According to the Border Patrol, there has been an increase in the number of armed undocumented entrants across the Arizona border. During the first four months of fiscal year 2003, there have been 12 reported encounters, compared with only four during the entire two previous years. Many advocacy groups claim that the reason for the increase is the growing number of private armed groups patrolling near the border, leading migrants to fear danger from what some call vigilante groups. Members of these groups say the reason they are armed is because of violence done by migrants.

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The Border Patrol is reporting that the number of deaths along the US-Mexico border is down substantially from the same period last year. In a number of sectors on the Mexican border that saw multiple deaths last year there have been only a handful this year.

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Officials in Pasadena, California, recently freed 16 undocumented immigrants they suspect were being held by smugglers pending payment of smuggling fees. The fortified house was discovered after family members of some of those being held made a payment and were told they owed more money. After that, they contacted a police officer.

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Prosecutors in New York have charged two men with operating an immigrant smuggling ring that brought in at least 40 people to the US over the past six years. The charges stem from the investigation launched just before New Year’s Eve into a claim, later found to be false, that five possible terrorists had just entered the US. While there is no evidence that anyone involved in the ring, or anyone brought to the US, has connections to terrorism, officials say that it is important to thoroughly investigate rings such as this so that they can gain a better understanding of how they operate.

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Last week a group of about 20 Haitians was detained after arriving on Key Biscayne near Miami. Because of the policy instituted last year after the arrival of more than 200 Haitians, they will all be detained while in the US.

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A year after Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced that state law enforcement agents would check the immigration status of people pulled over for traffic violations, the policy is going largely unenforced. The state began issuing driver’s licenses set to expire when a person’s legal stay in the US expired, making it possible for a police officer to tell if a person was in the US without authorization. According to a number of police departments, they are either unaware of the policy or are unsure of how to enforce it. Despite these problems, the governor’s office says that the program is part of an overall plan to prevent terrorist attacks.

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The Haitian Lawyers Association has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking the release of six of the Haitians detained by the INS after more than 200 arrived in Miami last October. According to the suit, the continued detention of the asylum seekers denies them their due process rights.

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The Haitian Lawyers Association has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, seeking the release of six of the Haitians detained by the INS after more than 200 arrived in Miami last October. According to the suit, the continued detention of the asylum seekers denies them their due process rights.

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Tom Ridge, the newly appointed Secretary of Homeland Defense, met this week with his Mexican counterpart, Interior Minister Santiago Creel, pledging to better protect their common border from terrorism while improving the flow of trade. During the meeting, the two discussed the implementation of the “smart border” agreement signed by US President George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox. After the meeting, Creel expressed hope that Ridge would help to restart talks on the legalization of undocumented Mexicans in the US.

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A former member of the Haitian military is one step closer to being deported from the US after a federal appeals court denied his appeal. Carl Dorelien was convicted of human rights violations in Haiti based on his participation in a 1994 massacre of 25 people. He was ordered deported in 2001 after an immigration judge found that it was not likely that he would be subjected to torture if returned to Haiti.