BORDER NEWS A ten-month investigation into suspected drug activity in western Virginia has led to the apprehension of 18 suspected undocumented immigrants. Seventeen other people were arrested on drug charges. The connection between the suspected drug dealers and the undocumented immigrants is not known.
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A man who claims to have witnessed the assassination of a presidential candidate in the 1994 Mexican election is seeking asylum in the US. An immigration judge recently denied his application and he is in detention pending an appeal. The government of Mexico has charged Jorge Amaral Munoz with making false statements to judicial authorities and will likely be jailed as soon as he returns to Mexico. Vicente Fox, the newly elected Mexican president, says that he intends to reexamine government charges against Amaral after he takes office in December.
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A shooting near El Paso, Texas, has created turmoil and intense disagreement between US and Mexican authorities. Miguel Chavira Rodriguez, a coyote, the name commonly given to Mexican smugglers, was found shot to death on the Mexican bank of the Rio Bravo, across the border from El Paso. According to a report from the Mexican attorney general for the area, Rodriguez was shot by white supremacists. The El Paso sheriff’s department had denied both the charge that Rodriguez was murdered in the city and that there are any racist anti-immigrant groups there. However, according to other people who were traveling in the same group, several men wearing black masks approached them on the US side of the border and began shooting at them with semiautomatic rifles.
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Since the early 1990s, the African nation of Liberia has been torn by civil wars. During this period, Liberian nationals in the US were given Temporary Protected Status. The TPS recently expired, but Liberians’ right to remain in the US continued under a procedure known as deferred enforced departure. This expires on September 28, leaving about 15,000 Liberians in the US subject to deportation. Two bills have been proposed to allow them to apply for permanent residence, but as with so many immigration bills, they have been stalled in the legislative process. It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken on these bills in the next few days. The grant of deferred enforced departure could also be extended.
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The police union in Eloy, Arizona, a town in the central part of the state, has called on the Justice Department to investigate the city police department for allegedly protecting immigrant smuggling rings. According to the union, police officers are pressured into ignoring smugglers. They also complain about a new city policy that limits when the police can detain someone until the INS arrives. The city mayor has defended the policy, saying it is designed to protect the city from lawsuit and charges of racial profiling. Others, however, say they have never seen any evidence of racial profiling, and believe that the changes in policy came because police were getting close of influential locals who may have been involved in smuggling.
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Raids on 11 different houses in Arizona last week led to the indictment and arrest of 13 people on charges of immigrant smuggling. The searches also revealed 21 undocumented immigrants, guns, and almost $13,000 in cash.
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A member of the Peruvian National Police has been charged with two counts of alien smuggling. Col. Juan Jamie Ruiz and a companion are both being held in a jail in Miami after being stopped trying to enter the US with three children that were not theirs. After being arrested, they told officials they expected to be paid about $4,500. The children are being held in detention pending their deportation. Ruiz and his companion face up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. < Back | Next > Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. | 
