Immigration on the Southern Border of the USA

[Cali/Yank]

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_8091076

Other developments occurred Saturday as Mexican and U.S. authorities sought to reduce tensions in the aftermath of a January killing spree in Juárez:

In Juárez, police continued to receive threats despite the arrival of Mexican federal police officers armed with assault rifles and wearing ski masks and flak jackets. Police on Saturday morning found a poster fastened to a monument to fallen police in Juárez that identified officers slain during the past year and named about a dozen current officers who could be targets of organized crime.
At Thomason Hospital, officials sought ways to calm the fears of patients and visitors as the hospital remained under a lockdown as heavily armed deputies from El Paso County Sheriff's Office continued to guard Chihuahua police Cmdr. Fernando Lozano Sandoval, who is recovering from an assassination attempt on his life in Juárez.

[Cali/Yank]

Gaza?

Screen grab from San Diego, California TV Station video. 12/15/07
Fire bombing the border patrol by Mexican citizens.

[American_Jihad]

Sovereignty unprotected
8/9/08

Early last year, the Mexican Congress condemned the United States because -- get this -- U.S. workers building the border fence had trespassed 10 yards into Mexico.

Yet, you can bet the United States Congress won't say diddly about this: A Mexican military outfit invaded Arizona last Sunday and pointed weapons for a time at a U.S. Border Patrol agent before scurrying back off into Mexico.

Nor is it an isolated incident: According to The Washington Times , the Mexican military has invaded U.S. soil more than 200 times since 1996.

It's not like giving them a Garmin will help, either: It's not a matter of the Mexican military getting lost so much as being misguided; authorities say current and past Mexican soldiers are often hired to escort drug or illegal alien smugglers into the United States.

"The incident," The Washington Times says, "occurred in the same area where heavily armed Mexican soldiers riding in a Humvee shot at a Border Patrol agent in 2002. A .50-caliber bullet ripped through the agent's rear window as he sped away."

When is the United States going to protect its border and its sovereignty?

The Border Patrol employees' union is withholding its judgment on that for now, but isn't quite holding its breath.

"We don't have much confidence in most of them," the union said about the nation's leaders.

Neither do we.

President Bush, why are you in China when your country's sovereignty is being violated on a fairly regular basis? Do your Border Patrol agents have to die first?

And where on Earth are the national media? Can they take a moment or two from their building of a shrine to Barack Obama to report on the border war?

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/080908/edi_468827.shtml

[American_Jihad]

Mexico violence claims 6 more police officers
August 13, 2008

The victims include two top commanders in Michoacan, a senior investigator in Chihuahua and a deputy chief in Quintana Roo.


MEXICO CITY -- A deputy police chief and another commander in western Michoacan state were slain, authorities said Tuesday, in the latest signs of violence in which at least half a dozen officers have been reported dead across Mexico in the last two days.

The victims include a senior investigator gunned down in the border state of Chihuahua and a deputy police chief in the Caribbean state of Quintana Roo, shot dead along with a bodyguard.

Violence has escalated since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against organized crime nearly two years ago, and police officers have been frequent targets. More than 500 officers, including dozens of commanders, and soldiers have died, according to Mexican media tallies.

Local police have been hardest hit, prompting some officers to quit or flee to the United States. Many municipal and state officers also work as hired gunmen for drug traffickers and often are caught up in feuds between rival gangs.

In the latest attack on police, Javier Hernandez Sanchez, 43, the deputy chief in the Michoacan town of Tepalcatepec, died late Monday after being shot 18 times, the state prosecutor's office said. Gunmen wounded his brother and a second officer as they fled.


Earlier in the day, authorities found the bullet-riddled body of Raul Juarez Navarrete, 46, the third-ranking officer in the town of Huaniqueo. He had been missing since Friday.

Also Monday, Pedro Aragonez, head of forensics investigations in northern Chihuahua state, was fatally shot while driving in the capital, Chihuahua city.

In Quintana Roo, home of the Cancun resort, gunmen ambushed and killed Manuel de Jesus Lopez Kantun, deputy chief for the municipality of Solidaridad, and his bodyguard as they drove in his car.

In addition, a member of the federal preventive police was fatally shot and two colleagues wounded as they returned to classes at the government's police academy in the northern state of San Luis Potosi.

The men, assigned to the state of Mexico, came under fire as they drove on a highway early Monday. The incident prompted about 100 fellow officers to boycott classes, which are required as part of a restructuring of the federal police. Early this month, four federal agents from Michoacan were abducted on their way to the academy and killed.

Violence continued to claim civilian victims. At least 20 deaths have been reported since Sunday in Chihuahua state, where a war between drug gangs this year has killed more than 600people. According to unofficial tallies, drug violence nationwide has claimed more than 2,000 lives this year.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexviolence13-2008aug13,0,3375871.story

[Cali/Yank]

I was wondering were this went. One day it here the next it's gone. How low has it been here?

[American_Jihad]

23 dead in 24 hours in escalation of Mexican violence
8/14/08

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AFP) — At least 23 people died in the most violent 24 hours in recent years in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, police and officials said Thursday.

The grim toll included nine people slain during a prayer service.

A gang armed with AK-47s sprayed the mass in a drug rehabilitation center with bullets late Wednesday in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, killing eight patients and their minister, police said.

At least five people were seriously injured in the shooting, as violence escalated in Mexico's northern border regions, where drug gangs are fighting for territory.

After the shooting, the assassins left the scene and calmly passed a group of security forces, who did nothing to detain them, said a statement from the municipal office of public security, quoting witnesses.

Two people were also killed in a nearby rehabilitation center last weekend.

Meanwhile, 14 others were found dead Thursday in separate incidents in Chihuahua state, eight of them in volatile Ciudad Juarez, including a local police officer and a lawyer executed in his office.

Police found two bodies in a house where drugs were being stored, and four others lay in the street with bullet wounds.

Ciudad Juarez is the battleground in the power struggle between the Sinaloa drug cartel, headed by fugitive Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, and the Juarez cartel, led by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.

Since Friday more than 60 people have been assassinated in the town, which has registered 780 homicides so far this year.

The battle for control of the US border expands throughout Chihuahua state, and five men were kidnapped and later executed on Thursday in state capital Chihuahua town, the local prosecutor's office said.

Another man died in hospital from bullet wounds.

Federal authorities have deployed more than 36,000 soldiers across the country, including 2,500 in Ciudad Juarez, in an effort to combat drug trafficking and related violence, but some 2,000 people have been killed so far this year.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g3emjDH4oUWpUHZoHfCsALufD_1w

[Cali/Yank]

I was wondering were this went. One day it was here, the next it's gone. How long has it been here?

Dang it! I have got to slow down when I type. What I meant to say was this thread dissappeared a while back and then a few days ago it's back?

[American_Jihad]

Dang it! I have got to slow down when I type. What I meant to say was this thread dissappeared a while back and then a few days ago it's back?

I knew about this thread cause the southern border interest me. I found
it and brought it back, hope you don't mind Cali...:happy_11:

[Cali/Yank]

Something to do with the border, but more along the lines of MECHA and Chicano Power.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080820-1057-ca-trainderail.html

Killer of train passengers gets 11 life sentences
By Linda Deutsch
ASSOCIATED PRESS

10:57 a.m. August 20, 2008


LOS ANGELES – A judge sentenced a man convicted of causing a deadly commuter rail crash to 11 consecutive life terms on Wednesday after denouncing him as a remorseless killer.


Superior Court Judge William Pounders said he would have imposed a sentence of “forever” on Juan Alvarez, if it was possible. Alvarez will not be eligible for parole.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/images/t.gif





Alvarez, 29, parked his gasoline-soaked SUV on railroad tracks in suburban Glendale, causing the Metrolink train to derail and strike another Metrolink train traveling in the other direction on Jan. 26, 2005. Eleven people died and about 180 were injured.


http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/04/local/me-train4

But on Tuesday, a witness undercut that theory by recounting how Alvarez, before abandoning his sport utility vehicle, may have tried to ensure that it would catch fire or even explode. Eleven people died in the Jan. 26 crash.

Testifying in a preliminary hearing to decide whether Alvarez must stand trial, Douglas Ross, a sanitation worker for the city of Glendale, said that he saw a man in a gray poncho emerge from a vehicle – resembling a truck with a camper shell – near the Chevy Chase Drive rail crossing in Glendale shortly before the January disaster. The man liberally doused the vehicle with liquid before getting back in and driving toward the tracks.

“He was running around the truck shaking the bottle on the truck
According to police, the poncho-wearing man was Alvarez, and the liquid he splashed over his Jeep (http://topics.latimes.com/autos/jeep) Grand Cherokee was gasoline.


http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/realityzone/UFNmechamurderer.mht



If not committing suicide is a measure of success for Marcos Aguilar, then he must be extremely proud of his protégé Juan Alvarez seen here dancing beside him. Marcos Aguilar taught at Garfield high school where he met Juan Alvarez. This is a yearbook photo of Aguilar in the Danza Azteca group that he founded. On the opposite page is Juan Alvarez in the MEChA club.
Juan Manuel Alvarez in 1996

http://static.flickr.com/79/210605485_a82cd29e3b.jpg

[Cali/Yank]

The latest telephone poll taken by the office of the Governor of Texas asked whether people who live in Texas think illegal immigration is a serious problem:

A) 35% of respondents answered: "Yes, it is a serious problem."

B) 65% of respondents answered: "No es una problema serio."

http://www.wnd.com/images/toolbox.jpg

Border Patrol Arrests Illegal Aliens in Fake Construction Vehicle

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/...08152008_3.xml (http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/08152008_3.xml)

contacts for this news release

San Diego - Yesterday afternoon, Border Patrol agents in San Ysidro uncovered an alien smuggling scheme that involved a pickup truck replicated to appear to be from a major construction company.

The pickup truck was disguised as a vehicle from Kiewit Corporation, a company currently working on a large border construction project.

Upon spotting the truck on Dairy Mart Road at about noon, agents observed it as it arrived at a secluded spot along the border fence and parked for a brief period. A license plate check of the truck revealed that its registered owner was a San Diego resident, and not Kiewit Corporation.

As agents attempted to stop the suspect vehicle, it sped away on Dairy Mart Road. Agents then successfully deployed a controlled tire deflation device nearby the Interstate 5 onramp.

When the truck came to a stop, the driver, who was wearing a yellow hard hat and a reflective safety vest, fled on foot. An agent was able to apprehend the driver, who is now facing charges for alien smuggling.

Agents inspected the truck and found one illegal alien in the cab and 10 illegal aliens hidden in a false tool box in the bed of the truck.

This incident comes three days after agents prevented a drug smuggling attempt by the use of a false San Diego Gas & Electric vehicle and three weeks after agents discovered 49 illegal aliens in a water truck near Smuggler’s Gulch. In response to effective border security efforts, smugglers are resorting to more sophisticated and dangerous methods to smuggle humans, drugs and other contraband.

[Cali/Yank]

Come on people this is unprecedented. Can you show me any other country that comes close to what is happening in Mexico?

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20080828-9999-1m28firings.html



Nearly 130 prosecutors, cops dismissed in Baja
http://www.signonsandiego.com/images/black.gif

Officials say they'll track those fired

UNION-TRIBUNE

August 28, 2008


TIJUANA – Top Baja California law enforcement officials yesterday announced the dismissal of 129 police officers, investigators, prosecutors and other members of law enforcement agencies across the state.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/images/t.gif



More beheadings in Mexico then in the middle east. More deaths per capita then in Iraq.

[Cali/Yank]

So Far So Good for National Security and the TSA.



http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_10379057
Airport mechanic accused of immigrant smuggling

Daily News Wire Services
Article Last Updated: 09/04/2008 06:10:30 AM PDT





An elevator mechanic at Los Angeles International Airport has been arrested in a federal sting operation and charged with smuggling illegal immigrants into the country by taking them out of the terminal before they were screened by authorities.

Longtime LAX employee Roberto Amaya Canchola, 53, was arrested at the airport on Aug. 23 by federal immigration agents.

Authorities believe Canchola, of North Hills, had led at least 15 illegal immigrants out of the airport before they had gone through immigration and customs inspection and was part of a larger smuggling operation.
"We don't know at this time how big it is," said Louis Rodi, assistant special agent in charge of immigration and customs investigations at LAX. "We believe he is not the biggest player."

Rodi believes the larger organization used Canchola for his access to, and knowledge of the airport.

He "knew security and he knew where the holes were on any given day," Rodi said.
All the illegal immigrants Canchola is suspected of smuggling arrived on Mexicana flights from Guanajuato, Mexico, officials said. Two of them had criminal records and had previously been deported.

[BleedingHeadKen]

http://www.wnd.com/images/toolbox.jpg


These @#$%ing criminals should be shot :mad::mad:

[Cali/Yank]

These @#$%ing criminals should be shot :mad::mad:

Maybe.


http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_10423570

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site525/2008/0910/20080910_121242_rifle_300.jpg (http://www.elpasotimes.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=2095625 )


EL PASO -- A potentially dangerous situation arose Sunday when a man was aiming a rifle at cars on West Paisano Drive after illegally crossing the Rio Grande near Asarco, U.S. Border Patrol officials said Tuesday.

"It looked like he was getting ready to take random shots," Agent Jose Romero, a Border Patrol spokesman, said. "We don't know at who or why."
No shots were fired and no injuries were reported in the incident at about 1 a.m. that was filmed by night-vision cameras on the road along the border just west of Downtown, officials said.

The incident comes as El Paso law enforcement is on heightened alert due to a drug cartel war in Juárez and intelligence that narco-traffickers may go after targets in the United States.
A black-and-white video shows a man crouching, taking aim with a rifle and then making a pumping motion, as done with air rifles. The camera pans to show cars

[American_Jihad]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/latinamerica/la-fg-mexattack18-2008sep18,0,3146926.story?track=rss

Mexicans fear they are all targets now
Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press

A soldier stands in the spot where a grenade exploded during a holiday celebration in Morelia, Mexico.
In the wake of the deadly explosions in the capital of Michoacan state, Mexicans are forced to confront a new kind of victim in the drug wars: anyone.
By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 18, 2008
MORELIA, MEXICO -- Gloria Alvarez never got to shout "Viva Mexico!"

The 32-year-old homemaker, cradling her infant son, jostled with the rest of her family and thousands of other people who packed the center of this colonial-era city Monday night to celebrate Mexican Independence Day.

Then came the blasts. Alvarez's husband and 7-year-old daughter were seriously injured. The 3-month-old baby, Uriel, somehow escaped unharmed, but Alvarez, gravely wounded, died later in a public hospital.

The devastated family was among many people in Mexico reeling Wednesday from what many considered an escalation in the vicious violence that has been racking the nation for months.

Twin grenade attacks on the dense, celebrating crowd, on a major holiday and in the Mexican president's hometown, killed at least seven people, wounded scores and sowed panic among a population already unnerved.


Mexican authorities on Tuesday blamed organized crime for the blasts in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan, a western state with a long history of drug trafficking. In the 21 months since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on Mexico's powerful drug-smuggling networks, this was the first time civilians had been directly and indiscriminately targeted. And Mexicans were forced to confront a new kind of victim amid rising fears that, now, anyone is fair game.

People like Alvarez.

Her husband, Rafael Bucio, lay in his hospital bed Wednesday, the bones of a shattered arm and leg held in place by pins, and sought to understand what was happening to his country.

A parking attendant, Bucio, 30, said he recalled seeing an object fly past and strike a police car. It bounced off and rolled to within 6 feet of his family. Bucio had but a moment to identify the rolling object.

"When it stopped, I realized it was a grenade," he said.

He tried to gather up his family, but it was too late. All were knocked to the ground. His daughter, Jannyfer, screamed, "Papa, help me!" Her face was covered with blood. His wife lay motionless.

Five of the seven people killed were women. Most of the victims were from humble families for whom open-air town square celebrations are major social events.

Mexican troops Wednesday roped off the quaint central plaza and stood guard under Mexican flags and leftover holiday red-green-and-white bunting. Bloody shoes, ripped clothing and broken glass littered the paving stones where the injured had writhed in pain. Stunned citizens brought flowers and arranged candles in the shape of a cross, as hasty shrines.

"We are reaching a very extreme level of violence that we've never seen before," said Ordulia Castro, a 39-year-old nurse. "They are killing innocents. This isn't going to stop here. It's going to continue until we are in a guerrilla war, just like Colombia."

Some people compared Monday night's violence to a Mexican version of the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. -- smaller, surely, but the kind of event that has the potential to change Mexico. Several of the survivors suffered horrific wounds and underwent multiple amputations.

"Mexicans have always been very happy. With this, it could change the attitude of people. It could make us more cold," said Rodolfo Chavez, a 44-year-old education researcher. "Nobody could ever have imagined this."

Mexican authorities circulated a composite sketch of a chubby man dressed in black who several witnesses reported seeing tossing a fragmentation grenade and begging for forgiveness.

Michoacan Gov. Leonel Godoy promised a "profound and exhaustive" investigation.

No arrests have been reported.

Michoacan has had a front-row view as the drug war has spread nationwide. Two years ago, gunmen in the city of Uruapan dumped five human heads onto the floor of a dance hall, auguring a wave of drug-hit beheadings that has only worsened.

Calderon chose Michoacan as the first place to send troops when, as a newly elected president, he announced his crusade against drug traffickers in December 2006.

On Wednesday, Calderon interrupted his scheduled activities to travel to Morelia.

"The sad events in Morelia," he said before heading here, "have sent the nation into mourning and demonstrate that the criminals act not only against the government but against society."

Bucio lay in his hospital bed, while his relatives arranged the cremation of his wife's remains. He hadn't yet broken the news of her death to Jannyfer, who was in a bed four floors above.

"Who knows where all this will end," he said. "I think maybe we are only at the beginning."

ken.ellingwood@latimes.com

[American_Jihad]

Mexico drug crackdown breeds more violence from the cartels
9/24/08

MORELIA, Mexico - It was Mexican Independence Day and the square in this colonial city was packed with revelers. Suddenly, something flew over the head of Angelica Bucio, struck a man in front of her and rolled to a stop on the ground.

A second later, the grenade exploded, slamming Bucio against a fountain. Her arms and legs burned with white-hot shrapnel. Smoke and screaming and blood were everywhere.

For residents of this city, last week's attack that killed seven people and injured 108 was yet another sign that President Felipe Calderón's nationwide war on drugs, which began in Morelia nearly two years ago, is going poorly.

Instead of subsiding, drug-related murders are rising and becoming more gruesome. Once-quiet border towns have become battlegrounds. Police-on-police clashes have left citizens wondering who the good guys are. And the Morelia grenade attack, which the Mexican Attorney General's Office blamed on drug traffickers, has raised fears that smugglers are moving into outright terrorism.

"They have crossed a line from recklessly endangering civilians in their attacks on law-enforcement officials and rival gangs to deliberately targeting innocent men, women and children," U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said after the attack.

The turmoil is in stark contrast to the U.S. side of the border, where Calderón's crackdown looks like a success. The White House has credited Mexico's efforts for a drop in the drug supply. Since 2006, the U.S. has seen an 84 percent jump in methamphetamine prices and a 21 percent increase in cocaine prices. Meth use has dropped 50 percent and cocaine use has decreased 19 percent, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

But in Mexico, many people are wondering if the crackdown on cartels is worth the loss of life. Marches and rallies are multiplying as Mexicans vent their frustration at the violence.

"I don't think the government is winning," Bucio said as she lay in a hospital bed surrounded by other victims from the grenade attack. "The violence is getting worse."


New sheriff in town

Calderón's offensive against drugs began in December 2006, just days after he took office. Prompted by a series of murders, the bespectacled former economist surprised the country by dispatching 10,000 troops to patrol the streets of Morelia and other cities in his home state of Michoacán. The state is a major producer of crystal meth, marijuana and heroin.

Within weeks, troops were also sent to Tijuana, Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and other drug-trafficking corridors. Stunned police officers were forced to hand over their weapons to the soldiers. City residents awoke to find convoys of Humvees bristling with grenade launchers and machine guns rolling past their homes.

Thousands of suspects were arrested in raids and at highway checkpoints. Dozens were extradited to the United States. Calderón also asked the U.S. for help, a historic move in a country that is especially sensitive about U.S. meddling. The Bush administration responded with a pledge of $1.1 billion in police and military aid.

But as the offensive approaches the two-year mark, many Mexicans fear the battle is turning into a quagmire, said Francisco García Cordero, editor of Criminalia, a criminal-justice journal.

When the crackdown began, about 53 percent of Mexicans approved of Calderón's anti-crime efforts, according to a poll commissioned by the Reforma newspaper. By Sept. 1, that figure was down to 34 percent.

"There is no faith that the battle is making progress," García Cordero said. "We're seeing mistakes, unjustified steps, improvisation by the government."

Among the more distressing developments:


• Drug-related murders have soared. By Sept. 3, they had hit 3,004 this year, compared with 2,673 in all of 2007, according to a tally by El Universal newspaper. In 2006, there were 1,410 drug-related killings, according to the newspaper's count.


• The arrests of suspected kingpins have caused the drug gangs to splinter, sparking turf wars and running shootouts in once-sleepy border towns like Cananea, Sonora; and Río Bravo, Tamaulipas.


• Mass killings have become commonplace. On Aug. 28, 12 decapitated bodies were found outside the Yucatan Peninsula city of Mérida. On Sept. 13, police found 24 bodies that had been bound and shot in a rural area outside Mexico City. And on Aug. 16, gunmen shot 13 people, including a baby, at a party in the northern town of Creel.


• Though arrests have soared, only a fraction of suspects are being convicted. Only 12 percent of all federal investigations result in a conviction, the Calderón administration said in its Sept. 1 State of the Union report.


• The boom in arrests has also left the country's jails dangerously overcrowded, with an average of 30 percent more prisoners than they were designed to hold. Last week, 23 inmates died in a riot at a Tijuana prison that was built for 3,000 but was housing 8,000.


• Drug addiction has risen as traffickers become less disciplined and as tighter U.S. border security causes a glut of drugs in Mexico. The number of Mexicans who had tried drugs rose nearly 29 percent from 2002 to 2008, the Mexican Health Department said last week.

The violence has sparked rallies nationwide to demand better police protection.

Tens of thousands of people marched in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey on Aug. 30. Protesters in Creel blocked a tourist train on Sept. 13 to demand progress in the investigation into the Aug. 16 massacre.

Even cadets at a federal police academy in San Luis Potosí held a student strike last month after five of their comrades were gunned down. They demanded more police roadblocks to catch the killers and the right to carry guns.


No end in sight

Back in Michoacán, the body count has continued to rise. At the Miguel Silva General Hospital in Morelia, Medical Director María Soledad Castro said doctors now treat about 15 gunshot victims a month.

"Before this all started, we rarely got even one gunshot a month," she said.

On Sept. 6, smugglers ambushed and killed seven police officers in the Michoacán town of El Pareo.But it was the two grenade explosions in downtown Morelia on Sept. 15 that most shocked Mexicans. Explosive attacks against crowds of civilians are nearly unheard of in Mexico.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. But a spokeswoman for Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said Thursday that investigators had evidence pointing to drug traffickers. She added that the cartels are trying to demoralize the public and create pressure on the government to stop the war.

A few days after the attack, street banners claiming to be from a local drug gang known as La Familia accused the rival Zetas, the enforcement wing of the powerful Gulf Cartel, of throwing the grenades. The two groups are believed to be locked in a struggle for control of Michoacán's smuggling routes.

In response, Calderón announced bills giving the government more power to seize drug assets and a new reward program for tipsters. He also proposed an easier process for getting search warrants and more investigative powers for police. In at least five speeches following the Morelia attacks, he urged Mexicans to stand strong.

"Mexico is living through difficult times," Calderón said. "This is a fundamental moment for the entire country to be united in the fight against crime."

Morelia resident Ernesto Guevara said he still believes the crackdown was a good idea but thinks politicians and regular Mexicans underestimated how hard the fight would be.

"Michoacán has always been famous for having narcos, but they've always been quiet," he said, sitting at an outdoor cafe across from the plaza where the Sept. 15 attacks took place. "Now, they're divided and fighting. I don't think the Mexican government was prepared for this."

Something fell and made a bang inside a delivery truck parked on the curb. Patrons at the cafe jumped and spun around. Guevara nodded grimly.

"People are on edge now," he said.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/09/24/20080924drugwar0924.html

[Cali/Yank]

http://www.abc15.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=9bc99580-425f-487c-9583-1c52f9524d2a

[American_Jihad]

Mexico's President Calderon has few choices in drug war
Though an attack on civilians in Morelia has tested the public's stomach for the increasingly savage conflict, the president has little room to pull back from his crackdown.

By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
8:22 PM PDT, September 30, 2008

MEXICO CITY -- Stretched thin in an uphill battle against drug gangs, the government of Mexican President Felipe Calderon faces increasingly stark options at a pivotal moment.

The fatal Sept. 15 grenade attack on civilians in western Mexico, coming on top of a steadily rising death toll nationwide, drastically altered the stakes in the nearly 2-year-old crackdown.


Calderon now has little room to pull back without appearing beaten. But the attack, which killed eight people during an Independence Day celebration in Calderon's home state of Michoacan, is testing the public's stomach for the increasingly savage conflict.

"The violence is not going to stop soon. There will be more actions," political analyst Alfonso Zarate warned last week in the daily El Universal newspaper. "However, neither the government nor the public can turn back."

The crisis has reopened debate over alternatives, including legalizing drugs. Many Mexicans wonder aloud whether Calderon should revert to the practices of earlier governments, led by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, that tolerated traffickers as long as they kept the killings of noncombatants down and bribes up.


Calderon's aides have publicly ruled out any peace deals with the drug underworld.

"There are two options: to fight it or not fight it," security analyst Jorge Chabat wrote in El Universal last week.

Walking away from the battle would worsen corruption and could leave the Mexican government critically weakened, he said. Staying with the crackdown will almost surely mean more bloodshed.

Turf wars among drug-trafficking groups have killed more than 3,000 people this year, according to news reports, aggravating public anxiety over a rising rate of kidnappings and other crimes.

Since the Sept. 15 attack in Morelia, the president and top aides have vowed to continue their crackdown and urged residents to unite against a foe they say threatens national security.

The administration already had deployed 40,000 soldiers and 5,000 federal police officers as part of its nationwide campaign, which began shortly after Calderon's inauguration in December 2006. The offensive has yielded several high-profile arrests and major seizures of drugs and money, including a recent $26.2-million haul in northern Sinaloa state.

"From the start of his administration, when he proposed this as a priority, President Calderon indicated clearly that this was going to be a long-term battle," Atty. Gen. Eduardo Medina Mora said in a television interview last week.

During a visit to New York on Sept. 23, Calderon again called on the United States to help by stanching the cross-border flow of arms into his country. He also said Mexico was "paying a very high price" for U.S. drug consumption.

But in raising the specter of a possible terrorism campaign, the grenade attack has left Mexicans feeling more at risk than at any time since Calderon launched the offensive.

Mexican authorities Friday announced the arrests of three men suspected of carrying out the attack. They were said to be members of the Zetas, the armed wing of the so-called Gulf Cartel that has decapitated rivals and carried out scores of other killings.

Although polls show most Mexicans support the crackdown, they also indicate that people increasingly question whether this type of campaign can succeed.

The administration acknowledged during a congressional hearing last week that the intelligence service lacks the agents and information-gathering capacity for a nationwide campaign against organized crime.

Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mouriño also confirmed what everybody already suspected: that drug gangs have infiltrated police forces so thoroughly that authorities can't fully guarantee public safety. And he expressed concern that drug money could make its way into midterm congressional elections in July.

The election campaign may complicate matters for Calderon in other ways, by sharpening criticism over his anti-crime strategy and giving political foes opportunities to grandstand.

When Mouriño, Medina Mora and Genaro Garcia Luna, the nation's public safety chief, appeared before Congress last week, opposition lawmakers jeered and held up signs saying, "Resign."

The leftist Democratic Revolution Party, which holds the second-highest number of seats in the lower house of Congress, refuses to recognize Calderon as president, saying his 2006 election victory was fraudulent. Many leftists believe Calderon launched the drug crackdown to gain legitimacy after the disputed vote count.

Public opinion remains a wild card. In a poll in the Milenio newspaper last week, two-thirds of respondents said they were afraid to go to public places after the grenade attacks.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexwar1-2008oct01,0,6480187.story

[American_Jihad]

Mexico captures Tijuana drug cartel leader
10/26/08

TIJUANA, Mexico, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Mexican security forces have arrested drug cartel leader Eduardo Arellano Felix, one of the international traffickers most sought by the United States, after a shootout in the violent border city of Tijuana, the government said on Sunday.

Arellano Felix, nicknamed "The Doctor," was a senior member of a family cartel embroiled in a violent struggle for control of the lucrative drug trade that has killed more than 3,700 people in Mexico this year, including 450 in Tijuana.

He ran the cartel with his sister Enedina, the only main suspect from the family who remains at large after several brothers were arrested or killed.

Police arrested Arellano Felix on Saturday after they chased his car to a three-story home in an upscale neighborhood, said the federal police in Tijuana. A three-hour gunbattle with more than 100 police and soldiers ensued, leaving the home riddled with bullet holes.

Arellano Felix's 11-year-old daughter, who was in the house at the time and living under a false name, was unharmed, the police said.

"We could say that the generation that gave birth to this criminal group has been eradicated," said Facundo Rosas, deputy public security minister, at a news conference in Mexico City.

The United States indicted Arellano Felix in 2003 on drug smuggling and money laundering charges and had offered a reward of up to $5 million for his capture.

President Felipe Calderon has sent tens of thousands of troops and federal police to fight escalating drug violence since late 2006 but arrests of major cartel leaders have been few.

The Arellano Felix family dominated the smuggling of cocaine and marijuana into California in the 1990s and was feared for its ruthless elimination of enemies.

Francisco Arellano Felix, Eduardo's youngest brother, was sentenced to life in prison in the United States in November after being captured while deep sea fishing off Mexico. Mexican authorities agreed in June to extradite another brother, Benjamin, to the United States to face smuggling charges.

The weakening of the family has led other Mexican drug cartels to move in on Tijuana, transforming the city from a playground for U.S. tourists into a major battleground in Mexico's drug war.

The rival gangs have adopted increasingly gruesome tactics, including beheading and mutilating their victims and dumping dozens of bodies in view of schools and other public places.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Mexico last week to discuss the drug war and said $465 million in aid for Mexico and Central America to purchase equipment and train anti-drug police would soon be released.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26283276.htm

[American_Jihad]

Worrying Signs from Border Raids
November 12, 2008 | 1717 GMT

Last week, the Mexican government carried out a number of operations in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, aimed at Jaime “El Hummer” Gonzalez Duran, one of the original members of the brutal cartel group known as Los Zetas. According to Mexican government officials, Gonzalez Duran controlled the Zetas’ operations in nine Mexican states.

The Nov. 7 arrest of Gonzalez Duran was a major victory for the Mexican government and will undoubtedly be a major blow to the Zetas. Taking Gonzalez Duran off the streets, however, is not the only aspect of these operations with greater implications. The day before Gonzalez Duran’s arrest, Mexican officials searching for him raided a safe house, where they discovered an arms cache that would turn out to be the largest weapons seizure in Mexican history. This is no small feat, as there have been several large hauls of weapons seized from the Zetas and other Mexican cartel groups in recent years.

The weapons seized at the Gonzalez Duran safe house included more than 500 firearms, a half-million rounds of ammunition and 150 grenades. The cache also included a LAW rocket, two grenade launchers and a small amount of explosives. Along with the scores of assorted assault rifles, grenades and a handful of gaudy gold-plated pistols were some weapons that require a bit more examination: namely, the 14 Fabrique Nationale (FN) P90 personal defense weapons and the seven Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifles contained in the seizure.

Matapolicias
As previously noted, the FN Five-Seven pistol and FN P90 personal defense weapon are very popular with the various cartel enforcer groups operating in Mexico. The Five-Seven and the P90 shoot a 5.7 mm-by-28 mm round that has been shown to be effective in penetrating body armor as well as vehicle doors and windows. Because of this ability to punch through body armor, cartel enforcers call the weapons “matapolicias,” Spanish for “cop killers.” Of course, AK-47 and M-16-style assault rifles are also effective at penetrating body armor and vehicles, as are large-caliber hunting rifles such as the 30.06 and the .308. But the advantage of the Five-Seven and the P90 is that they provide this penetration capability in a much smaller — and thus far more concealable — package.

The P90 is a personal defense weapon designed to be carried by tank crew members or combat support personnel who require a compact weapon capable of penetrating body armor. It is considered impractical for such soldiers to be issued full-size infantry rifles or even assault rifles, so traditionally these troops were issued pistols and submachine guns. The proliferation of body armor on the modern battlefield, however, has rendered many pistols and submachine guns that fire pistol ammunition ineffective. Because of this, support troops needed a small weapon that could protect them from armored troops; the P90 fits this bill.

In fact, the P90 lends itself to anyone who needs powerful, concealable weapons. Protective security details, some police officers and some special operations forces operators thus have begun using the P90 and other personal defense weapons. The P90’s power and ability to be concealed also make it an ideal weapon for cartel enforcers intent on conducting assassinations in an urban environment — especially those stalking targets wearing body armor.

The Five-Seven, which is even smaller than the P90, fires the same fast, penetrating cartridge. Indeed, cartel hit men have killed several Mexican police officers with these weapons in recent months. However, guns that fire the 5.7 mm-by-28 mm cartridge are certainly not the only type of weapons used in attacks against police — Mexican cops have been killed by many other types of weapons.

Reach Out and Touch Someone
While the P90 and Five-Seven are small and light, and use a small, fast round to penetrate armor, the .50-caliber cartridge fired by a Barrett sniper rifle is the polar opposite: It fires a huge chunk of lead. By way of comparison, the 5.7 mm-by-28 mm cartridge is just a little more than 1.5 inches long and has a 32-grain bullet. The .50-caliber Browning Machine Gun (BMG) cartridge is actually 12.7 mm by 99 mm, measures nearly 5.5 inches long and fires a 661-grain bullet. The P90 has a maximum effective range of 150 meters (about 165 yards), whereas a Barrett’s listed maximum effective range is 1,850 meters (about 2,020 yards) — and there are reports of coalition forces snipers in Afghanistan scoring kills at more than 2,000 meters (about 2,190 yards).

The .50-BMG round not only will punch through body armor and normal passenger vehicles, it can defeat the steel plate armor and the laminated ballistic glass and polycarbonate windows used in lightly armored vehicles. This is yet another reminder that there is no such thing as a bulletproof car. The round is also capable of penetrating many brick and concrete block walls.

We have heard reports for years of cartels seeking .50-caliber sniper rifles made by Barrett and other U.S. manufacturers. Additionally, we have noted many reports of seizures from arms smugglers in the United States of these weapons bound for Mexico, or of the weapons being found in Mexican cartel safe houses — such as the seven rifles seized in Reynosa. Unlike the P90s, however, we cannot recall even one instance of these powerful weapons being used in an attack against another cartel or against a Mexican government target. This is in marked contrast to Ireland, where the Irish Republican Army used .50-caliber Barrett rifles obtained from the United States in many sniper attacks against British troops and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

That Mexican cartels have not used these devastating weapons is surprising. There are in fact very few weapons in the arsenals of cartel enforcers that we have not seen used, including hand grenades, 40 mm grenades, LAW rockets and rocket-propelled grenades. Even though most intercartel warfare has occurred inside densely populated Mexican cities such as Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo — places where it would be very difficult to find a place to take a shot longer than a few hundred meters, much less a couple thousand — the power of the Barrett could be very effective for taking out targets wearing body armor, riding in armored vehicles, located inside the safe house of a rival cartel or even inside a government building. Also, unlike improvised explosive devices, which the cartels have avoided using for the most part, the use of .50-caliber rifles would not involve a high probability of collateral damage.

This indicates that the reason the cartels have not used these weapons is to be found in the nature of snipers and sniping.

Snipers
Most military and police snipers are highly trained and very self-disciplined. Being a sniper requires an incredible amount of practice, patience and preparation. Aside from rigorous training in marksmanship, the sniper must also be trained in camouflage, concealment and movement. Snipers are often forced to lie immobile for hours on end. Additional training is required for snipers operating in urban environments, which offer their own set of challenges to the sniper; though historically, as seen in battles like Stalingrad, urban snipers can be incredibly effective.

Snipers commonly deploy as part of a team of two, comprising a shooter and a spotter. This means two very self-disciplined individuals must be located and trained. The team must practice together and learn how to accurately estimate distances, wind speed, terrain elevation and other variables that can affect a bullet’s trajectory. An incredible amount of attention to detail is required for a sniper team to get into position and for their shots to travel several hundred meters and accurately, consistently strike a small target.

In spite of media hype and popular fiction, criminals or terrorists commit very few true sniper attacks. For example, many of our sniper friends were very upset that the media chose to label the string of murders committed by John Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo as the “D.C. Sniper Case.” While Mohammed and Malvo did use concealment, they commonly shot at targets between 50 and 100 meters (about 55 yards to 110 yards) away. Therefore, calling Mohammed and Malvo snipers was a serious insult to the genuine article. The assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the killing of Dr. Bernard Slepian, also have been dubbed sniper attacks, but they actually were all shootings committed at distances of less than 100 meters.

Of course, using a Barrett at short ranges (100 meters or less) is still incredibly effective and does not require a highly trained sniper — as a group of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agents found out in 1993 when they attempted to serve search and arrest warrants at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The agents were met with .50-caliber sniper fire that ripped gaping holes through the Chevrolet Suburbans they sought cover behind. Many of the agents wounded in that incident were hit by the shrapnel created as the .50-caliber rounds punched through their vehicles.

While it is extremely powerful, the Barrett is however a long, heavy weapon. If the sniper lacks training in urban warfare, it might prove very difficult to move around with the gun and also to find a concealed place to employ it. This may partially explain why the Mexican cartels have not used the weapons more.

Moreover, while the Zetas originally comprised deserters from the Mexican military and over the years have shown an ability to conduct assaults and ambushes, we have not traditionally seen them deploy as snipers. Today, most of the original Zetas are now in upper management, and no longer serve as foot soldiers.

The newer men brought into the Zetas include some former military and police officers along with some young gangster types; most of them lack the level of training possessed by the original Zetas. While the Zetas have also brought on a number of former Kaibiles, Guatemalan special operations forces personnel, most of them appear to be assigned as bodyguards for senior Zetas. This may mean we are not seeing the cartels employ snipers because their rank-and-file enforcers do not possess the discipline or training to function as snipers.

Potential Problems
Of course, criminal syndicates in possession of these weapons still pose a large potential threat to U.S. law enforcement officers, especially when the weapons are in the hands of people like Gonzalez Duran and his henchmen. According to an FBI intelligence memo dated Oct. 17 and leaked to the media, Gonzalez Duran appeared to have gotten wind of the planned operation against him. He reportedly had authorized those under his command to defend their turf at any cost, to include engagements with U.S. law enforcement agents. It is important to remember that a chunk of that turf was adjacent to the U.S. border and American towns, and that Reynosa — where Gonzalez Duran was arrested and the weapons were seized — is just across the border from McAllen, Texas.

Armed with small, powerful weapons like the P90, cartel gunmen can pose a tremendous threat to any law enforcement officer who encounters them in a traffic stop or drug raid. Over the past several years, we have noted several instances of U.S. Border Patrol agents and other U.S. law enforcement officers being shot at from Mexico. The thought of being targeted by a weapon with the range and power of a .50-caliber sniper rifle would almost certainly send chills up the spine of any Border Patrol agent or sheriff’s deputy working along the border.

Armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and .50-caliber sniper rifles, cartel enforcers have the potential to wreak havoc and outgun U.S. law enforcement officers. The only saving grace for U.S. law enforcement is that many cartel enforcers are often impaired by drugs or alcohol and tend to be impetuous and reckless. While the cartel gunmen are better trained than most Mexican authorities, their training does not stack up to that of most U.S. law enforcement officers. This was illustrated by an incident on Nov. 6 in Austin, Texas, when a police officer used his service pistol to kill a cartel gunman who fired on the officer with an AK-47.

While the arrest of Gonzalez Duran and the seizure of the huge arms cache in Reynosa have taken some killers and weapons off the street, they are only one small drop in the bucket. There are many heavily armed cartel enforcers still at large in Mexico, and the violence is spreading over the border into the United States. Law enforcement officers in the United States therefore need to maintain a keen awareness of the threat.

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20081112_worrying_signs_border_raids

[American_Jihad]

Catholic Cardinal Urges Obama to Bring Illegal Immigrants ‘Out of the Shadows’
Monday, January 12, 2009

Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger Mahony, the archbishop of Los Angeles, urged President-elect Barack Obama last week to expend some of his “tremendous political capital" by moving quickly to enact comprehensive immigration reform.

While criticizing worksite immigration raids and the construction of what he called a “wall” at the U.S.-Mexico border, Cardinal Mahony declared that illegal immigrants “must be brought out of the shadows so that they can fully contribute to our nation’s future economic and social well-being.”

Mahony spoke Thursday on a conference call for reporters sponsored by the National Immigration Forum. The call also featured National Council of La Raza President Janet Murguia.

“The year 2009 will obviously be a very pivotal year for our nation as we attempt to tackle so many important issues from the economy to peace in the Middle East,” said Cardinal Mahony. “But one issue of grave moral importance which our country can no longer avoid or postpone is that of immigration reform.

“Our current immigration policies, including things such as intermittent worksite raids, local law enforcement involvement, a wall along our southern border, among other enforcement actions, have led to a separation of immigrant families, an increase in fear and mistrust of law enforcement in immigrant communities and discord and violence along our southern border,” he said.

The cardinal stressed that he would like to see an immigration bill passed this year.

“To continue to delay action will increase tension in states and localities, further alienate immigrant communities, and tacitly affirm the acceptance of a hidden and permanent underclass in our society,” said Cardinal Mahony. “So I call upon the new administration and new Congress to take up and enact comprehensive immigration reform, legislation during the 111th Congress, and during the year 2009. Immigrants must be brought out of the shadows so that they can fully contribute to our nation’s future economic and social well-being.”

The Cardinal expressed his view that the immigration reform of 1986 that granted amnesty to most of the illegal immigrants then present in the United States was not comprehensive enough.

“We learned in 1986 of the downside of trying to do something piecemeal,” said the Cardinal. “If you recall, the Immigration Reform and Control Act, or IRCA, which was passed in 1986, put its major emphasis on the amnesty portion, and the Congress said, ‘We’ll get to the other pieces later.’

“Many of us objected at the time, because they never did get to the other pieces,” he said. “So, by going about this piecemeal, we run the risk of people saying, ‘Oh well, we got this part of it done, let’s just move on to other problems.’ To be effective, all of the pieces have to be linked and in harmony with each other. I know all the speakers on this program today are for a comprehensive package that fixes all the broken parts.”

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), represented on the conference call by its President Janet Murguia, is a longtime champion of comprehensive immigration reform that amnesties illegal aliens and puts them on a path to U.S. citizenship. NCLR’s position is stated on its website.

“NCLR supports comprehensive immigration reform that includes the following principles: 1) a path to citizenship for the current undocumented population; 2) the creation of new legal channels for future immigrant workers; 3) a reduction of family immigration backlogs; and 4) the protection of civil rights and civil liberties,” says the NCLR website. “By legalizing immigrants who live, work, and contribute to life in the U.S., the U.S. could deal fairly with hardworking people who have responded to an economic reality ignored by the law. At the same time, the U.S. can become more secure by enforcing the new law and by allowing undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows and participate fully in their communities.

Cardinal Mahony indicated he is hoping President-elect Obama will show leadership on the issue and use the great degree of political leverage he is likely to have over the new Congress to quickly enact a comprehensive immigration reform package.

“He has tremendous political capital, in the new Congress as well as with the voters across the country, so this is the most opportune time,” said the Cardinal. “And those folks with crazy ideas and negative ideas, I think will fade into the West.”

( Hay Mohony ya phony why don't you pack up them illegals and ship
them to ROME...):happy_11:

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=41787

[American_Jihad]

Controversial Border Watch Program Finds Citizen Support
Israel Balderas/KFOX Morning News Anchor/Reporter
Posted: 8:41 am MDT March 9, 2009
Updated: 10:23 am MDT March 9, 2009

The debate over how best to guard the U.S.-Mexico border due to national security concerns has increased dramatically in the last few months because of the drug cartel violence happening south of the border. The central question has always been what is the most effective way to keep illegal activity, whether it be undocumented immigrants or drug smugglers. from crossing over. One idea that has been up and running since May 2007 involves setting up a virtual border wall using cameras and the Internet.

One of the individuals championing the Texas Virtual Border Watch Program is Hudspeth County, Texas, Sheriff Arvin West. "Every day there is the potential for people to come across the border." This is nothing new for the people who try to secure the southern border. Local law enforcement and border patrol are very familiar with the difficulties that come from watching the vast and open area of this Texas southern region, stretching from the western edges of El Paso all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.

But West has more up-close familiarity with the dangers that come from doing this type of job. Back in 2006, KFOX cameras were present when Hudspeth County sheriff deputies exchanged gunfire with drug smugglers who looked to be protected by Mexican army personnel. On that day, it was West's deputies who were outmanned and outgunned.

In a recent ride-along across the same area, the deputy in charge of finding funding and expanding local enforcement efforts to watch the border said that even after that 2006 incident, the county saw very little funding from the federal government to help with national security.

"Boots on the ground is the name of the game," said Sgt. Robert Wilson, who is the Hudspeth County Special Operations deputy. "The more people that are out (here) with eyes looking, the more people who are doing the job." Deputies are able to check and look for illegal activity, maybe even terrorist activity. It's a win-win situation for both local law enforcement and the Border Patrol officers who sheriff deputies are able to help watch.

Unfortunately, even with a federal border wall about to be completed and blocking certain areas along the Rio Grande, many spots remain wide open and illegal activity happens under the radar. For example, in one spot between Hudspeth County and El Paso County, one can drive right up the border to where no barrier has been installed. There's also a foot bridge that runs along a river dam. Anybody can just come across the bridge and get to the other side.

A KFOX news team even captured evidence of people having been in the area recently. For example there was a campfire near the river. West said that is usually an indication of people who perhaps camped overnight and then crossed into the U.S. without anybody watching the border.

But sheriffs working along the border are not manning it all by themselves these days. Help in securing the southern border comes, not by trained deputies, but by everyday people.

"Through our experience of people who have been stopped by border patrol, there's a large number of them in this area that are drug dealers or gang members." That's the sentiment uttered by one homeowner who chooses to be called "Joe" for security reasons. Neither the person's identity or exact home location will be published. What we are able to report is that "Joe" and other homeowners can see people crossing the border and then walk across their yard. This family wanted to do something about the illegal crossers they see almost every day from their front door.

"Because we needed to let people know, politicians who had the authority to influence security on the border, and to let them know what's going on in this area." A few years back, the family volunteered for a pilot study to place a camera on their rooftop to monitor illegal activity taking place along the southern border. They have evidence from video captured from their camera that reveals illegal crossings taking place right in front of their home.

Pilot program designers wanted to know if other citizens would be willing to monitor other cameras strategically placed along the border. This patchwork of cameras--all connected by way of the Internet--would be able to create a virtual border wall. Their question: Once people saw illegal activity taking place, would they be able to call it in to law enforcement and then make an arrest of individuals if indeed they were violating the law?

Using $2 million in state money, the Texas Virtual Border Watch Program was instituted by the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition. The organization is made up of 20 border county sheriffs in the Lone Star State. They pledge to help each other when it comes to tackling the overwhelming task of keeping their citizens safe from illegal border activity.

By working together, they were able to get up and running this virtual border watch by placing a dozen cameras in areas where large numbers of illegal crossings take place. Citizens, nationwide, monitor the cameras through a Web site called Blue Servo. If something suspicious or illegal takes place, a person makes a phone call to designated law enforcement agencies like the sheriff's office. "The fact of the matter is that without this, we're not able to reduce the criminal element that is going on in each one of these counties," said West.

However, the program does have its critics. "So $2 million has been spent. Three arrests have been made. It's a waste of time," said El Paso State Senator Eliot Shapleigh. He doesn't like the wall, either physical or virtual. To him it's an angry symbol of a racist past. He cites anecdotal evidence that even the physical border wall recently put up doesn't work.

Instead of spending money in what he calls programs that hold no promise, Shapleigh believes watching the border should be an issue best resolved by the federal government. And it is Congress and President Barack Obama who have to come up with other solutions. "The best way to handle (border surveillance) is qualified, trained border patrol and enough to do the job," said Shapleigh.

West, who recently began representing the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, admits glitches are being worked out in their virtual border watch program. But Joe the homeowner who lives near the border and now also volunteers to monitor the Web site and the cameras installed said this national security program is better than nothing.

"They're murderers or they are going to rape someone and it's worth catching the needles in the haystack if that is your child who's going to be murdered or raped," said Joe. And for those who support the citizen virtual border wall program, it will be a success if just one dangerous person can be stopped.

The federal government plans to begin construction of its own virtual fence program in Arizona later in the month of March. It's the second attempt to install this type of technology along the border after its first try failed due to technology glitches at a cost of $40 million. It took another two years and now $400 billion from the federal government to get their program going again.

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/18886986/detail.html

[Cali/Yank]

http://www.projo.com/news/content/providence_principal_biting_03-18-09_O3DNE7D_v11.36a982a.html?ocp=2#slcgm_comments_a nchor


Principal in Providence bit, punched by mom, police say


01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, March 18, 2009


By Linda Borg

Journal Staff Writer


PROVIDENCE — The principal of Roger Williams Middle School says he was punched and bitten by a parent in his office Friday afternoon after he told her that her son was being suspended from school.

Aleyda Uceta, 30, of 164 Gallatin St., was charged with assault on school officials, assault on police officers and resisting arrest.

The principal, Rudolph Moseley Jr., said he told Uceta that her 11-year-old son would be suspended for three days, according to a police report. Moseley told the police that she became angry and began yelling at him.
School Department spokeswoman Christina O’Reilly confirmed Monday that Moseley was allegedly assaulted by a parent but declined to provide details.

Moseley repeatedly asked Uceta to lower her voice but she refused, the police said, and Uceta then punched the principal in the face. When Moseley pushed the mother away, her son struck him, according to the police report. Next, Uceta allegedly grabbed Moseley’s left arm and began biting him.

A teacher intervened and began speaking to Uceta in Spanish but Uceta punched her in the face, according to the police.

When officers arrived, they attempted to escort Uceta out of the school but she continued to try to punch Moseley, the police said.
By then, a large crowd of Uceta’s family had gathered, making it difficult for the officers to take her into custody. During the struggle, Uceta bit a patrolman’s arm and struck a patrolman in the face, according to the police. She also kicked another police officer and ripped the pocket out of his jacket.

After Uceta was placed in custody she said, “I’m going to take your gun and shoot all of you,” according to the police report.

While handcuffed and seated on the floor of the school’s main office, Uceta attemped to kick the window panes out of a door, the police said.
Moseley was taken to a hospital for treatment, according to the police. One officer was bitten and another suffered a back injury, the police said.
Yesterday, Moseley said he was fine and that he had no idea what prompted the attack. The 11-year-old boy was suspended from school, he said, because he refused to go to a room where misbehaving students are assigned to cool down. The incident happened around 1 p.m.
“The school is OK,” the principal said. “We’re focusing on teaching and learning.”
Roger Williams is the school where an assistant principal, Robert Perkins, was suspended last week after he stepped on a Dominican flag on Dominican Independence Day. The students had reportedly been running up and down the hallways with the flag. The incident caused an uproar in the Dominican community, which felt that their flag had been dishonored.

[malum]

Study: Illegal immigrants having more kids in US


By HOPE YEN

WASHINGTON (AP (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hQSNYN2dHY18MzVy9TuruvFaMmaQD97IAMN80)) — Growing numbers of children of illegal immigrants are being born in this country, and they are nearly twice as likely to live in poverty than those with American-born parents, a report says.
The study released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center highlights a growing dilemma in the immigration debate: Illegal immigrants' children born in the United States are American citizens, yet they struggle in poverty and uncertainty along with parents who fear deportation, toil largely in low-wage jobs and face layoffs in an ailing economy.
The analysis by Pew, a nonpartisan research organization, estimated that 11.9 million illegal immigrants lived in the U.S. Of those, 8.3 million were in the labor force as of March 2008, making up 5.4 percent of the U.S. work force, primarily in lower-paying farming, construction or janitorial work.
Roughly three out of four of their children — or 4 million — were born in the U.S. In 2003, 2.7 million children of illegal immigrants, or 63 percent, were born in this country.
Overall, illegal immigrants' children account for one of every 15 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Illegal immigrants also have become more geographically dispersed, increasingly passing up typical destinations like California in favor of jobs in newly emerging Hispanic areas in Southeastern states like Georgia and North Carolina.
In 2008, California had the most illegal immigrants at 2.7 million, double its 1990 number, followed by Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey. Still, California's 22 percent share of the nation's illegal immigrant population was a marked drop-off from its 42 percent share in 1990.
The latest demographic snapshot comes as President Barack Obama is preparing to address the politically sensitive issue of immigration reform later this year, including a proposal to give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
Though their numbers have soared over the past two decades, the total number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has declined or remained flat in the last few years. Demographers attribute that to slower rates of migration into the U.S. caused in part by the recession, as well as to deportations and stepped-up immigration enforcement during the Bush administration.
Among the findings:
_One-third of the children of illegal immigrants live in poverty, nearly double the rate for children of U.S.-born parents.
_Illegal immigrants' share of low-wage jobs has grown in recent years, from 10 percent of construction jobs in 2003 to 17 percent in 2008. They also make up 25 percent of workers in farming and 19 percent in building maintenance.
_The 2007 median household income of illegal immigrants was $36,000, compared with $50,000 for U.S.-born residents. In contrast to other immigrants, illegal immigrants do not earn markedly higher incomes the longer they live in the United States.
_About 47 percent of illegal immigrant households have children, compared with 21 percent for U.S.-born residents and 35 percent for legal immigrants.
_About three-quarters, or 76 percent, of illegal immigrants in the U.S. are Hispanic. The majority came from Mexico (59 percent), numbering 7 million. Other regions included Asia (11 percent), Central America (11 percent), South America (7 percent), the Caribbean (4 percent) and the Middle East (2 percent).
Children of illegal immigrants hold a delicate place in the U.S. On the one hand, the Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that these children — whether they were U.S. citizens or not — were entitled to a public school education. California and a few other states also provide some college tuition breaks to illegal immigrants.
At the same time, the immigrants and their families are among the poorest people in the U.S., easily exploited by employers and subject to arrest at any time. Children who are U.S. citizens cannot petition for their parents to become legal U.S. residents until they are at least 21.
Earlier this year, the Homeland Security Department's inspector general found that more than 100,000 parents of U.S. citizens were deported over the decade ending in 2007, prompting the department to say it would gather more information about families before deporting immigrants.
The Pew analysis is based on census data through March 2008. Because the Census Bureau does not ask people about their immigration status, the estimate on illegal immigrants is derived largely by subtracting the estimated legal immigrant population from the total foreign-born population.
On the Net:

Pew Hispanic Center: http://pewhispanic.org/ (http://www.google.com/url?q=http://pewhispanic.org/&usg=AFQjCNH1eRjPNfbe2OX-Xf8LrCKvDkP0Pg)

[Cali/Yank]

Study: Illegal immigrants having more kids in US


By HOPE YEN

Pew Hispanic Center: http://pewhispanic.org/ (http://www.google.com/url?q=http://pewhispanic.org/&usg=AFQjCNH1eRjPNfbe2OX-Xf8LrCKvDkP0Pg)
[/LIST]

And they all are voting Democratic..:mad_12:

[American_Jihad]

Wonder what the FN greens got to say about this.....

Authorities target submerged vehicles along border

07/20/2009

Associated Press


Authorities are targeting the dozens of pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and other cars submerged under the Rio Grande.

The Texas Department of Public Safety recently deployed a dive team to comb the riverbed along the Texas-Mexico border. Officials tell The Monitor that there's more than 30 such vehicles in a 10-mile stretch between Penitas and Mission, some decades old.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Border Patrol, Mission Police and the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office have increased patrols along southernmost roads. They hope to deter the smuggling attempts that may end with drug traffickers dumping their loads and vehicles in the water.

Submerged vehicles pose an environmental risk to the area and are a safety concern for boaters.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D99I28480.html

[Cali/Yank]

(CNN) -- A U.S. Border Patrol agent who was shot and killed Thursday night was responding to a potential incursion into the United States, authorities said.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/CRIME/07/24/border.patrol.shooting/art.napolitano.afp.gi.jpg U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says, "This act of violence will not stand."


http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif



Agent Robert Rosas suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene around 9 p.m. in the Campo area in San Diego County, California, said Richard Barlow of the U.S. Border Patrol.
Barlow, speaking at a Friday news conference, said authorities did not have additional details about the incident, which he said occurred near the fence that separates the U.S. and Mexico.
Other agents responded to the area and found Rosas, Barlow said.
Authorities said they believe more than one person was involved in the killing, said Keith Slotter, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Diego bureau. He said one of those involved may have been injured as well.



East of Campo is a smaller town called Jacumba. Owned and operated by the cartel. Don't believe me? Drive there and stay awhile.

[Nunyaz]

Suspects who sparked fire may be linked to cartels

By GREG RISLING (AP) – 2 hours ago

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Investigators believe marijuana growers with possible ties to Mexican drug cartels accidentally caused a wildfire in northern Santa Barbara County.

U.S. Forest Service officials announced their findings Tuesday, and warned that more pot farms remain hidden in remote areas across the country.

About 30,000 marijuana plants and an AK-47 rifle were found near the fire's origin in Los Padres National Forest, where more than 88,000 acres, or more than 137 square miles, have burned this month.

Forest Service Special Agent Russ Arthur says the plants' quality is similar to those linked to Mexican drug cartels but he is still investigating.

Arthur says an unspecified cooking device sparked the blaze and investigators are searching for up to six people who were there.

[Cali/Yank]

http://www.vdare.com/rubenstein/090904_nd.htm



September 04, 2009
National Data, By Edwin S. Rubenstein (http://www.vdare.com/rubenstein/index.htm)

Unemployment Hits a 26-Year High—Time for An Immigration Moratorium!

So gargantuan is America’s post-1965 immigration disaster that there is now an immigration dimension to every public issue—Health Care (http://vdare.com/malkin/090721_obamacare.htm), infectious disease (http://vdare.com/rubenstein/diseases.htm), mortgage fraud (http://vdare.com/rubenstein/071018_nd.htm), crime (http://vdare.com/misc/walsh_interview.htm), school overcrowding (http://vdare.com/thom/school_crowding.htm).
Nowhere is this more evident than in employment (http://vdare.com/rubenstein/050810_nd.htm)—and nowhere is the phenomenon more pressing, given that unemployment has now reached a level (9.7 percent—14.9 million unemployed) not seen since 1983 (http://www.nydailynews.com/money/work_career/2009/09/04/2009-09-04_labor_department_unemployment_rate_hits_97_in_a ugust_the_highest_since_june_1983.html).
Mainstream economists predict that unemployment will peak in a range of 10 to 12 percent only sometime in 2010. Or later, or even higher—depending on how skittish employers are in face of extraordinary uncertainty.
Meanwhile, immigration is continuing at historically high numbers. (http://www.cis.org/CurrentNumbers) Estimates of 1.8 million per year (http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/FS16_USImmigration_051807.pdf) translate to one hundred fifty thousand per month, thirty five thousand per week, and five thousand per day.
As usual (http://vdare.com/pb/090423_vdawdi.htm), the federal government’s statistics on immigration’s impact on employment are so fragmentary that it almost appears someone doesn’t want to know. Specifically, the government does not release monthly data on immigrant vs. native-born American employment.
To fill this information gap, in 2004 we unveiled (http://www.vdare.com/rubenstein/041116_nd.htm) our proprietary effort to track American worker displacement: the VDARE.com American Worker Displacement Index (VDAWDI (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Avdare.com+%20VDAWDI)). We tracked monthly growth of Hispanic (http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/amnesty.htm)versus non-Hispanic (http://www.vdare.com/Sailer/050410_ruin.htm) employment, expressing both as an index number of 100 as of the start of the Bush Administration in January 2001. We used Hispanics as a proxy for immigrant employment (http://vdare.com/rubenstein/090513_nd.htm) because such a high fraction of working age Hispanics (54 percent) are immigrants.
VDAWDI rose dramatically from January 2001 to late 2007, when it reached 124.1. Then it stalled and finally began to decline when employment collapsed in late 2008. But it is still some 20 percent above 2001’s levels—that is, immigrant displacement of American workers (http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecentersd1f b)has not been reversed.
With legal immigration (http://vdare.com/rubenstein/090818_nd.htm) unabated, an increasing share of America’s unemployed are either foreign-born or natives who have been displaced by foreign-born workers.
Once a year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on immigrant employment trends. Its 2008 report, released on March 26th of this year, shows a significant rise in immigrant jobless (http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/30/local/me-immiglabor30)—both in absolute numbers and as a share of the total:


Employment and Unemployment by Nativity, 2007-08

Labor force status and
foreign-born status
2007
2008
Increase, 2007-08
% Increase, 2007-08
Unemployment (1,000s)





Total

7,078
8,924
1,846
26.1%
US born

6,051
7,521
1,470
24.3%
Foreign born

1,027
1,403
376
36.6%
Percent of total

14.5%
15.7%


Unemployment rate (%)




Total

4.6
5.8
1.2
26.1%
US born

4.7
5.8
1.1
23.4%
Foreign born

4.3
5.8
1.5
34.9%
SOURCE: BLS, unpublished tables.

There were 1.403 million unemployed immigrants in 2008, or about 16 percent of all jobless. Take away 16% from the current unemployment rate (9.7%), and we are down to 8.1%. That’s the rate we had in the first quarter of this year.
Unemployed immigrants are, obviously, a direct result of immigration. But a potentially larger problem is the indirect fallout from immigration: native-born Americans who have lost their jobs to immigrants. (http://vdare.com/guzzardi/afl_cio.htm)
American worker displacement is another of the statistical “black holes” of the labor force statistics. There are no readily available estimates. The feds make no effort to estimate the damage—either on an annual or a monthly basis.
The potential magnitude of worker displacement can be readily described, however. Just compare the growth in immigrant employment to native unemployment over the past decade:


Employment and Unemployment by Nativity, 1998 and 2008
Labor force status and
foreign-born status
1998
2008
Increase, 1998-2008
% Increase, 1998-2008
Employment (1,000s)




Total

131,463
145,362
13,899
10.6%
US born

116,228
122,703
6,475
5.6%
Foreign-born

15,236
22,660
7,424
48.7%
Percent of total

11.6%
15.6%
4.0%
34.5%
Unemployed (1,000s)




Total

6,210
8,924
2,714
43.7%
US born

5,354
7,521
2,167
40.5%
Foreign born

856
1,403
547
63.9%
Percent of total

13.8%
15.7%
1.9%
14.1%

From 1998 to 2008 foreign-born employment increased by 7.424 million. Over the same period the ranks of US-born unemployed rose by 2.167 million. Question before the house: How much of the latter number is attributable to the former?
Short answer: we just don’t know. But we can postulate a range of plausible answers:

If the displacement rate is 10%—i.e., one native made jobless for every ten new immigrant workers—then 742,000 natives are currently unemployed due to the past ten years of immigration.
If it is 25%, then 1.856,000 natives are out of work due to the past 10 years of immigration.
At 50% displacement, 3,712,000 natives are currently unemployed because of the last decade’s immigration.
At 100% displacement, 7,424.000 natives are unemployed because of the last decade’s immigration
In August 2009 the U.S. unemployment head count stood at 14,928,000. The unemployment rate was 9.7%. Absent any rise in foreign-born employment or unemployment since 1998—i.e., had a moratorium (http://vdare.com/francis/tancredo_moratorium.htm)been declared that year—those two figures would today be significantly reduced:

At 10% displacement: 1.289 million fewer unemployed; 8.9 percent unemployment rate
At 25% displacement: 2.403 million fewer unemployed; 8.1 percent unemployment
At 50% displacement: 4.259 million fewer unemployed; 6.9 percent unemployment
At 100% displacement, 7.971 fewer unemployed; 4.5 percent unemployment
The Obama Administration has committed about two trillion dollars to infrastructure (http://vdare.com/sailer/081123_wpa.htm)projects, corporate bailouts (http://vdare.com/pb/080930_pujo.htm), and tax cuts to boost employment. (http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2009/01/12/rubenstein-report-on-infrastructure-and-immigration-at-the-national-press-club/)
But it will not take, or even discuss, the most obvious step: an immigration moratorium. (http://vdare.com/rubenstein/071009_nd.htm)
Why not?
And what is the GOP opposition (http://vdare.com/sailer/081109_gop.htm)waiting for?
Edwin S. Rubenstein (email (edwin@esrresearch.com) him) is President of ESR Research Economic Consultants (http://www.esrresearch.com/) in Indianapolis.

[American_Jihad]

State Dept. travel warning for Mexico provides grim picture of drug violence
3/15/10

As spring break trips get underway from U.S. colleges, the State Department warns Americans about the dangers of drug-related violence in Mexico and recommends that travel be delayed to some areas where drug cartels are particularly active.


The New York Times reports at least 50 people were killed in drug violence during the weekend, including attacks in the major tourist city of Acapulco.

Three Americans connected to the U.S. Consulate in Juarez were killed Sunday in what appeared to be a hit by a drug gang.


See the full State Department report here and a special spring break advisory here.


The travel warning notes that the State Department has authorized the departure of the dependents of U.S. government personnel from U.S. consulates in the northern Mexican border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros until April 12.

An excerpt:

While millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year (including tens of thousands who cross the land border daily for study, tourism or business and nearly 1 million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico), violence in the country has increased. It is imperative that U.S. citizens understand the risks in Mexico, how best to avoid dangerous situations and who to contact if victimized. Common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours and avoiding areas where prostitution and drug dealing might occur can help ensure that travel to Mexico is safe and enjoyable.

It says the recent violent attacks have prompted the U.S. Embassy to urge Americans to delay travel to parts of Durango, Coahuila and Chihuahua states and to advise U.S. citizens residing or traveling in those areas to exercise "extreme caution."



"Drug cartels and associated criminal elements have retaliated violently against individuals who speak out against them or whom they otherwise view as a threat to their organizations," the warning says. "These attacks include the abduction and murder of two resident U.S. citizens in Chihuahua."

It says some recent confrontations between Mexican authorities and drug cartel members "have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades."

The violence has taken a big toll on trips by U.S. hunters to Mexico, which has a later hunting season and generous bag limit. Hunting outfitters note an 60% drop in trips to Mexico, where hunters normally will spend as much as $5,000 a day.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/03/state-dept-travel-warning-for-mexico-provides-grim-picture-of-drug-violence/1

[American_Jihad]

Senate Rejects Efforts to Secure the Border (http://www.rightsidenews.com/201006018489/border-and-sovereignty/illegal-immigration-lou-dobbs.html)
Tuesday, 01 June 2010

The Senate rejected three border security amendments that were offered last week to H.R. 4899, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill. (Roll Call Vote No. 165, May 27, 2010; Roll Call Vote No. 166, May 27, 2010; Roll Call Vote No. 167, May 27, 2010). (The Washington Post, May 27, 2010). These critical amendments would have used unspent stimulus funds to provide funding and personnel to address the increasing violence and illegal immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats managed to defeat all three measures proposed by border state senators, as they each fell short of the 60 votes required to overcome objections made against the amendments.

The first amendment (S.Amdt.4214), sponsored by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and cosponsored by Senators Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), John Cornyn (R-Tex.), and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), would have funded the deployment of 6,000 National Guard troops to support and secure the southern border of the United States. Arguing on behalf of his amendment, McCain stated, "Deploying the National Guard is essential to securing our U.S.-Mexico border. Families living in Arizona should not suffer from the daily threats caused by illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and human smuggling. It is the Federal government's obligation to protect all Americans by securing the borders, and deploying 6,000 National Guard is a critical first step." (McCain Press Release, May 27, 2010).

Senators Kyl and McCain also proposed an amendment (S.Amdt.4288) that would have provided $200 million for Operation Streamline, a program to prosecute illegal border crossers rather than release them. The program has been fully implemented in Del Rio, Texas, and Yuma, Arizona, and since its inception in 2005, has dramatically reduced the number of individuals illegally crossing the border in those sectors. (Kyl Press Release, May 27, 2010).

Senator Cornyn's amendment (S.Amdt.4202), cosponsored by Senators Kyl, Hutchison, and McCain, was a multi-agency border security measure that would have provided $3 billion for the federal, state, and local law enforcement officers who work on the frontlines of the U.S.-Mexico border. The amendment would have funded six important priorities involving border security, which include border security and technology, state and local law enforcement, southwest border taskforces, border enforcement personnel, detention and removal activities, and ports of entry. Speaking on the Senate floor in support of his amendment, Senator Cornyn said, "Our children are living in fear, but the Obama White House is living in denial...I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and help send a message to our border communities that the federal government accepts its responsibility to keep them safe." (Cornyn Press Release, May 25, 2010).

Senator Kyl slammed the Senate's rejection of efforts to secure the nation's border: "On the heels of the President's 'announcement' to send National Guard troops to the border, it's unfortunate to once again see actions not matching up with words. What happened today in the Senate once again demonstrates the federal government's failure, and apparent unwillingness, to do what is necessary to secure the border." (Kyl Press Release, May 27, 2010)

Obama Agrees to Deploy 1,200 National Guard Troops to Border
President Obama announced last week that he would send 1,200 National Guard troops and request $500 million for border protection and law enforcement activities. (USA Today, May 26, 2010). By doing so, the President finally responded to lawmakers, who have for over a year called on him to deploy National Guard troops to the border. However, the President's move also came the very same day that Senate Republicans introduced an amendment that would send 6,000 National Guard troops to the border, the same number President Bush sent to the border in 2006 as part of Operation Jumpstart. (NPR, May 27, 2010)

Critics say the timing of the President's move suggests he intended to avoid what could have been an embarrassing vote for Democrats already on the defensive about border security. Indeed, a senior administration official told The New York Times that the Obama administration hurriedly put together the plan in order to provide Senate Democrats with an alternative plan to support. (New York Times, May 26, 2010). Senators Kyl and McCain were clearly not impressed with the President's National Guard directive, stating, this "is a weak start and does not demonstrate an understanding of the current situation in the region." (McCain/Kyl Press Release, May 25, 2010). Senator Cornyn stated that "The President must make border security a priority, not an afterthought or an empty talking point." (Cornyn Press Release, May 25, 2010).

While the Obama administration announced its plan to send 1,200 National Guard troops to the border, it was also working behind the scenes to torpedo the McCain Amendment to the Emergency Appropriations Bill (S.Amdt.4214), which called for 6,000 troops on the U.S.-Mexico border. White House Counterterrorism Advisor John Brennan and National Security Advisor General James Jones sent a three-page letter to Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin that boasted of the President's "comprehensive, multi-layered, targeted approach to law enforcement and security" that had already dispatched 300 National Guard troops to the border and was now committing up to 1,200. (White House Letter, May 25, 2010). In the letter, Brennan and Jones also sharply criticized the McCain Amendment, arguing that it "represents an unwarranted interference with the Commander-in-Chief's responsibilities to direct the employment of our Armed Forces." (Id.). Despite this objection, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved McCain's proposal as an amendment to its fiscal 2011 Defense Authorization bill. (Congress Daily, May 28, 2010).

The Mexican Government quickly reacted to President Obama's announcement. President Felipe Calderon said Mexico does not object to U.S. plans to station troops along the border between the two nations, as long as the soldiers do not arrest Mexicans trying to get into the United States. "They have a commitment to uphold the law on the American side and not to use the National Guard for immigration purposes or to deal with immigration issues," said Calderon. (Reuters, May 27, 2010).

Obama's proposal to provide up to 1,200 members of the National Guard across a 2,000 mile border only adds one guardsman for every 1.6 miles of border. On the Senate floor, Senator Cornyn pointed out that Obama's proposal is an unacceptable short-term solution to a long-term problem, stating, "My colleagues keep repeating the White House talking points and congratulating themselves on all they've done for border security, but it's not enough." (Cornyn Press Release, May 27, 2010). McCain added, "I appreciate the additional 1,200 being sent ... as well as an additional $500 million, but it's simply not enough." (Associated Press, May 26, 2010).

[Bman]

billion dollar handout to Boeing..

Wasted money

Homeland Security Axes Bush-Era 'Virtual Fence' Project

January 14, 2011 12:49 PM





http://blogs.abcnews.com/.a/6a00d8341c4df253ef0148c79d1851970c-120wi (http://blogs.abcnews.com/.a/6a00d8341c4df253ef0148c79d1851970c-popup) ABC News' Jason Ryan (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8139779)reports: The Department of Homeland Security today officially scrapped a Bush-era program designed to use radar technology to detect illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a DHS official and a congressional source.

The project, called "Virtual Fence," was rolled out under the Bush administration in 2006 with much fanfare about how technology could help secure the border. Illegal immigrants crossing the border would be detected by a radar and picked up by remote cameras, which were monitored by border patrol agents.

But numerous internal and Congressional reviews found consistent performance problems with the project's systems, which only spanned 53 miles of the vast U.S.-Mexico border.
A DHS assessment released today found that "the SBInet system is not the right system for all areas of the border and it is not the most cost-effective approach to secure the border. However, some elements of the SBInet development have provided useful capability."*

"DHS briefed Congress today on my decision to end SBInet as originally conceived and on a new path forward for security technology along the Southwest border," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said today. "There is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution to meet our border technology needs, and this new strategy is tailored to the unique needs of each border region."

DHS will utilize some of the existing technologies that were found to be useful in what the agency is calling a southwest border security technology plan.

The new plan "will utilize existing, proven technology tailored to the distinct terrain and population density of each border region, including commercially available Mobile Surveillance Systems, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, thermal imaging devices, and tower-based Remote Video Surveillance Systems." Napolitano added.

The issues that the program encountered were wide ranging: cameras often provided blurry images, the radar system performed poorly in bad weather, and it often displayed false detections that were unable to distinguish between humans, cars and animals.

There were also cost overruns and the primary contractor, Boeing, repeatedly missed deadlines, officials said.
Members of Congress on the oversight committees welcomed the news.

“The secretary’s decision to terminate SBInet ends a long-troubled program that spent far too much of the taxpayers’ money for the results it delivered," Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said in a statement. "From the start, SBInet’s one-size-fits-all approach was unrealistic. The department’s decision to use technology based on the particular security needs of each segment of the border is a far wiser approach, and I hope it will be more cost effective.”

"The SBInet program has been a grave and expensive disappointment since its inception," Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., ranking member of the House Homeland Security committee, said in a statement.

The system is estimated to cost about $1 billion. If the entire project had been accepted and rolled out, its cost would have exceeded $6 billion.

"We know that we cannot continue to put out millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer's money if we're not confident that it's really not going to work,” Napolitano, who ordered a review of the program upon taking office, said in October.
DHS had granted Boeing two 30-day extensions on contracts for the project towards the end of 2010 as it became clear the department was moving to cancel the program.

Calls to Boeing for comment were not immediately returned Friday afternoon.


http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2011/01/homeland-security-axes-bush-era-virtual-fence-project.html