INS Border Patrol officials are claiming that a dramatic drop in arrests of illegal immigrants on the Texas border is a result of new enforcement operations in the area. According to many Border Patrol agents, Washington’s massive infusion of funds over the last several years is finally giving the Border Patrol adequate resources to do its work.
Border Patrol Chief Joe Garza noted in an interview with the Houston Chronicle that arrests of illegal immigrants in the Rio Grande sector have dropped by up to 5,400 a month compared to the same time period in 1996. Garza credits Operation Rio Grande which has involved the massing of hundreds of Border Patrol agents in key crossing areas along the border. The Operation has also involved the deployment of new high tech tools.
The Border Patrol crackdown is also yielding a large increase in drug seizures. This is largely the result of agents targeting vehicles driving away from the river that runs along the border.
According to the Houston Chronicle report, immigration advocates are worried that the border crackdown will either drive people to use the services of organized alien smuggling rings or they will take more risks when crossing the border.
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