Non-Mexicans (OTMs) arrested at U.S. border nearly doubled

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 7/12/05 | Reuters

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of people from countries other than Mexico arrested trying to cross the U.S. southern border has almost doubled this year, the head of the U.S. border patrol told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday.

David Aguilar told the House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee on homeland security the United States was continuing to experience a rising influx of what he termed OTMs -- other than Mexicans -- trying to enter the country illegally.

"Apprehensions are running at a rate of 175 percent for fiscal year 2005 over FY 2004's record number of OTM apprehensions on the southwest border," Aguilar said.

In all, the border patrol has detained 919,000 illegal immigrants so far this year, of whom 119,000 were non-Mexicans. The largest single number -- over 12,000 -- came from Brazil.

U.S. officials believe the increase stems from non-Mexican illegal immigrants knowing they will be released even if they are caught crossing the border.

Mexicans caught by U.S. border patrols trying to enter the country illegally are usually immediately returned to their native land. Many simply wait a day and then try to sneak into the country again.

But Mexico accepts only Mexicans, so any non-Mexicans are checked against government watch lists as a potential security or criminal threat.

If their names do not appear, they are normally released on their own recognizance and told to appear at a deportation hearing often months in the future. Some 85 percent fail to show up for the hearing and are never seen again.

Lawmakers are increasingly concerned that terrorists could slip across the Mexican border, particularly since U.S. authorities have vastly tightened visa scrutiny and airport checks in the past four years, especially for people seeking to enter the United States from the Middle East.

Aguilar said that last year the border patrol detained 644 people from "countries of concern" and had stopped some 500 this year. They were subjected to intense interrogation and investigation.

Subcommittee chairman Hal Rogers, a Republican from Kentucky, said the figures were striking and alarming.

"We should be greatly concerned because OTMs do not register (with the authorities), their travel documents are suspect and they have no biometric records that can be checked to verify identity," he said.

Immigration bills being submitted to Congress seek to increase the detention space at the border, which currently stands at just under 20,000 beds.

Aguilar said the best way to deter people from crossing the border illegally was to increase the number of those detained.

Leonard Kovensky, acting director of detention and removal operations at the Department of Homeland Security, told the subcommittee his department deported 85,000 illegal aliens with criminal records last year and had already removed over 45,000 in the first four months of this year.

At a separate subcommittee hearing on alien smuggling across the Mexican border, Indiana Republican Rep. Mark Souder (news, bio, voting record) criticized the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for only devoting 7 percent of its investigative hours last year to the problem.

"This is simply not acceptable," he said.

[Mr. Mojo]

"last year the border patrol detained 644 people from "countries of concern" and had stopped some 500 this year"

"Countries of concern" = nations that sponsor terror. .....Islamic ones, of course.

500 this year that have been caught, so figure about 5x that many made it through. That's 2500 illegal Muslims, and the year is only half over.

[gubamyster]

ping

[umgud]

As we speak, this very issue is being aired on C-Span.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the tip.

[Happy2BMe]

For every one that is caught, one thousand slip through.

[Dr.Hilarious]

At this rate we should catch em all by 3122!

[arnoldpalmerfan]

It is time to use the United States military to assist in border enforcement.

[arnoldpalmerfan]

It is time to use the United States military to assist in border enforcement.

[FlashBack]

Sat in on a meeting last Friday evening where Congressman Tom Tancredo (CO) was speaking about this as well as alot of other aspects on our border situation.
One would think that at least since 9/11 that our borders would have been given the highest priority...sadly they have not.

[Let's Roll]

Well, double DUH!

[scott7278]

"Countries of concern"

Sounds like that garbage Madeline Nobright foisted on us during the Clinton Years -- when "rogue nations" became "states of concern."

[Bittersweetmd]

"If their names do not appear, they are normally released on their own recognizance and told to appear at a deportation hearing often months in the future. Some 85 percent fail to show up for the hearing and are never seen again."


This great country is going to cease to exist as The Land of the Free. America will take on a completely different form. I'm most concerned that America will be unrecognizable in the near future. What is there in place to stop it from happening?

[Dat Mon]

It is probably appropriate to repost something I said on another similar type of thread...

"Porter Goss couldn't have been clearer in his assessment that terrorists would likely try to smuggle a nuclear device or dirty bomb across the border. When there's big money involved...MS-13 will gladly hookup with Middle East based well financed operatives.

Smuggling of both men and materials is possible due to the large unsecured areas and the large influx of people. They can hide materials in plain site, and setup their smuggling infrastructure using illegals as a backbone.

The situation will be even more critical once Iran gets full nuclear capabilities...at that point it will be more than just a dirty bomb.

You cant spin it any more...act and act now."

[hedgetrimmer]

What is there in place to stop it from happening?

I'm going to start sounding like a broken record, but the United States Constitution and our Bill of Rights are still in place. It is up to the citizen to stop it from happening, and thats were we all are sorely lacking.

Its a really great thing to get on to freerepublic and vent about all the things that are wrong, but how many of us actually go out and exercise our sovereign duty as citizens to put things right? These days, kids coming of age to vote, don't even know what their duties are as citizens. They think they have the "right to dissent" so they go out and act like anarchists or communists when they want something.

The truth is, if citizens do not start making their citizenship the most active role in their lives, after their faith and family, we will lose the country.

If you are going to become an active citizen,there are a lot of changes that have to be made. It is possible to undo the corruption that is rotting our government, it is possible to elect honest loyal citizens to office who understand what liberty and freedom are, and its possible to teach our children what a superb gift the founding fathers gave us and to nurture and cherish freedom. But we have to start devoting a significant amount of our lives to to this -- who is willing to step up to the plate?

We can be encouraged in that there are some groups who are working hard to bring something of what we have lost, back.

When was the last time the citizens actually put their own candidate up for the Congress or the White House? When you read about the next presidential election, who is proposing the candidates? The people, or the party elites? Some of us know thats not how our party system is supposed to work, but the vast majority of Americans need to learn this and work to put up candidates at the federal level that are not globalist sellouts. Then do the same at the state and local level.

Much of America's loss of freedom has come from those who are globalists. The parties put them up, they have labels like republican and democrat, but they are all on the same side. If a candidate has any affiliation with the Council of the Americas, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Rand Corporation and several other groups, they should not be elected. In fact the people need to vett their candidates so that these people cannot hold federal office or have undue influence in our government again.

[Bittersweetmd]

You cant spin it any more...act and act now."

What can be done? In reality what kind of deterrent would you propose? Should we put up a Great Wall? Or a satellite(s) that would zero in on illegal immigrants and fire off lethal or nonlethal laser beams?

[agitator]

I wanna know why there isn't a direct rail line to a prison camp in Alaska. Seems to me sending pictures of people jumping up and down flapping their arms to keep warm being sent back to mexico and brazil would be a good method of letting them know that entering America illegally might not be such a good idea.

[Bittersweetmd]

The truth is, if citizens do not start making their citizenship the most active role in their lives, after their faith and family, we will lose the country.

Well said. But is it God, family and country? Or is it God, country and family?

I have no idea how such a huge country that has millions and millions of people with so many different religions and cultures could possibly pull off such a feat. Do you? What would such a grass root effort even begin to look like?
For sure Americans had better think outside the box and pray, pray, pray.

[janetgreen]

It is time to use the United States military to assist in border enforcement.

I understand that our troops are currently deployed in about 130 other countries, guarding their borders, training their military, etc.

Is there any reason why some of those troops couldn't be here in the USA guarding OUR BORDERS IN A TIME OF WAR??

[Dat Mon]

YOU SAID... "What can be done? In reality what kind of deterrent would you propose?"

I wish I had more time to give this question a rigorous response.... I suggest searching thorugh months and months of past posts to find different ideas being discussed.

IMO, this is an engineering problem...a systems problem in particular. It requires managed assets...and assets arranged to provide information and control in a hierarchical fashion.

Your basic layer...as in a computer interface, is the physical...in this case...a physical barrier. It doesn't need to be a wall...but it is in itself a hierarchy of barriers and sensors designed to keep out or slow down traffic to a crawl....and also detect its presence.

The highest level is the Presidents policy as executed by his cabinet Sec of Homeland security.

In between are more types of assets...manpower...technology as in smart sensors, display terminals, cameras, drones, satellites, mobile patrols...all used efficiently and effectively within their defined place in the hierarchy.

Also in this mix are logistics, detention and processing facilities, computer databases, biometric ID, etc.

Get my drift?...its not something you can explain in a single post...people write lengthy reports outlining this kind of stuff.

IMO, its not a simple problem with a simple solution.

Then again...just look at what the Minutemen were able to achieve with just a little experience, dedication and discipline...just think if they had some assets to back them up.