednesday, Dec. 7 to confirm an active arrest warrant for Royal “Scoop” Daniel.

According to a press release from the Breckenridge Police Department, Daniel was taken into custody and is currently being held in the San Diego County Jail. Daniel is awaiting an extradition hearing, which is expected to occur Dec. 8.

Daniel vanished under mysterious circumstances in April 2007, allegedly with up to $1 million that he was managing for clients as part of his role in various real estate deals...."
(Summit Voice)

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SandBox Comments: The Right Scoop "U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jailed For Doing His Job "

"Only in Obama’s America would a U.S. citizen risking their life in order to protect the United States border be arrested simply for doing their job.  In the latest border atrocity, Agent Jesus E. Diaz was arrested, indicted by a federal grand jury and sentenced to two years for the use of unreasonable force. Unreasonable force which consisted of (are you ready for this?) lifting the teenagers arms...."
(Right Scoop)


(Learn more?  Click title and comment to start discussion)

"Truth goes through three stages.  First, it is ridiculed.  Then it is violently opposed.  Finally, it is seen as self-evident."