‘Voluntary return’ is the exception, not the rule for Border Patrol
Sun, 09/05/2010 - 00:01

TUCSON — The U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector is ground-zero for security and enforcement on the Southwest Border of the United States. In fiscal year 2009, agents in the Tucson Sector apprehended 241,673 illegal aliens, an agency news release stated.

In fiscal year 2000, the Sector was responsible for 616,000 apprehensions. In 2008, the number fell to 317,696 and decreased further to 241,673 in 2009. With less than three months remaining in this fiscal year, the numbers are slightly more than 194,000; approximately 11,500 less than during the same period last fiscal year.

“Historically, our geographical location, vast landscape, lagging prosecution rates and lack of permanent checkpoints made this region attractive to those who sought to profit from smuggling people across the border,â€