Posted on 10/13/2002 3:12:34 AM PDT by FryingPan101
Borderland Sunday, October 13, 2002
A Border Patrol agent from Fort Hancock was shot in the leg about 4:20 p.m. Saturday by someone on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande while agents were pursuing smugglers 27 miles southeast of the Ysleta Port of Entry, Border Patrol officials said.
The female agent, whose name was not released, was expected to be released Saturday night from Thomason Hospital, El Paso Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier said.
The shooting took place after smugglers in a pickup "carrying at least 500 pounds of marijuana" were spotted, he said.
A pursuit began "and the smugglers drove their vehicle into the water and fled into Mexico on foot."
Even though the smugglers reached the safety of Mexico, Mosier said, "apparently a number of assailants were waiting on the Mexico side, and a sustained barrage of gunfire occurred."
The agent was struck by a bullet that penetrated the vehicle, he said. Agents returned fire.
This was thought to be the first shooting of an El Paso sector Border Patrol agent in about 13 years.
On Sept. 12, two El Paso FBI agents were severely beaten by train bandits during a sting operation in the Sunland Park-Anapra area.
Historically, the relations between the U.S. and Mexico have been rocky at best, but to insinuate that the U.S. has clean hands in this is silly.
It doesn't however, change the fact that maintaining good relations with the nation that borders you is the best possible way to defend your own borders.
There is however, this problem with illegal immigrants.
It seems to me that the biggest concern everyone has, is the economic drain of illegal immigration--and we can quibble about how much that is exactly--, but fact is, we are giving them welfare. You see, I see that as being the real problem.
And it isn't all the Feds really, those are mostly State decisions.
If we want to put a stop to illegal aliens coming to make this their home, then we need to stop giving the house away.
Change the people that write the laws.
Any conservative will be more accountable to us, than any liberal will, at any level of government.
Take the Senate.
Vote Republican this year.
I wonder if you can find someone on this thread who was insinuating that? We have a crime wave because we are not enforcing our laws.
but fact is, we are giving them welfare. You see, I see that as being the real problem.
Yup that is a real problem. So is the drug smuggling and the threat of terrorism. Do you think drug cartels and terrorists are looking for some free welfare?
Supply and demand as far as the drug smugglers are concerned.
Look, if what we have right now is a situation where the estimates on how many illegals are caught at the border run anywhere from 10% to 30%, I happen to be a proponent of eliminating the reasons why they come, in order to lower the number of crossings, to me, that seems a lot simpler (and cheaper) to do what's needed to be done. Every other "solution" either costs the US taxpayer more money, or pose dangers to our civil liberties.
If indeed you militarize and close the border with Mexico, you also create a situation where it is even more profitable to smuggle people in. So next, you'd have to militarize the shores, because it is now highly profitable to bring them in boats, and so on.
We need a workable, logical solution that will lower the intended number of illegal entries into the country.
Limit welfare to emergency and humanitarian services, challenge the current interpretation of the fourteenth amendment to eliminate "anchor" babies, impose heavy fines for businesses and individuals using undocumented workers, create a good guest worker program.
Change the people who write the laws, and in turn they change the people who interpret those laws.
I want solutions, not the ridiculous crap I keep reading in here.
Holy shit!
It's gotten that bad??
Northern Virginia has fallen south of the border?!?!?!?
I guess posting the entire article wasnt good enough.
"false documentation from illegal immigrants (who were from ) south of the border?".......there happy now?
I guess the ease of driving up to a group of obvious illegals to find out where to get false documentation doesnt mean anything to you. Maybe you should read the article a few more times and see if something doesnt sink in.
It is the criminal activity that has boomed here in America that we are worried about.
The many many sources is exactly what I'm talking about. It is completely irrelevant who exactly is making them. Since the forms and ID in this article come from the DMV I dont think anyone would know they are looking at false documentation.
I have a problem with people breaking the law, period. I don't draw a distinction between an illegal immigrant, and a native son.
Illegal immigration has created a criminal highway that makes it so easy to acquire false documentation. This can be used by laborers, drug dealers, terrorists, etc..
Are you nuts?
That's the single most relevant thing about the whole issue of fake ID's!
Is it somehow better in your mind that terrorists get fake ID's from citizens instead of from illegal immigrants?
Because terrorists WILL get fake ID's, even after you get rid of every single illegal immigrant in the nation, if you do not get rid of the source!
"Since the forms and ID in this article come from the DMV..."
And that's the scariest and most relevant fact about where they come from!
They come from the people who are supposed to be enforcing the law!
You can't indentify the disease because you're busy cursing the symptoms!
Yeah, they're already down to calling me DU disruptor.
It seems that I have them on the run.
That's not going to make the Tancredo-bots happy or willing to discuss matters.
hchutch, while Luis has identified one aspect of the problem with Illegals, I'm not aware that he or any of the other folks you flagged would characterize the politically unfeasible and logistically reckless Amnesty for millions of Illegals that you advocate as "making sense about the situation."
Somewhere in my bookmarks, I have you disclaiming the "millions" thing.
You're back in the business of propaganda?
BTW, I don't see any mention of the amnesty issue here.
What's the matter? Am I beating up your colleages so badly that you need to start changing the discussion?
I don't see any mention of the amnesty issue here.That's true, but that's in reference to the number of folks who'd have been Amnestied by Section 245(i). What you may be unaware of is that hchutch has proposed something much bigger, hence my reference to "millions" on this thread.
He might be willing to explain it all to you sometime.
What's the matter? Am I beating up your colleages so badly that you need to start changing the discussion?
Actually, I haven't read the thread, so I'm not aware of the tally. I came across the post to which I responded while doing a general browse, and my interest was piqued.
I thought hchutch's "Tancredobots" and "making sense" remarks invited a little perspective.
As I said, I thought your post at #121 identified an aspect of the problem. I do think the focus is a little narrow, however. I don't think the attraction of Illegals to entitlements can be solved at the just state and local levels without those jurisdictions being given some lattitude by the Feds. We tried that with #187, and before it was thwarted by Gray Davis, it was on course to collide with Plyler vs. Doe in the US Supreme Court.
Without revisiting Plyler, and without the enactment of some enabling legislation from Congress, it's not easy to selectively deny entitlements to Illegals, leaving the States with all-or-nothing options. As much as I'd like to see the extinctintion of all entitlements, that's going to require a more incremental approach.
The source of the problem is that we are not enforcing our laws. The result is a crime wave called illegal immigration and drug smuggling which has created a highway of criminal activity that can be used by terrorists.
I've explained upside right, upside down and sideways at this point.
I identified illegal immigration as a crime wave because we are not enforcing our laws.
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