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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=mexico

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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2807
"More Texas National Guard Called Up to Protect U.S.-Mexico Border"

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2007

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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070123la.htm

January 23, 2007

Week-long ICE operation targeting criminal aliens and illegal alien fugitives in the Southland nets record arrests
Subjects include 2 foreign murder suspects and more than 150 immigration fugitives

LOS ANGELES – More than 750 foreign nationals have been removed from the United States or are facing deportation following a massive week-long enforcement action by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting criminal aliens and immigration fugitives in five Southland counties that concluded earlier today.

During the operation, ICE officers tracked down and arrested 338 immigration violators who were at large in Los Angeles (169), Orange (111), Riverside (26), San Bernardino (22), and Ventura (10) counties. More than 150 of those arrested were immigration fugitives, aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation issued by immigration judges. Another 24 of those encountered were aliens who had been previously deported and returned to the United States illegally.

The group also included two criminal fugitives from Mexico wanted for murdering a Sinaloa man in 2004 in a dispute over a fence. Rafael Lopez Obeso, 54, and his son, Rafael Obeso Melchor, 25, were taken into custody by ICE officers Friday at a residence in the desert community of Mecca. The men, who were arrested on immigration violations, were transported to the border Friday and turned over to representatives from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office. Members of the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force assisted in the arrest.

As part of the operation, ICE officers also expanded their search for criminal aliens incarcerated in area jails, taking custody of 423 previously unidentified deportable foreign nationals who were scheduled for release from the county jails in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties.

The seven-day effort is the largest single enforcement action carried out nationwide so far under Operation Return to Sender, an ongoing ICE initiative targeting criminal aliens, foreign nationals with final orders of deportation, and other immigration violators. Since its launch in June 2006, Operation Return to Sender has resulted in more than 13,000 arrests nationwide. During that same time period, ICE has also lodged nearly 3,000 immigration detainers against criminal aliens incarcerated in state and local jails across the country ensuring they will come into ICE custody when they complete their sentences.

“As part of our commitment to the Secure Border Initiative, ICE is dedicating unprecedented resources to identifying and arresting criminal aliens and immigration fugitives,” said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE Julie L. Myers. “This country welcomes law abiding immigrants, but foreign nationals who flout our laws and commit crimes against our citizens should be on notice that there are consequences for their conduct.”

The United States Attorney’s Office is reviewing the cases of a number of the aliens arrested during the past week for possible prosecution for re-entry after deportation, a felony violation that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Federal charges were filed last week against Erik Omar Galindo-Vasquez, a 28-year-old Mexican national with a prior conviction for assault with a deadly weapon who was previously deported from the United States in 2005.

“The goal of our enforcement efforts is two-fold. First, it’s about restoring integrity to our nation’s immigration system,” said Jim Hayes, the field office director for ICE detention and removal operations in Los Angeles. “Second, it’s about safeguarding our communities from those who brazenly disregard our laws and often prey upon other members of the immigrant community.”

This week’s operation was conducted by officers assigned to ICE’s four Los Angeles area fugitive operations teams. Those officers were aided by three additional fugitive operations teams brought in from ICE offices across the country. The Fugitive Operations Program was established in 2003 to eliminate the nation’s backlog of immigration fugitives. Today, there are 52 fugitive operations teams nationwide and ICE expects to expand that number to 75 by year’s end.

The majority of the aliens taken into custody during the last week are Mexican nationals, but the group also included immigration violators from 14 countries, including the Ukraine, India, Japan, Poland, and Trinidad. Since many of these individuals have already been through immigration proceedings, they are subject to immediate removal from the country. Of the 757 aliens arrested during the past week, more than 450 have already been returned to their native countries. The remaining aliens are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge.

Operation Return to Sender is an integral part of the second phase of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan launched by the Department of Homeland Security to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Under SBI, Homeland Security seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. The initiative also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement, and intensified efforts to track down and remove illegal aliens inside this country.

Last fiscal year, ICE removed more than 190,000 aliens from the United States, including more than 86,000 criminal aliens.