According to The Imperial Valley News, two former Border Patrol agents were arraigned last week on 18 counts of smuggling, money laundering, witness tampering and bribery. Raul & Fidel Villarreal, brothers and former agents, along with two co-conspirators, were extradited from Mexico and taken into custody in Tijuana in October 2008. The arrests are the result of a two-year investigation conducted by ICE.
According to the April 2008 federal grand jury indictment, the defendants allegedly operated an immigrants smuggling operation between 2005 and 2006. The Villarreal brothers picked up undocumented immigrants from their contacts at the border, transporting them into US in official Border Patrol Vehicles.
“This arrest is a reminder for criminals to think twice before fleeing the United States to evade prosecution and punishment for crimes they have committed here,” said Miguel Unzueta, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations. “ice works closely with law enforcement agencies in Mexico to ensure our border will not be barriers to bringing serious criminals to justice.”
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An immigration advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against of the Department of Homeland Security, claiming that in 2007, ICE agents arrested a group of 24 Hispanics in the parking lot of a 7-11 in Baltimore because they had to meet arrest quotas. The Latin American Herald Tribune reports that CASA de Maryland wrote the complaint alleging that after the arrests, there were contradictions among the sworn statements given by the arresting agents.
“First they said that they went to buy something because they were hungry and the immigrants came up to them and said they were looking for work,” whereupon the agents arrested them, said Mario Quiroz, spokesman for CASA de Maryland. But the store’s surveillance tapes, to which the organization had access to, show three agents arresting immigrants without even an exchange of words. “They arrested some who were inside and others who were waiting for the bus on the street to the side,” said Quiroz, adding that the agents only arrested people who had Latino features.
According to CASA de Maryland, the agents had just finished their shift and because they had not fulfilled their detention quotas, they targeted a place frequented by Hispanic workers. “Desperation to reach a monthly quota” motivated the ICE agents to conduct these arrests “with the only criterion being that (the people they arrested) resembled Hispanics,” said the organization.
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The US Border Patrol announced that it will poison plant life along a 1.1 mile stretch of the Rio Grande riverbank to eliminate the dense foliage used by suspected undocumented immigrants to hide, The Associated Press reports. If successful, the $2.1 million project, estimated to begin next week, could extend as far as 130 miles of river in the heavily-travelled Laredo Sector, as well as other points along the US Mexico Border.
As with many of their initiatives, the program has been met with criticism from local government officials and Mexican representatives. Members of the Laredo City Council have raised concerns about the spraying program, and have called upon Mexico President Felipe Calderon to intervene. Mexican officials have raised concerns, warning that the herbicide could threaten the Nuevo Laredo water supply, a vital resource for much of the farming and livestock in the area.
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In an effort to further deter drug and weapon smuggling across the US-Mexico border, US Border Patrol has begun to implement X-ray detection technology on their vehicles, The Associated Press reports. The surveillance system, utilizing the same image-sculpting technology tested at some US airport terminals last year, will be used by Border Patrol to check vehicles for hidden compartments and contraband. “This is closer to the vehicle cargo inspection systems used at most ports of entry,” said agent Don White. “It uses nonintrusive inspection technologies.”
When first unveiled at airports, this incredibly accurate x-ray technology has faced criticism from those who argue that they are an unacceptable invasion of a person’s privacy. “I continue to believe that these are virtual strip searches,” said Barry Stenihardt, technology director for the ACLU.
The first of the vehicle-mounted devices has been in use since Feb. 13 at the heavily-trafficked Tucson sector. Three additional devices have been earlier this month. So far, the device in use along I-19 has detected over 1,500 pounds of marijuana hidden in gas tanks, in tractor trailers and other compartments. Border Patrol also attributes the devices to help nab five undocumented immigrants in a hidden compartment beneath a transport truck.
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While most know that ever-expanding fence between the US-Mexico border is intended to be a physical barrier, US Border Patrol is optimistic of the border’s other physical barrier. The Associated Press reports that a 12-foot deep, 100-yard long underground concrete wall was built between Nogales, Ariz. & Nogales, NM, replacing a drainage system popular with drug smugglers. Ever since the construction of the underground wall, this border route no longer became an option.
“Organizations were breaking out of the main tunnel and digging 5 feet and going north,” Border Patrol Omar Candelaria said. “The barrier was built to the west of the port in the area where we’ve had most of our tunnels,” indicating that since the wall was built, there has not been a single tunnel found. Candelaria said patrol officials are evaluating how the barrier works, but have no plans yet for expanding it elsewhere. “As we get better, they look to different alternatives to get their product across the border, and the Border Patrol is always looking for ways to make sure that we keep that stuff out of the United States,” he said.
