"The free flow of trade and commerce" doesn't sneak across the Rio Grande. 
Posted on 09/03/2004 3:53:17 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Many non-Mexican illegal immigrants disappear after quick release, lawmakers say.
BROWNSVILLE - New intelligence gathered along Texas' border indicates al-Qaida and other possible terrorist groups may be trying to enter the United States through Mexico, according to several Democratic lawmakers.
U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, hosted U.S. Rep. Jim Turner, D-Crockett, and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, both members of the House Homeland Security Committee, in a tour of several border facilities in the Brownsville area Thursday. The three disclosed the intelligence in a news conference after the gathering.
Turner said intelligence reports indicated that "a group of Middle Eastern men" was moving through Latin America toward the Texas border. No further details of the threat were available, he said.
Ortiz also said El Salvador officials had confirmed with U.S. authorities last month that "Mara Salvatrucha," a violent gang with roots in the Salvadoran civil war and branches in several U.S. states including Texas, had met with al-Qaida. Ortiz said he could not elaborate on the threat Thursday.
The reason Ortiz said he had invited Turner and Lee to the area was so they could observe the border facilities firsthand and develop ideas for strengthening the porous border region against terrorism without jeopardizing the flow of trade. Ortiz called attention to procedures along the 2,000-mile border with Mexico, particularly how "other than Mexican," or "OTM," immigrants often are released after apprehension because of limited bed space in detention facilities.
About 50,000 non-Mexican illegal immigrants are caught entering the United States annually, Turner said. Of those, more than 20,000 are released and don't return for scheduled immigration hearings. Lee said only 19,000 beds exist for the estimated 22,000 illegal immigrants caught every day trying to enter the country.
Six Cuban immigrants who landed near Port Aransas last week fit that mold. They turned themselves in after two months at sea in a 30-foot boat knocked off course by Hurricane Charley and were scheduled to be moved to a holding facility in Port Isabel, but because the facility was full, were released after hearings were scheduled for them. One later was sent to Port Isabel and released.
"Our porous southern border represents one of the greatest security threats to this country," Lee said. "But on the other hand, we don't want to impede the free flow of trade and commerce."
Turner recommended the government make "the largest investment in infrastructure, personnel and technology we've seen in the history of this country." Lee's recommendations were more specific: emergency funding from Congress, intelligence sharing, modifying procedures for non-Mexican detainees and reducing the shortage of beds.
The Rio Grande Valley has been subject to increased national scrutiny in recent months because of the announcement of new Homeland Security illegal immigrant regulations and the apprehension and detention of a South African woman at McAllen's international airport in July.
The woman, Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed, 48, was headed to New York and was apprehended with no visa or U.S. entry stamp, according to The New York Times, and three pages of her passport were torn out.
Several weeks after the woman was arrested, the Homeland Security department announced new regulations that would allow Border Patrol agents to deport non-Mexican illegal immigrants more quickly, without hearings before immigration judges.
Turner called the plan a "Band-Aid" solution, and cited information gathered from his visit Thursday that suggested Border Patrol agents had received few instructions about how to implement the new plans.
"They've received no training and no funding," he said. "Frankly, it sounds like a good idea, but it will have to be just one part of an overall solution."
Ortiz said he hoped insight gained from the visit would allow the three to return to Washington and spread the word.
"All it takes is for one crazy guy to come here and disrupt the economy and the flow of trade, and then we'll have very serious problems."
Contact Brad Olson at 886-3764 or olsonb@caller.com
"The free flow of trade and commerce" doesn't sneak across the Rio Grande.
We may never be able to totally seal all borders, but we should take more precautions than we are.
That helps explain what bayourod has been smokin'. Nothin' like makin' up facts as you go along to fit the situation, ehhh bayourod?
Bump
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