Border News

This year, nearly 120 migrants to the United States have died while crossing into the U.S. illegally through Arizona. Fifty-three of the migrants died in July. Last year, 145 migrants died in Arizona, and it is expected that this year’s death toll will surpass last year’s.

Many argue that the combination of U.S. immigration policy and security crackdowns in the region have forced migrants into more remote and dangerous areas of the border, resulting in their deaths.

Last month, the U.S. announced several measures in an attempt to reduce migration across Arizona. These measures include: (1) placing beacons in the desert, (2) increasing the number of medically trained patrol agents, (3) increasing the number of helicopters involved in search missions, (4) more public service message warnings, and (5) the deployment of agents to desert camps in search of migrants before their deaths.

The Border Patrol states that they saved 421 immigrants this year and 582 last year.

***

Two federal immigration agents escorted Jaime Ramirez Raudales back to his home in Honduras to make sure that he did not escape a deportation order. An immigration judge ordered Ramirez Raudales’ deportation upon learning of the immigrant’s involvement in the murders of two human-rights activists 15 years ago in Honduras.

***

Seven Cubans were recently given the chance to be resettled in a third country after being intercepted by the Coast Guard last week. The twelve other Cubans were taken back to Cuba on Monday.

The seven Cubans proved that they had a credible fear of government persecution if they were forced to return to Cuba based on their anti-government activities and ties to the 24th of February Movement, an island dissident organization. They are being held at Guantanamo Bay until they may be sent to a country other than Cuba or the United States.

This year, the U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted and returned at least 1,002 Cubans at sea. That number has already surpassed last year’s number of 931.

***

In a related story, the 53 Cuban migrants landed on the Florida Keys last week were allowed to remain in the United States.

United States policy generally allows Cubans who land on American land to be admitted into the United States. Those Cubans who are intercepted at sea are returned to Cuba.

***

In Adams Morgan, a Hispanic neighborhood in Washington, D.C., Hispanic vendors have been selling false U.S. documents, such as driver’s licenses, residency cards and social security cards, known as micas in Spanish slang. A 1986 law required all employers to verify that their workers were legal. This served as the impetus for the counterfeit document trade in D.C. Immigration authorities have responded with Operation Card Shark in order to disrupt the counterfeit document market that operates on Columbia Road.

The counterfeit rings that produce and provide the documents are highly compartmentalized. “Runners” seek out potential clients and lead them to the operators, who collect their information and photo. Document makers, aided by computer technology, make the cards. Because of this compartmentalization, when authorities arrest one member of the ring, he or she does not know the other members involved. Another problem for authorities is that ring members often receive light punishments, so they are willing to risk involvement in the crime.

However, recent measures taken against the counterfeit rings have decreased the market for fake documents. In addition to law enforcement officers disrupting the counterfeit rings, measures to give temporary work permits to many South American immigrants have reduced the number of clients looking for fake IDs.

As part of Operation Card Shark, on August 7, special agents from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested three men in connection with a large-scale counterfeit document ring: Gerardo Marquez-Cortez, Daniel Vazquez-Jimenez and Arturo Carmona-Zamorano. ICE agents also found 592 fake identity documents, which included green cards, Social Security cards, employment authorization cards, Mexican ID cards and driver’s licenses from two states. Operation Card Shark has resulted in the arrest of fifty document vendors, criminal prosecution of sixteen individuals and the dismantling of four counterfeit document manufacturing sites to date.