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BORDER UPDATE 
The INS crackdown on the US-Mexican border continues and tangible results are becoming visible. The Border Patrol's Operation Gatekeeper has been in the San Diego, California area since 1994. The program is aimed at tightening control of the western-most 14 miles of border from Imperial Beach, California to San Yisidro, California. The US Border Patrol's monthly illegal alien apprehension figures reveal that since June, San Diego's rank in the number of apprehensions has declined from first to fourth - behind Tucson, Arizona; McAllen, Texas; and El Centro, California. For the fiscal year ending this month, San Diego will have fewer than 300,000 apprehensions, the lowest in decades. The report reveals that the number of apprehensions in the first three weeks of August 1997 is down more than two-thirds over the same period in 1996 (down from 35,833 to 10,887). The report also revealed that the number of apprehensions during the same periods in Tucson, Arizona was up from 15,651 to 20,378. The trend seems to indicate that some illegal border crossers are moving east, though overall apprehensions are still down considerably.
INS Commissioner Doris Meissner announced on August 25th that it is launching "Operation Rio Grande" in the Brownsville, Texas area, an effort similar to Operation Gatekeeper. The plan will beef up enforcement on the border by sending dozens of new Border Patrol agents, detention and deportation officers and special agents to the area. The INS will also send new vehicles (including six helicopters and 74 Border Patrol vehicles), lights and other equipment. Operation Rio Grande will also involve the deployment of several new technologies including
-IDENT - a system to rapidly check criminal records of apprehended aliens -Skywatch - a portable tower with night vision capabilities to observe and report attempted entries -Low-light Television - used for monitoring entries in identified "hot spot" areas along the border -Night-Vision Equipment - various types of equipment, including night goggles, infrared and thermal-imaging night vision equipment, for nighttime observation -Sensors - Hidden electronic sensors to detect motion, body heat, ground vibration or any passing vehicle -Bus System - schedule transportation to expedite the removal of apprehended aliens from interior locations -Vehicles - 242 new Border Patrol vehicles
The entire Texas-New Mexico border will eventually be covered by Operation Rio Grande. The multi-year strategy will start in the Brownsville-McAllen-Harlingen area and extend westward to Laredo to link with Operations Hold the Line, Safeguard and Gatekeeper in Arizona and California. The INS has been granted new funds from Congress to help pay for the new enforcement strategy.
The Mexican government has in turn stated it will strengthen its diplomatic staff on the border in order to protect its nationals. 70 people are expected to be added to Mexican consulates in the US to ensure that the human rights of its citizens are being protected.
In other border news, the US Department of Defense is re-evaluating whether it will continue its border patrol operations and leave the job to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The issue has received considerable attention in light of a recent shooting of an eighteen year old Mexican national by a US Marine. Currently, soldiers work in conjunction with the Border Patrol. 
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