Posted on 04/04/2005 12:44:34 PM PDT by Crackingham
Volunteers who have converged on the Mexican border to watch for illegal immigrants are disrupting U.S. Border Patrol operations by unwittingly tripping sensors that alert agents to possible intruders, an agency spokesman complained Monday. Scores of participants in the Minuteman Project began assembling late last week and planned to begin regular patrols on Monday, in an exercise some law enforcement authorities and civil rights groups fear will result in vigilante violence. Many of the volunteers were recruited over the Internet, and some planned to be armed. Over the past few days, they have set off sensors, forcing agents to respond to false alarms, said Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Jose Maheda.
"Every sensor has to be addressed," Maheda said. "It's taken away from our normal operations."
The volunteers planned to start fanning out Monday across 23 miles of the San Pedro Valley to watch the border and report any illegal activity to federal agents. The idea, according to project organizers, is partly to draw attention to problems on the Arizona-Mexico border, considered the most porous stretch of the 2,000-mile southern border. Of the 1.1 million illegal immigrants caught by the Border Patrol last year, 51 percent crossed into the country at the Arizona border.
Jim Coniglio of Tucson, who plans to patrol with other volunteers this week, said residents in some areas of the border have complained of being "overrun routinely" by migrants. "They're feeling insecure," he said.
The Border Patrol opposes the operation. "The possibility for something going drastically wrong is very high," Maheda said.
30 years * 3 million/year = 90 million illegals? Thats about a quarter of the population??
""Every sensor has to be addressed," Maheda said. "It's taken away from our normal operations.""
Excuse me sleepy, but your normal operations suck.
Let me guess, the Oinion, right? Did I win?
He is worried that the MMP will cause the USBP to wear out their fingers pushing the 'reset' button on the sensor alarm panel.
He should be happy. He'll be able to report to Washington that the apprehension rate in his sector dropped significantly. Of course, they will pat themselves on the back, and claim that Operation Twiddlefingers was responsible, instead of the MMP. And he will reap the resultant kudos and pay grade increases. Ahh, the US Government at work.
That is potentially a very interesting question. Isn't it?
Alot of it is the same illegals going back and forth. They go home for Christmas, family reasons, etc, then head back here when they are done. So we are counting the same people over and over and over and over...
"BP Commander of the Tucson sector"
" Illegals sense my power, but I deny them my essense"
Thanks for expressing my thoughts, exactly.
If you look at some of the letters from proponents on the MMP website, there's several from anonymous BP agents - happy to be getting some attention drawn to their frustrating job.
One new keyboard, please!!
Normal operations means ignoring every sensor that is tripped. Can't get away with that this month, hence the frustrated whining to AP.
The Border Patrol is probably tripping over their own sensor. They couldn't find their own arse with both hands, how can they remember where they placed their sensors?
Instructions in Spanish are posted at each sensor, explaining to the illegal aliens just how to reset them and turn off that agravating blinking light on the board back at BP control. The volunteers just leave them blinking until BP agents go out and reset them.
Hey......Border Patrol..........just shut up and be GRATEFUL that you live and work in a country of people who actually give enough of a fiddler's damn to help you guard our borders.
God I'm so tired of pansy-assed bureaucrats.
I read a long story recently about men in the Dallas area who crowd into apartments, six or ten at a time. There are a number of night clubs they frequent, and a lot of fights are common as well as prostitution, etc. None are likely to file any complaint with police and lose their cover. There seems to be a lot of what we would call homosexual activity, but they don't consider it that because they have "real" wives or girlfriends back in Mexico.
All the way up to the White House...amazing (and disgusting).
There's a roadblock, just a few miles north of Huachuca City (south of hwy 10) where the BP pull over and check every vehicle. Last summer I was driving through at night, heading to Tucson. I was about a mile past the barrier when I saw three fellas, doubled over, running in the weeds on the side of the road. BP just didn't see them.
The BP is doing their job. They need more bodies, more equipment and a darn *MOAT*FENCE*BARRIER* to do it better. And they don't need (my beloved)administration inviting the trouble makers *in*!
I wonder if he endorses Neighborhood Watch where he lives?
If the SOB [Slacking Obstructive Borderista ;)] wants to complain about having to actually do his job, maybe he should be reminded who the public is, and who the servant really is.
I'm sure the Border Patrol will do what they usually do...ignore it.
Exactamundo, mi amigo.
If a wall is wrong, why are sensors right?
Answer? Because a wall would work.
It sounds to me like authorities may be trying to say that not as many illegals are coming across as the MMPs report OR MMPs are trying to make it look like more illegals are getting across than actually are.
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