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BORDER NEWS
Following a four-day trial, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought against the Border Patrol by the families of three undocumented migrants who died in a car accident while being pursued by Border Patrol agents.  The judge ruled that the driver of the van in which 36 people were traveling was reckless and that the agents were properly doing their job when they chased the van, trying to get close enough to stop it.  The accident occurred in Southern California, in April 1995, when the van crossed over the center line and struck an oncoming vehicle.  
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Border Patrol agents discovered 21 undocumented immigrants hiding in an ambulance in southeastern California.  Officials got a tip the ambulance was being used in a smuggling operation, and also pulled the vehicle over because the license plate did not match the ambulance registration, nor did the driver have on a uniform.  According to Border Patrol agents, they have discovered other undocumented migrants using similar schemes, including dressing as employees of a utility company, the state Department of Transportation, and firefighters.  The driver, also undocumented, was arrested on charges of alien smuggling. 
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A former INS agent has erected a billboard urging people to contact their congressional representatives and tell them to do something about illegal immigration.  The billboard has been criticized because of its location – on Interstate 40 in New Mexico, near the site of a van crash that left 13 undocumented immigrants dead.  The billboard consists of an enlarged picture of the crash and a phone number people can call.  The Federation of American Immigration Reform, a group that calls for ending illegal immigration and severely limiting legal immigration, provided funding for the sign. 
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Three immigrants died during a mountain snowstorm as they attempted to cross the border into Southern California. This brings the yearly total of migrants who died while crossing into California to 16.  The immigrants were attempting to avoid a border checkpoint that was, ironically, closed because of the bad weather.  During April 1999 eight immigrants died during a freak snowstorm in the same area. 
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A Cuban man aboard a boat stopped by the Coast Guard threatened to kill himself before allowing authorities to return him to Cuba.  The man poured gasoline over himself, but surrendered after it began burning his skin.  He was taken aboard a Coast Guard vessel where he will be interviewed by the INS and eventually returned to Cuba.  According to a Coast Guard spokesperson, the agency has stopped over 1000 Cubans at sea so far this year.  
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Authorities in Oklahoma are dealing with increasing numbers of migrants crossing through the state on their way to agricultural work in the southeast US.  An increased presence by Border Patrol officers on the border in Texas and California has driven most undocumented migrants to enter in Arizona.  From there, the easiest way to the southeast is through Oklahoma.  Over 500 people have been apprehended in the state this year.