Nearly 600,000 entrants caught, Border Patrol says

Open or closed borders?
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CVX
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Nearly 600,000 entrants caught, Border Patrol says

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PHOENIX - The Border Patrol said Thursday that it nabbed nearly 600,000 illegal entrants coming into Arizona in the last year, a drastic increase attributed in large part to an aggressive enforcement effort launched in March.



The beefed-up enforcement involves helicopters, ground sensors, two unmanned surveillance aircraft and dozens more border agents in Arizona - the busiest illegal entry point on the U.S.-Mexican border.



"We are just making it very difficult for the smuggling organizations to get across the border," Border Patrol spokesman Andy Adame said. "Enforcement has never been better in Southern Arizona."

More: http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/41423.php
pattybug52
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Nearly 600,000 entrants caught, Border Patrol says

Post by pattybug52 »

sorry to say but most of those will be back in a month! The situation is never going to be solved by just sending them back-they need to find another option. My brother works for INS-it is like a revolving door-600 come in get deported, and 550 come back the next day. I don't know what the solution is-maybe provide easier green cards -most of the illegals we run into are very hard workers, but are driving without license or insurance-which is costing the rest of us a bundle-but giving them a license is the worst thing to do. Maybe give them free bus passes?
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Clint
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Nearly 600,000 entrants caught, Border Patrol says

Post by Clint »

It seems the worst thing we can do in this case is create a situation where we don’t know who is here. The border is actually stopping those who respect law and those who don’t respect law are making it across with relative ease.

Couldn’t we make it very easy to get a working visa, allowing those who work and contribute the opportunity to share in the same benefits other workers get? If we did, we would have to use a heavy hammer on those who crossed the border illegally. The result might be Mexican workers here who we know and who respect the law.
Schooling results in matriculation. Education is a process that changes the learner.
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CVX
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Nearly 600,000 entrants caught, Border Patrol says

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Illegals Taking Toll On

AZ Wildlife Refuge

The Globe and Mail

10-9-4



TUCSON, Ariz. -- A sweeping wildlife preserve in southwestern Arizona is among the 10 most endangered U.S. nature refuges, in large part because of illegal drug and migrant traffic and Border Patrol operations, a conservation group said Friday.



The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, home to the endangered Sonoran pronghorn antelope, has been damaged by excessive human presence, a report by Defenders of Wildlife says. The report calls for construction of a vehicle barrier on the southern edge of the refuge along the Mexican border.



"We're trying to highlight the fact how special this place is, but it's also at a crossroads," said Noah Matson, a Defenders of Wildlife director in Washington who wrote "Refuges at Risk: America's Ten Most Endangered National Wildlife Refuges 2004."



Arizona has become the busiest entry point for illegal migrants from Mexico. High-speed off-road chases, abandoned vehicles and damage to fragile desert landscapes have resulted. In 2001, Cabeza became the site of Arizona's deadliest border crossing, when 14 people died after temperatures soared to 46 degrees.



"In an attempt to curb illegal border crossings and prevent further deaths, border officials have established permanent camps in the refuge, incongruous with this once-pristine and remote place, but reflecting the intensity of the problem," the report said.



A call to the Border Patrol office in Tucson was not immediately returned Friday.



The 10 wildlife preserves cited Friday face some common threats, including nearby development, pollution and invasive species, according to the report.



Escalating industrial and corporate development close to and even inside refuges is the most pervasive threat, now that about three dozen refuges have more than 1,800 active oil and gas wells, the report said.



Besides Cabeza, the preserves on the list: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska; Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana; Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Nevada; Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California; Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges, Oregon and California; Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota; Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Texas; Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina; and Upper Mississippi River National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa.



The United States has 540 wildlife refuges encompassing nearly 405,000 square kilometres. Half of the endangered refuges in Friday's report are in the West.



Roger Di Rosa, Cabeza Prieta's manager, said the report is right about the threat to the refuge. Officials estimate the population of Sonoran pronghorns at 30 to 40 animals at most.



"The border issue is convoluted, and very complex," he said. "The solution to the border problems is not on the border; it's in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City. So we're just putting a Band-Aid on the wound to stanch the blood. It's a difficult situation."



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