CW2 PING
Posted on 03/02/2006 9:50:15 PM PST by Travis McGee
WASHINGTON -- State and federal law enforcement officers appeared before senators Wednesday to paint a horrific picture of life on the Southwest border, telling of violent assaults, running gunbattles, brazen cross-border incursions and threatened contract killings of U.S. officers.
The hearing, co-chaired by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., prompted calls for a border crackdown to combat what Kyl described as "bad, nasty, dangerous people."
U.S. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar showed slides of battered agents, telling senators that his officers increasingly fall victim to attacks by assailants firing weapons, hurling rocks or pursuing the agents with vehicles. One current weapon of choice, he said, is a "Molotov rock" -- a rock wrapped in fabric then set ablaze.
Val Verde County Sheriff A. D'Wayne Jernigan, head of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition, said in written testimony that authorities have received information that Mexican drug rings plan to kill as many U.S. police officers as possible in an attempt to intimidate U.S. authorities.
"The drug trafficking organizations have the money, equipment and stamina to carry out their threats," Jernigan said. "They are determined to protect their illicit trade."
The Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to begin preparing a comprehensive immigration measure to present to the full Senate, possibly by the end of the month. Cornyn and Kyl are co-sponsoring one of the major bills to be considered by the committee. The joint hearing by Cornyn's and Kyl's two subcommittees was prompted by a Jan. 23 incursion into Hudspeth County by uniformed and heavily armed gunmen. The incident fanned allegations that rogue Mexican military units are serving as escorts for drug smugglers, assertions vehemently denied by the Mexican government.
Marcy Forman, investigations director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told senators that her department is still investigating and has not determined whether the Mexican military was involved. But Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West, who attended the hearing but did not testify, said in an interview that he remains convinced that Mexican military personnel participated in the standoff.
West's deputies chased three vehicles to the border, confronting a Humvee with a machine gun and men in uniforms. "There is no doubt it was Mexican military," said West, a lifelong resident of the border area. "I've seen them all my life." Aguilar said the Border Patrol has documented 144 incursions by Mexican government officials since 1991, but he said most appeared to be accidental. U.S. authorities have been working with Mexican officials to prevent unauthorized incursions and have reduced the rate by 50 percent over the past five years, he said. But T.J. Bonner, a San Diego agent who heads the National Border Patrol Council, the agents' national union, said that front-line agents increasingly confront Mexican military and that he was "incredulous" that the Mexican government denied the allegations. He cited four instances since 2000 in which agents have been fired on.
Aguilar acknowledged that criminal organizations use military-style uniforms, equipment and weapons but said his agency "does not have proof" that any of the recent incidents involved Mexican government personnel. Other law enforcement officers portrayed sections of the Southwest border as virtual war zones, where outnumbered officers almost routinely engage in confrontations with smugglers fighting to protect lucrative operations trafficking in humans and drugs. "Today, the expected response to an attempted interdiction is to fight," said Sheriff Larry Dyer of Cochise County in Arizona. "High-speed chases on congested public highways and through populated residential areas are common."
Lavoyger Durham, manager of the El Tule Ranch in South Texas, about 75 miles north of the border, said between 200 and 300 immigrants move across his ranch property each night.
Many are job-seekers heading north but others are gang members and smugglers, who increasingly shoot at ranchers and ranch hands.
Other residents and ranch workers have been beaten and held hostage, he said.
"The stories are endless and are only getting worse," he said.
We need to bring back flame throwers.
I still haven't heard back from Cornyn on my last email to him.
I told him if he thinks that criminals will come through some checkpoint knowing that they will be subjected to a background check and of course refused entry, he's nuts.
They will do what they do now...
Cross somewhere along 2,000 miles of unprotected border.
Cornyn/Kyl ain't gonna cut it. No fence and a "guest worker" program. (belch).
nada peso, and nada vote from me.
Racist!!!!!!!
:-) Hehe!
Yea, I'm some kind of nut too I hear...
LOL!
Virtual War Zone BumP
I'm sure citizens across the nation who have lost family members to illegals would say the war zone stretches much farther into this nation than just the border area.
"One current weapon of choice, he said, is a "Molotov rock" "
Aren't the agents armed? Throwing a burning rock at an armed man just does not seem very bright.
"Family values don't stop at the border."
How danged dumb can you be while pandering for Hispanic votes? Evidently, pretty stupid.
Yeah, one round of that and we'll see how the Mexican drug rings can handle some real troops with real weapons, better organization and protection.
WTH's W waiting for on this!
Yep, a racist nut that believes people should be armed. You're gone, man. Long gone. You need immediate government intervention to protect you from yourself.
:)
They're now serving chicken con culo at the borders. All gringos are welcomed!
: )
In fact, all of those OTMs from the Middle East don't seem to share many commonalities with Americans at all.
.........and POS Silvestre Reyes (D-MX) sides with Mexico.........another DUMBASS El Pasoan.
They must not be allowed to shoot rock throwers.
I missed the part where it says why the U.S. cannot shoot back at these pedazos de caca.
I'll say it again. After Iran and before Syria, we may have to take care of Mexico.
Sheesh!
I could be a rambler from the...
I don't pay taxes 'cause I never file
I don't do business that don't make me smile
I love my aeroplane 'cause she's got style
I'm a treetop flyer
I will fly any cargo you can pay to run
these bush league pilots just can't get the job done
Got to fly down into the canyons, never see the sun
There's no such thing as an easy run
For a treetop flyer
I'm flyin' low, I'm in high demand
Fly fifty feet off the Rio Grande
I'll blow the mesquite right up off the sand
Seldom seen, especially when I land
I'm a treetop flyer
Born Survivor
People been asking me, "Where'd you learn to fly that way?"
Was over in Vietnam, chasin' NVA
The government taught me, and they taught me right,
Stay under the treeline, and you might be alright
I'm a treetop flyer
So I'm comin' home, I'm runnin' low and fast
I promised my woman this is gonna be my last
I get the ship down, I tie her fast
then some old boy walks up, says "Hey son, you wanna make some fast cash?"
I'm a treetop flyer
Well there's things I am, and there's things I'm not
I am a smuggler and I could get shot
Aint going to die, I ain't goin' to get caught,
'Cause I'm a flyin' fool and my aeroplane is just too hot
I'm a treetop flyer
Born survivor
Usually work alone
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