CORRUPTION CROSSES THE BORDER WITH AGENT BRIBES

The Houston Chronicle ^ | 30 May 2005 | James Pinkerton

[Max in Utah]

White boys from up north aren't corruptible? Tell us another one.

Oh, they're corruptible, but La Mordida is more of a foreign practice to them. Also they don't have cultural links to the perps.

The "White boys from up north" still consider the people coming across the border as foreigners.

[TKDietz]

There are a couple of problems with not hiring Mexican Americans to work as border patrol agents. First of course is the legal issues that would bring. The government cannot discriminate against Americans who happen to have a Mexican heritage. If they did they'd be discriminating against most Americans living in the southern border areas. This would not only be illegal but it would drastically cut their hiring pool and leave them far less prospective employees to choose from. Also, the border patrol requires its agents who deal with people on the Mexican border to speak Spanish. This is done out of necessity because so many if not most of the people they deal with do not speak English.

Even if the border patrol fired or reassigned everyone with Mexican heritage and hired nothing but blue eyed white Baptists from northern states who happen to speak Spanish, we'd still have corruption at the border. Organized crime from south of the border would find out everything they could about the people working in key positions. Learn their weaknesses. Find out who their friends are. Send beautiful women to tempt them and old "friends" to try to steer them down the wrong path. Find ways to blackmail them. It wouldn't be long before some of them were on the take and it only takes one to get tons of drugs through.

[TKDietz]

I think you are naive. There is plenty of corruption even up north when it comes to drug money. White boys from up north are not immune to this. Some would take money and it only takes a few to get the drugs through.

[DumpsterDiver]

The reasons for corruption are varied, officials say, and include the experience of living in close-knit border communities where future drug smugglers grow up and attend school alongside future police officers.

But Shelby said the Texas border is no more corrupt than any other in the world, and it is the international exchange of commerce — and not the people — that engenders graft.

"It's not MY fault I broke the law! I'm just a victim of "international commerce" and of being brought up "in a close-knit border community".

[SwinneySwitch]

BP Bribes Ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.

[blackie]

Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!

Be Ever Vigilant!

Minutemen Patriots ~ Bump!

[international american]

Yeah, the Mintemen are vigilante scum. Just ask Bush, and the rest of the pro illegal crowd in D.C. who have been bought off for cheap labor.

[international american]

Amen.

[Know your rights]

I'd like the return of public executions for treasonous acts as this.

Get to work on building public support for that. (I'll be opposed, as I think that punishment is disproportionate to the crime.)

[jackbenimble]

Just ask Bush, and the rest of the pro illegal crowd in D.C. who have been bought off for cheap labor.

I think you hit the nail on the head. The bribery and corruption go to the very top of our government!

A substantial portion of the Senate is bought and paid for by the cheap labor lobby and nobody has yet come out with a reasonable explanation of President Bush's refusal to enforce our laws.

[rolling_stone]

In Mexico bribery and corruption is culturally accepted. One is not allowed to surmise a correlation between surnames and corruption, thus it must just be a coincidence.

I just love letting all these illegals in, we are moving towards becoming the sewer that Mexico is at a faster rate. Presidente Bush will have a legacy of the do nothing President when it comes to the homeland and the interferer when it comes to Afghanistan and Iraq..lovely...

[Mears]

Bill and Hillary became millionaires and Harry Truman went back to Independence and lived in his mother-in-law's house.

My,how things have changed.

[getgoing]

news on Aguilar
6/6/05
Cheating down on the border - A kickback scheme among federal agents in Arizona results in some charges--and plenty of questions
By Edward T. Pound
"two men alleged that DAVID AGUILAR--now the head of the Border Patrol in Washington, directing the enforcement efforts of 11,000 agents nationwide--and senior managers in Douglas were aware of the kickback scheme but did nothing to stop it. At the time, Aguilar was the chief patrol agent in Tucson.

Now, the Office of Special Counsel, after reviewing the case for more than two years, has rendered its verdict, one that is sharply critical of both the Border Patrol and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security...Special Counsel Scott Bloch said that the agency "failed to thoroughly investigate the whistle-blowers' allegations" against senior Border Patrol officials. He concluded: "It is simply not credible that 45 employees at a single Border Patrol station could engage in a pattern of conduct sufficiently egregious to warrant severe discipline without the knowledge of management.

...Aguilar strongly denied the allegations that he knew of the kickback scheme and did nothing about it." link: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050606/6border.htm

another DHS article, haven't read this one:
5/30/05
Security At Any Price?
Homeland protection isn't just Job 1 in Washington; it's more like a big old government ATM
By Angie C. Marek
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050530/30homeland.htm