Posted on 06/10/2004 8:48:39 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - U.S. Border Patrol agents have made more than 150 arrests in a sweep for illegal immigrants through communities far from the Mexican border, a practice authorities say will continue indefinitely.
In some cases, agents stopped people on streets or as they stepped off buses in Corona and Ontario, cities roughly 40 miles east of Los Angeles.
Until August, a four-year-old policy had confined agents to making arrests of suspected illegal immigrants only near the border or at highway checkpoints.
Local police said they were not involved in the sweeps, which have frightened some people in heavily Hispanic neighborhoods.
Most of the people arrested were Mexican, with a few from other Latin American countries, said Tomas Jimenez, senior patrol agent in San Diego.
Jimenez said the sweeps were based on information about sites with suspected illegal immigrants. "We did not just decide one morning to go to this place for no reason," he said.
The sweeps at "interior checkpoints" that began Friday will continue indefinitely, said Mario Villarreal, a spokesman with the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection in Washington.
Similar sweeps have been conducted in Texas and elsewhere in the Southwest, he said.
"This is kind of new, I guess, for most folks, but it is within the mission of the Border Patrol to detain, arrest and apprehend illegal aliens," said Angel Santa Ana of the Border Patrol's San Diego office.
One woman who spoke to the Los Angeles Times said her husband and his brothers were arrested a few blocks from their Ontario apartment Friday as they drove to work. They were deported to Mexico.
The woman, who gave her first name as Elidia, said she is three months pregnant and has been in the United States for about five months. She has no family in the country and is living with friends but said she is afraid to leave her apartment.
"Right now I'm just sad and scared," she said. "I'm just here waiting, hoping that my husband comes back."
Apartment manager Rosa Covarrubias said five tenants were arrested outside the complex when Border Patrol cars pulled up in front.
"When they saw the patrol cars, people started running. One woman hid in her closet," she said.
While Jimenez said agents are not targeting churches, schools or homes, locals said they are worried about shopping, working and going to school.
"They're holed up, they don't want to be outside, because the Border Patrol is everywhere," Covarrubias said.
I sure hope this isn't the start of a trend. 8-}
ping
It's been so long since they did the jobs taxpayers are paying them to do, it's news.
150 down, 15 million to go.
No lie there. After the Marines built that wall last year, should have also had armed patrols with shoot first and ask questions LATER orders.
about time, all they have to do is go to any local HOME DEPOT and round 'em up
In my county it's the two lumber yards, one situated next to Kmart.
It's about time.
We need to put have about 10,000 MP assisting the border patrol.
If they need ideas on where to look I've got plenty of suggestions.
It probably isn't even news. It probably happens every single day but for "some reason" it is news today.
It's a start. They're only about 50 years too late, though.
In North County San Diego, there's 40 or more at every major intersection in the morning!
15 years ago there were Border Patrol cruising daily loading them up but I haven';t even seen one of their vehicles in the last 8-10 years, except parked at a coffee shop.
my thoughts exactly
I'm looking forward to seeing many more reports like this one.
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