Over the past few weeks, in three separate incidents, Border Patrol agents have been shot at while patrolling the border near Tucson, Arizona. No agents have been injured, and no one is believed to have been harmed the one time an agent returned fire.
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Even as the government pushes to hire new Border Patrol agents, it is fighting what appears to be a losing battle against attrition. During fiscal year 2002, which ended last September 30th, 2,004 new agents were hired, but 1,756 existing agents left, for a net gain of only 248. At the end of the year, there were 10,055 agents, just short of the government’s goal of 10,551. About 750 agents left for the new Transportation Security Administration, where they work as air marshals.
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Three people were charged this week of transporting undocumented immigrants for profit. They were arrested last month after a raid on the office of a van company in Houston, Texas. According to an INS official, one of those arrested had contacted the FBI in September 2001, claiming that his bosses in a smuggling ring had threatened him. Daniel Ray communicated with the INS until last June, at which time he told agents he would no longer be available. Agents then placed Ray under surveillance, which led officials to believe he was still engaged in smuggling activities.
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The Justice Department is investigating why Border Patrol agents in New Mexico twice this year released Mazimilano Silerio Esparza after detaining him for possible extradition to Oregon. Instead of charging him with being unlawfully in the US and deporting him, he was granted voluntary departure to Mexico. The investigation comes after Oregon officials charged Esparza with raping and murdering a nun last month. It seems that the agents in New Mexico were not aware of Esparza’s criminal history, which included robbery and kidnapping. Oregon declined to extradite him because the charge was a 10 year old minor drug offense. < Back | Next > | 
