Posted on 03/23/2004 3:02:58 PM PST by Spiff
By John W. Slagle
Since January, the Borders of the United States has become a war zone. Border Patrol Agents have been shot at by automatic weapons fire from Mexico. Rural residents have been assaulted, carjacked, homes invaded and still there is a push for 12 million more Mexican guests. Last week a video photographer who was escorted to Fresnal Canyon near Sasabe taped over 120 illegal aliens heading north from the border.
The amount of fresh trash and load-up areas increases each day. On the 11th of March, a cadaver was found a klick east of the Diamond Bell Ranch, our home. The body was a homicide victim. In Cochise County, a rural resident was shot at, his home riddled by AK-47 rounds from agitated Mexican Narcotics smugglers. His travel trailer that was used to block access to his property was burned to the ground.
Abandoned back packs, human trash and water bottles would fill a thousand dump-trucks, yet Politicians cannot make any decisions other than pander to Mexican demands.
The following lists some of the many reasons why we have the problems and what could be done if politicians would listen and realize citizens are in occupied territory. (J.W.S.)
In 1972, a large majority of my U.S. Border Patrol Academy classmates were former combat veterans from all branches of the military. There were very few U.S. Border Patrol Agents in the Southwest. Most Border Stations had ten or fewer agents to control hundreds of miles of territory. The illegal alien problem was then partially controllable. Citizens assisted on sightings of both narcotics smugglers and human traffickers near the line and called authorities. Higher paying jobs were always a factor that brought thousands across the Border yet the Patrol as well as I&NS Investigators were able to check businesses, industries and agriculture maintaining a balance.
Narcotics trafficking and arrests of smugglers was a condition that never changed.
The years that followed brought a greater number of illegal entrants into the United States due to Political Policies, the earlier 1965 I&NS Act to the Refugee Asylum bill. The False document business was thriving. The 1980 El Salvadorian Civil War created a mass exodus of people seeking illegal entry into the United States. The Mariel Boatlift was underway by a political agreement with Cuba. Castro emptied Cuban Prisons and mental wards upon America. The Border Patrol and I&NS had to contend with the problem as well as 125,000 legitimate refugees. Illegal aliens from Haiti were also arriving by boat and were arrested. Haitian Riots transpired at Miami I&NS Detention Center and the Border Patrol React Team had to resolve the situation.
The Supreme Court in 1984 decided that illegal aliens would not be deported if they faced death in their own countries due to national disorder. A large majority of illegal El Salvadorians and Central Americans arrested sought asylum. Mexican entries without inspection increased as Agricultural companies recruited cheaper labor. American industries also sought out laborers that could be exploited for lower pay, displacing U.S. Citizens. Meat processing plants were the worst offenders among many.
In 1986, President Reagan passed the Amnesty Immigration and Reform Act. This would grant 2.7 million illegals in the United States legal status as Special Agricultural Workers. A system of employer sanctions would be placed into law. Any employer that hired illegal aliens could be fined from $250 to $10,000 for flagrant violations. Status of the person seeking employment had to be verified and listed on an I-9 form.
The President stated that " a nation that cannot control it's borders is not a nation".
The Amnesty was to be a one time only policy to control illegal immigration. Reagan had the right idea to enforce employer sanctions and fining companies that actively recruited illegals. Most illegals enter for the prospect of employment other than those involved in criminal enterprises. Congress failed to understand that there were insufficient law enforcement people to control the Borders after IRCA 1986. There were also very few Special Agents to force compliance of the labor sanctions laws or to insure that the 2.7 million were not admitted by fraudulent means, false statements.
By 1987, the borders were flooded with illegals from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala. False document sales were a major problem nationwide as well as fraud cases for new admissions. Control of the border and labor sanctions was an impossibility with the personnel available at the time.
One or two Special Agents per state working fraud was normal. Typical cases that were uncovered would involve people who certified that illegal aliens had worked on their farms for over 90 days and qualified for the Amnesty and legal status. Many of the Agricultural Farms were discovered to be non-existent yet would have two hundred aliens certified employed. I-705 letters were selling as high as the market allowed.
Fraud was estimated at 70 per cent of Amnesty Admissions by I&NS and the Office of the Inspector General. The newly legalized Special Agricultural workers could now work anywhere. The void was filled by illegal Guatemalans who were recruited by labor contractors in all four regions of the United States. Human trafficking in Arizona, overland routes to California, Oregon and Florida was a million-dollar business for criminals after Amnesty. Traffickers to this day will smuggle any nationality for a price.
In 1988, I was assigned as a Special Agent with the Anti-Smuggling Unit of the United States Border Patrol. Our task was to investigate, infiltrate and gain prosecutable evidence against major human trafficking organizations in Arizona. Chandler Heights, Arizona, a rural area, which consisted of thousands of acres of Citrus groves was an interstate staging area for long range transportors and human traffickers. My partner and I were able in time, to pose as transporters after meeting an international cadre smuggler who supplied illegal Guatemalans to labor contractors in Florida. Working undercover for many months, on a task force case we were able to effect arrests of 115 major organizational leaders and 9,000 illegal Guatemalans. Several labor contractors were indicted and facts of indentured servitude violations were presented to assistant U.S. Attorneys for prosecution in Operation "Shorty" yet nothing was resolved in a court of law due to agricultural politics and powerful allies in Congress.
By 1989,Guatemalan Human Trafficking was escalating, and information from confidential sources allowed a trip to Central America. In Guatemala City, American Companies were freely recruiting laborers in the U.S. and Smuggler networks assured delivery. False documents were advertised as well as "Trips to the U.S. Guaranteed Delivery, Your Credit is Good". Our Operation " Shorty" was just the tip of the iceberg.
The IRCA employer sanctions which were unenforcible due to manpower restraints were known throughout Central America. Companies had little fear of violating the law or being fined in the U.S. The Labor contractors were the middlemen, and alien smugglers provided a constant flow of cheap workers into the country.
The Chinese Asylum bill was passed by Congress in 1989 which created additional problems on a different front. The one child policy in China and forced sterilization to control population growth was the theme. The U.S. Government provided information on how to apply for Asylum once reaching our shores. Snakehead human trafficking organizations in China soon had a ready supply of clients who were loaded on "rusty ocean going freighters to Container cargo ships. The traffic organizations supplied information on how to obtain public assistance, names of immigration lawyers, and there were ready supplies of false documents. The average cost for passage was $30,000 to $50,000 dollars per alien. Boatloads of illegals not seeking Asylum were arrested and released on bond to disappear, which was an exercise in futility. Chinese illegals work for years after employment to pay smuggling fees, which are collected by cadre "enforcers" in the United States. Few witnesses will ever testify against the Snakeheads for fear of reprisal against their families in China. Deportation back to China was a rarity for large arriving groups that were arrested in the States.
The first and only Amnesty has never really ended despite proposals of a new Amnesty in 2004. Congress had the Section 245 (i) rolling temporary Amnesty for 578,000 illegals in 1994, an extension of Section 245 in 1997, the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act for one million illegals from Central America, the 1998 Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act, and the late Amnesty Act of 2000. This was an Amnesty for 400,000 claiming they should have been granted legal status under the fraud filled 1986 IRCA and finally the Life Act Amnesty which is a re-instatement of 245 (i) for an estimated 900,000, who otherwise might have qualified if they had presented false documentation before the deadline for admissions.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review, a U.S. funded litigation bureau that operates solely to make a federal case out of the deportation of every illegal alien or criminal alien resident in this country provides appeals which takes years. The criminal classes of aliens are rarely deported and roam free in society or assume another name and disappear at their option.
Sanctuary Cities that give illegal aliens protection in the United States preventing police from cooperating with Immigration authorities irregardless of crimes committed is a violation of Federal Law and a definite problem. The Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Section 642 passed by Congress is never enforced nor are Federal Funds withheld from self proclaimed Sanctuary Cities. The majority support the United States Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land, which it seems is generally ignored in a quest for politically correctness from New York City to Los Angeles, California.
Human Traffickers that are part of a multi-million dollar criminal system rarely receive maximum sentences in Federal Courts. The law states a $5,000 fine and 5 years in prison for each smuggled alien. Most alien smugglers receive a light sentence and a harsh admonishment or credit for time served in court. There is no incentive for a smuggler to cease criminal activities. The monetary rewards outweigh the risks of being arrested. There are far more human traffickers, than agents available to stop them or the thousands of "Mom and Pop" local transporters across the nation.
As a Conservative, with another Amnesty proposal for 12 to 20 million illegals in the United States, more crossing each day, Immigration Reform is long over-due. Elected Representatives and Senators love to state that the problem is beyond the ability to fix, so make all lawbreakers legal, then control the Borders is their answer.
The United States Government has allowed 47 Mexican Consular Offices to pass out 301,620 matricula identication cards to illegals in the States from March 2001 through December 2003.
The cards cannot establish true identity and only show that the bearer is an illegal alien. Many Illegals have been arrested with numerous cards under different names, which is a national security issue. A lawfully admitted alien from Mexico or any country has U.S. Government documents. One of the beliefs and principals of the Republican Party is that the United States is a sovereign nation. Representative Tom Tancredo clearly presented the National Security threat, involving acceptance of the matricula in March 2003. The F.B.I. was also concerned with banking acceptance of the card.
The United States must never compromise national sovereignty to other nations, the U.N. or any world organization. The foreign policy must always reflect our self-interests.
The conservative leadership appears to bend over backwards to pacify Mexico at the expense of U.S. Citizens and lawfully admitted aliens. Social programs, health services, social security, drivers licenses to the right to vote are proposed for illegal aliens which is an incentive for any foreign national to enter this nation.
Mexico has very strict immigration policies, which are enforced by every police agency in the country. The Bureau of Immigration can call upon any law enforcement officer to assist in compliance of the laws. To enter Mexico from the United States without a valid tourist permit is breaking the law and the person or persons are subject to arrest.
Proof of citizenship, passport, photo I.D. destination and purpose of travel in Mexico is required to enter Mexico. The person cannot work and must have funds to support their stay while a visitor. Public charges are not accepted in Mexico.
To stay in Mexico as a Non-Immigrant FM-3, a citizen from any country must provide proof of identity and financial security, proof of income which is 250 times the minimum wages paid in Mexico City. To fully immigrate as an FM-2, proof of income required is that is 400 times the minimum wages in Mexico City. The elite ruling class of Mexico does not appreciate aliens that are not self supporting nor illegal aliens from other countries. Mexico's poor are encouraged to migrate to the United States and break our immigration laws, which is fully condoned by Fox's administration.
Voting regulations in Mexico are very strict to prevent voter fraud. Proof of identity with a photo credential is required and fingerprints at polling offices. Elections are serious business in Mexico as they should be in the United States.
Mexico controls their Borders with Military Presence. Of course many military and police units escort shipments of narcotics though our Borders but that fact is not worthy of attention in Washington D.C. 65 per cent of the marijuana and cocaine seized enters this nation from Mexico. Border Incursions by the Mexican Military and Police are ignored as well as narcotics smugglers that tear out fences, and fire upon property owners in rural areas near the line.
After September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center was destroyed with a massive loss of lives, and our nation’s borders were still wide open. Illegal entries from Mexico actually increased in 2002. Border incursions by the Mexican Military were frequent and Agents were shot at by troops protecting drug loads. U.S. Ranger Kris Eggle was murdered in an international incident and human traffickers ruled southern Arizona.
The President called for all citizens to be vigilant in a time of war for unusual suspicious activities and people. In Southern Arizona from Cochise County to the Tohoho O'odham Indian Reservation, multi-thousands of illegals crossed into the United States, Narcotics shipments were intercepted and the U.S. Border Patrol was undermanned and over run. Forward deployment solved illegal entry problems at set locations but failed to control the massive invasion which simply went around and entered at more remote crossing areas. There must also be rear area security and heavy interior enforcement on human trafficking organizations otherwise the human flood will continue to find points of least resistance. Prompted by the dangling carrot of political promises, Border law enforcement tries to stem the tide, and politicians actively encourage illegal immigration. It's a no win situation with no end in sight.
The Guest worker plan, which amounts to stealth Amnesty was proposed by Arizona Conservative leaders and announced by President Bush in December 2003. By the end of January 2004, the U.S. Border Patrol had arrested 34,342 illegal aliens in Tucson Sector. 16,579 were arrested in Cochise County. The Border Patrol and local law enforcement agencies were overwhelmed. Crimes against citizens increased.
Recently, the President in a concession to Mexico's political wishes has allowed all people with a valid Border Crossing Cards to enter the U.S. without being fingerprinted which leaves the door wide open for fraudulent entries, criminals to Terrorists.
The Guest Worker program is not workable unless current laws on the books are strictly enforced with enough Border and interior Agents to do the job. The fiasco of 1986 was a miserable failure which cost taxpayers about 78 million dollars over the first ten years and failed to solve any illegal immigration problems. Chain migrations increased and illegals from around the world continued to enter unchallenged. Employer Sanctions and fines was a good idea " if " Congress had allowed the I&NS to hire a small army of Investigators with no other purpose than to insure Companies and Industries compiled with the law. The amount of fines for repeat offenders would have brought millions of dollars back into the treasury and curtailed the constant illegal invasion. Political promises of jobs for the world's population now only adds to an already uncontrollable situation as smugglers compete for human cargo.
Politicians over the past several decades have played a key role in the current Immigration mess. It just didn't happen over night. It's easier to create a new Agency or renew a failed past policy than solve the problem. There were 2.3 million alien Immigration overstay visas in the United States in 2003. Four of the Terrorist Hijackers on September 11, 2001 were also overstays. The newly created Bureau of Customs and Immigration in 2003 found, arrested and removed 300 aliens on visa violations. 150 were arrested and charged with crimes. 14,000 aliens were ordered to appear for deportation hearings. It's the same situation as the old defunct I&NS. There are currently 350,000 illegal aliens that have deportation orders that have absconded and are still in the United States while thousands continue to enter the U.S. daily in the South West.
Criminals and violators of the law should not be rewarded. Rather than offer Amnesty or a government sponsored employment agency for 6 Billion people in the world that would love to be in the United States, politicians should try to solve the problem, which is law enforcement common sense.
PRIOR TO ANOTHER AMNESTY which will increase illegal immigration or a Guest Worker program that can not now be controlled or monitored, hire enough investigators to accomplish the job. Currently 2,000 Immigration Special Agents are trying to enforce the laws with priorities on Terrorist threats in a ocean of illegal aliens which is growing hourly and daily. They cannot respond to labor sanctions violations or establish area control in large cities without additional help and support from Congress, which has never been a priority on the Beltway from either Democrats or Republicans.
A. Promises of jobs, social services entice illegals to enter.These are just a few measures that could be done prior to opening the United States to the world with promises of Guest Workers and Amnesty while millions of citizens and lawfully admitted resident aliens are unemployed in this country. Jobs Americans won' t do means Jobs that the upper class of society will not do.
Stop the free handouts to the world. They are bankrupting many states including Arizona for health costs.
B. Enforce labor sanctions laws to the letter established by Congress.
In 2003 only 37 companies were fined for hiring illegal aliens with 200,000 or more known to be flagrant violators. Jobs for the working class people in the U.S. should be a priority.
C. Control our Borders with additional personnel and equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles, infrared scopes, FLIRs. Utilize available Military assistance.
In 1988, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act allowed the military for Border Enforcement missions. The first obligation of the Federal Government is to defend it's people against all enemies with the strongest defense system in the world. The Borders of the U.S. are a matter of national security for this nation and a part of our defense.
The addition of 260 Agents, and four helicopters for Tucson Sector by the Department of Homeland Security is welcomed but 350 miles of Arizona's Borders is a large section of territory to secure without military support.
D. Abolish the Executive Office for Immigration Review which creates more problems than are ever resolved and places criminals back on the streets.
E. Enforce the Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Section 642.
If cities choose to remain Santuary cities for illegal aliens, remove federal funding.
F. Republican Representative Charlie Norwood of Georgia CLEAR ACT would give Police Officers authority to enforce Federal Immigration laws.
There are over 650,000 police officers in the United States that could provide greatly needed assistance with immigration law enforcement. A large majority of organized gangs from L.A. to major cities, nationwide are composed of illegal aliens.
G. Political Appointees with little experiance have usually been Commissioners of the Immigration Service which led to an inept Agency.
Appoint people with knowledge of the job, Immigration laws and law enforcement leadership experiance.
H. Enforce strict laws on the books relating to Human Trafficking, 8 USC 1324.
The Anti-Smuggling Units of B.I.C.E are making arrests and disrupting alien smuggling organizations in larger cities with some additional manpower. Support from local law enforcement officers and the sharing of intelligence could make a impact on known criminal cadres operating in municipalities.
I. Hold and Deport all Criminal Classes of Illegal Aliens.
No bonds for release should be allowed and if they re-enter this nation, impose the maximum sentence under 8 USC 1326.
J. Get tough with Mexico.
The mass immigration is prompted by Mexican Politics that will not face economic reform in their own nation and use the United States as an outlet. NAFTA was created in 1993 to largely help the Mexican economy. The Government of Mexico taxes businesses to excess which kills job growth. In over ten years the economy south of the Border has grown by only 1.2 per cent.
K. The United States is a Sovereign nation not an extension of Mexico or political policies formulated by President Fox.
Our nation's best interests should always be a priority for our citizens and lawfully admitted aliens first and always.
L. For some reason, liberals and RINOs of this nation believe our immigration policies are too strict for our neighbors South of the Border. The United States Congress could follow the lead of Mexico with the same exact Voting and Immigration laws.
There would not be an illegal immigration problem in the United States nor voter fraud. Narcotics trafficking for thirty years has moved through Mexico to the U.S. Our prisons are full of illegal alien narcotics transporters from Mexico. There is no desire or real intent to stop the flow of drugs on the Mexican side. Too much money is made by "Mordida", graft and corruption from the highest Politician to the lowest ranked military or police officers to effect changes. These are facts of life that are known to any law enforcement officer that has worked the U.S. Borders.
How about a guest worker plan for American citizens to find work in their own country? The government may find there are more than a few that would take a job offer immediately.
Service industry jobs, janitor work, landscaping and agricultural jobs were for over several centuries filled by U.S. Citizens and lawfully admitted aliens. Prior to military service in the Midwest, I as well as many others worked the packing houses, hay fields and orchards for an hourly wage. The pay was not great but there was never a labor shortage. Not everyone in America is afraid of hard work, or dirty jobs, just the elite of society that never had to work. There are places in the United States that get along very well without illegal aliens. Parks are well groomed, houses are built, meals are served, motel rooms cleaned and U.S. citizens are working. The gardens produce outstanding crops which is not imported but grown on U.S. Soil and tended by local farmers.
I have spent over thirty years in service to my country. The first Amnesty was a failure which politicians fail to remember and want to repeat without learning why the first IRCA did not solve the problem. To myself and many others in law enforcement, the events from 1986 were personal. As illegal immigration increased, the violence and criminal activities came with the flow on the borders.
Agents lost their lives enforcing the laws passed by Congress. Anti-Smuggling Agent Keith Connally was killed in a hail of gunfire by an alien smuggler in 1989. Border Patrol Agent Alexander Kirpnick, a Russian Immigrant who became a naturalized U.S. Citizen was shot and killed by narcotics smugglers, illegal aliens from Mexico in 1998 near Nogales, Arizona.
In my career, six Agents that were my former partners were killed on duty. The U.S. Border Patrol Honor roll carries 100 names, people that lost their lives enforcing the Immigration and Narcotics laws of this nation. We have arrested millions of illegals through the years, and seized thousands of tons of narcotics crossing our borders from Mexico. We've been shot at, assaulted and never gave up on our mission for the United States. We've saved countless thousands of lives, illegals, who crossed our deserts and were rescued by the Border Patrol. We've also filled many body bags with people abandoned and left to die by alien smugglers. Amnesty is saying that the past efforts of law enforcement is not important, nor the Border Patrol that has been in service to this nation from 1924.
Guest worker plans may be a future option if the United States is once again a sovereign nation. As long as politicians will not make decisions on vital immigration reform issues and strict enforcement of the laws they created, illegal entries will never cease nor will the threat of foreign terrorists diminish. Alien smugglers will continue to flourish and people's lives will be at risk, from illegals, citizens to law enforcement.
Those that wish the destruction of this nation are already here and among the millions of other lawbreakers who enter our county daily. Time and a politically correct America has forgotten September 11, 2001, it seems in a pursuit for national diversity and goals of becoming a third world nation. The welcome mat is out once again for friend and foe alike with few restrictions. Immigration health screening is not required for illegal aliens and foreign communicable diseases are of no importance.
Checking criminal records or fingerprints of local border-crossers is also not important. At the close of 1999, an Algerian entered the United States from Canada and was arrested with 200 pounds of urea, 46 ounces of liquid nitroglycerin and four very sophisticated timing devices to detonate explosives. He was just another border-crosser that wanted to see the Space Needle, yet had a nationwide arrest warrant in Canada. On March 22, 2004, Human traffickers fired upon two Border Patrol agents on the Tohono O'odham Reservation. One illegal alien was killed, the two smugglers hospitalized and the Agent with a minor injury from a gunshot wound. The shooting incidents are becoming very frequent and deadly. The Border continues to be a very dangerous place in an election year as Politicians pander for votes and the giveaway of this nation to foreign interests. John W. Slagle (RET) U.S.B.P. Special Agent Anti-Smuggling
Retired United States Border Patrol Agent is the author of ILLEGAL ENTRIES, which is available from http://www.1stbooks.com
~ Afterword ~
After 32 years in Service to the Nation including four years military, I cannot sit and watch as the country I love is lost, conquered from within while the war on terror continues. A March 6th rally in Tucson for military assistance on the Borders with 110,000 petitions was met with 25 protesters wearing masks who tried to disrupt the meeting. The news media did not even mention the incident which is typical in occupied Southern Arizona.
Police allowed the masked Zapatistas to curse and badger citizens at a lawful assembly. A 80 year old woman pulled down the mask from a protester after being verbally abused, and the Tucson Police issued the grandmother a citation for assault. These are the politically correct times we see and even the media fails to present the truth. The man in Cochise County whose home was filled with AK-47 fire aggravated the narcotics smugglers. He should have let them cut his fences and have free access to his property to transport dope, then no incident would have transpired. .It just seems the situation becomes worse with each day on the borders. We live in a high intensity border enforcement area and illegal aliens are still pouring across as well as narcotics or any contraband a prospective Terrorist would care to bring in. Both political parties are pushing for Amnesty and the world's illegal aliens are staging by the thousands in Sasabe and Altar Sonora. The violence is increasing, and 260 new agents is not going to solve the problem as long as elected leaders fully condone the millions of lawbreakers in the U.S. and massive groups that arrive hourly.
There's a fire burning along the upper reaches of the Huachucas today...planned? Or not?
"Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book "Mexifornia". His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."
The conservative talk show hosts don't talk about this speech, do they?
January? January of which year? We knew the border was a joke in `88.
I remember reading his speech. I've got it saved/bookmarked somewhere.
The conservative talk show hosts don't talk about this speech, do they?
Not that I've heard. John & Ken (here in L.A.) are still talking about the upcoming bill about driver's licenses for illegals. Time will tell on that little fiasco.
On the up side, two gangbangers were murdered this past month in my neighborhood. That cheered me up! ;^)
We are not responsible if other countries choose to overbreed. And we should not allow ourselves to be the dumping ground for the misfits of other countries.
In Virginia arrests were made of illegal alien pedophiles (part of "Operation Predator")
If our federal government refuses to protect our borders, perhaps we have to resort to militia groups or citizens arrests?
Gotta love a happy ending...
I know exactly what you mean. The arrogance of our government to allow this invasion of America is overwhelming and disgusting.
The majority of America is demanding that it stop, and our arrogant government ignores us, actually encouraging more to come.
I have changed my voter registration to the Constitution Party because of it, and know many others have done the same thing.
Not that specific one, but Savage always talks about the illegals pouring over the border. I can't remember if he had that author on or not. Probably not, since he seems to prefer to do most of the talking.
Retired Border Patrol Agent John Slagle is not a writer by trade. He wrote a book and he's written a couple of articles. He could use better editing, obviously, but at least he's speaking out about the issue.
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