About 50,000 vehicles traveling from Mexico to the U.S. each day are spending two hours waiting in 24 lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, California.  Each vehicle is given a cursory inspection because according to officials, if inspections were a few seconds longer, wait times would increase to the point that commerce and tourism in the U.S. would be severely damaged.  Because the new plan to use biometric technology to track foreigners entering and leaving the U.S. could make San Ysidro more congested, the government is considering adding 50 northbound booths to the port.

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Sentences handed down to those convicted of people-trafficking may become more harsh as officials try to cope with the shift by criminals from drug smuggling to people smuggling.  As a result of more lax sentences for people smugglers compared to drug smugglers, the US Sentencing Commission is currently analyzing ways to make the smuggling of illegal immigrant across US borders less appealing.

New penalties will require a harsher sentence when smuggling cases involve children or if the smuggler has prior convictions.  The commission also plans to increase the sentence of a smuggler who knowingly brings someone to the US who intends to commit a crime, such as a terrorist.

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Over the last several years, ICE agents have been stationed in five Colorado cities to catch smuggled illegal immigrants who have been stopped on the highways by the State Patrol or local police.  This has increased the number of illegal immigrants caught in Colorado, who are then sent to area prisons.

The Aurora, Colorado detention center has plans to double its number of beds to 750 in order to accommodate the increasing number of illegal immigrants who are caught on Colorado roads.  The center holds individuals awaiting their deportation hearings as well as immigrants who have already lost their cases and are waiting to be transported out of the U.S.  When the center has no more room, the captured individuals are sent to prisons in Trinidad and Fairplay.

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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Tom Ridge announced the success of ICE Storm, the multi-agency operation created to curb smuggling.  In the past two weeks, 18 individuals have been indicted on hostage-taking charges connected to smuggling illegal immigrants into the US.  Since ICE Storm began in September, 81 individuals have been arrested and charged with smuggling related crimes.

Ridge also pointed out that ICE Storm has been successful in crippling the financial infrastructure of highly lucrative smuggling organizations.  In the past two weeks, $1.1 million in smuggling-related funds have been frozen.  Since September, a total of $1.4 million has been frozen or seized.

Authorities have introduced a “Most Wanted” list with the fugitives linked to violent smuggling incidents in the Phoenix, Arizona area.  ICE also has a tip line, 1-866-DHS-2ICE, for information on suspected smuggling activity.

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A new barrier at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument will be constructed by the National Park Service in order to keep illegal drugs and immigrants from being smuggled over the border between the US and Mexico.  The barrier will be made of old railroad rails, buried five feet underground and welded into a ribbon of steel.  The barrier won’t keep out smugglers traveling on foot; it is meant to deter vehicles and the damage they cause when they tear across protected plants and make paths in the fragile desert soil.

US Customs and Border Protection is considering building similar barriers to go along the 1,900-mile US-Mexico border.

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A new US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program, which will counter terrorism and facilitate international trade, has been extended to the US-Mexico border.  The program, known as Free and Secure Trade or FAST, will allow CBP to provide faster processing for companies that use CBP-approved security measures.  To receive FAST processing, manufacturers, importers and carriers must participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), another CBP program.  Truck drivers who want to be eligible for FAST must submit information to CBP for an analysis of whether the applicant poses a risk to US security.  Approved drivers will receive a FAST-Commercial Driver Identification Card.

FAST has been operational at the US-Canada border since September 2002.

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Coast Guard interceptions of migrant boats bound for the US from Cuba and Haiti are becoming much more frequent according to recently released statistics.  In 2003, 6,068 migrants were stopped from reaching US shores, up from 5,142 interceptions in 2002 and 4,136 in 2001.  The 2003 fiscal year ended on September 30; since this time, there have been 4,720 interceptions.  Haitians compose the majority of migrants intercepted, followed by Dominicans and then Cubans.

The larger numbers do not necessarily mean more migrants are trying to enter the US. Authorities attribute the greater amount of interceptions to interagency cooperation.  Because the Coast Guard, US Customs and Border Protection and immigration were merged into the Department of Homeland Security, the agencies have more interaction with one another and can share resources.

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Austin J. DeCoster, one of Iowa’s largest egg producers and the owner of DeCoster Farms, was sentenced in federal court to five years of probation for knowingly and repeatedly hiring illegal workers.  DeCoster could have received up to six months in prison, but the judge commented that DeCoster has now made efforts to comply with immigration regulations and had already paid a large amount in fines.  However, the judge has informed DeCoster that his probation would be revoked if he violated the terms of his plea agreement.

Between January 1997 and February 2002, immigration officials detained many DeCoster workers.  In August 2003, DeCoster admitted that he had ignored the fact that some of his workers were illegally in the US.  DeCoster paid $2 million in fines, settlement of a forfeiture claim and restitution to cover the costs of removing the illegal workers and of monitoring his egg farms over five years.  DeCoster also agreed to surprise inspections and to allow immigration officials to have open access to his books.

Other DeCoster employees were sentenced for knowingly hiring illegal workers and helping them avoid detection by immigration officials.

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Armando Robles-Rosales, a Mexican national and US boxing champion, pleaded guilty to illegally entering the US after being deported five years ago.  Robles, an undocumented worker, can face up to twenty years in prison before being removed from the country.  His sentencing is scheduled for February 23, 2004.

Robles has lived in the US since age five and does not speak fluent Spanish.  He has a wife and two children, and works in construction when he is not boxing.  In August, Robles appeared in court after it was discovered that there was a warrant out for him for a traffic violation.  An investigation uncovered that Robles is also known as Alvaro Alex Robles-Rosales, that he had been jailed for two years for assault with a knife and that he had been deported in 1998.

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A couple in New Mexico has been charged with smuggling over 100 undocumented immigrants into the US over the past year in addition to holding a Guatemalan woman and her two sons in their trailer to secure payment for their passage.  Both Rosa and Ramon Armendariz have confessed to the smuggling charges but deny the kidnapping charges.  The Armendariz’s are green card holders and will now face deportation.