Thread: Hundreds of undocumented immigrants captured at southern Arizona military post

Video at the source link.
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Posted: Nov 17, 2013 5:41 PM by Tom McNamara and Paul Birmingham
Updated: Nov 18, 2013 2:48 AM

TUCSON - How secure are U.S. military installations? You would think the answer is: very.

But, as the News 4 Tucson Investigators uncovered, one installation, right here in southern Arizona, continues to face potential outside security risks, and the problem doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Fort Huachuca is only 15 miles north of our state's border with Mexico.

The Army post covers more than 73,000 acres. In many parts, the terrain is steep and rugged.

Much of the work that goes on at Fort Huachuca is classified but, as the News 4 Tucson Investigators learned, keeping people who don't belong there out, proves to be a difficult mission.

Fort Huachuca is home of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command. It's also the site of hundreds of apprehensions of illegal immigrants each year.

Dave Stoddard, a former U.S. Border Patrol supervisor tells the News 4 Tucson Investigators, "I think the average American should be petrified."

Stoddard knows the area well. He grew up in Cochise county, served in the U.S. Army, and has even testified before Congress about illegal immigration.

"That smuggling operation going through there is very very sophisticated. They've been getting by with it for years. They know the formula. They know the routine," Stoddard says.

The News 4 Tucson Investigators have learned that in fiscal year 2013, there were 331 undocumented immigrants apprehended on Fort Huachuca. In fiscal year 2012, that number was 112. There were 96 undocumented immigrants captured on-post in fiscal 2011.

Stoddard tells the News 4 Tucson Investigators, Fort Huachuca's location in the Huachuca mountains makes it an attractive illegal entry point for border-crossers.

"Once they get into the Huachucas, there is a very worn and established trail though there," Stoddard says.

Stoddard says the problems of illegal immigrants slipping onto the post isn't a new one.

"The military chooses to close its eyes and ignore it," Stoddard says.

In fact, officials at Fort Huachuca refused the News 4 Tucson Investigator's request for an on-camera interview on the issue, saying "apprehending undocumented immigrants is a Department of Homeland Security mission and not a D.o.D. one."

Stoddard says he worries about the possibility that weapons could also be coming across the border, and through Fort Huachuca.

"When you look at the photographs of these aliens coming through the border, and some coming through Fort Huachuca, with backpacks weighing 30 to 50 pounds, who knows what's in there really?" Stoddard says.

For his part, Stoddard tells the News 4 Tucson Investigators, he believes the solution is simple.

"Our immigration laws work, they're just not enforced, and therein is the problem," Stoddard says.

The News 4 Tucson Investigators also asked Representative Ron Barber about the problem of undocumented immigrants on Fort Huachuca.

"I feel very strongly that the fort has good security, and the numbers are not huge, when you consider the large number of people that are apprehended across the border. But, anytime we have an incursion we have to be concerned about it," Barber says.

Barber holds a key leadership position on the House Committee on Homeland Security.

"I've been there many many times, and I know that nobody's going to get near any of those secure buildings or assets. The military is well equipped to protect them, and I know they do," Barber says.

http://www.kvoa.com/news/hundreds-of...litary-post/#_

Army Explains Security Flaws at Intel Base: Apprehending Illegal Aliens Not DOD Mission

November 21, 2013
Judicial Watch

A few years after illegal immigrants penetrated a New Jersey Army base to plan an attack, a news report reveals that the number of undocumented aliens captured at a U.S. military intelligence facility in Arizona increases each year and a former U.S. Border Patrol supervisor warns that Americans “should be petrified.”

A Tucson news station broke the story over the weekend and it’s downright disturbing, though it features the sort of finger-pointing and passing of the buck common among government agencies. Security at a key military installation in southern Arizona, Fort Huachuca, is regularly violated by illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. Many carry large backpacks with unknown contents.

Each year the number of violators increases, according to figures provided in the news report, but authorities don’t appear to be all that concerned. In fiscal year 2013 a total of 331 illegal aliens were apprehended on the sprawling grounds of Fort Huachuca, almost three times as many as the previous fiscal year when 112 were caught. In fiscal year 2011 the figure was 96, the news report reveals.

A former Border Patrol supervisor who grew up in the area and served in the U.S. Army says the area, which is only about 15 miles from the Mexican border, is infested with very sophisticated smuggling operations. “They’ve been getting by with it for years,” the retired federal agent, Dave Stoddard, says in the newscast. “They know the formula. They know the routine.” Stoddard has testified before Congress about illegal immigration and warns that Americans should be petrified about the systematic incursions at a crucial military installation.

The Pentagon knows this is going on but chooses to ignore it, according to Stoddard. Fort Huachuca officials claim that the Department of Defense (DOD) is not responsible for enforcing immigration. “Apprehending undocumented immigrants is a Department of Homeland Security mission and not a DOD one,” according to a military source quoted in the story.

The elected official, Democrat Ron Barber, who represents the area in the U.S. House of Representatives claims the incursions by illegal immigrants are not a problem, though he admitted there is reason to be concerned. “I feel very strongly that the fort has good security, and the numbers are not huge, when you consider the large number of people that are apprehended across the border,” said the congressman who holds a key leadership position on the House Committee on Homeland Security.

It was just a few years ago that illegal immigrants easily gained access to Fort Dix in New Jersey to plan a deadly attack. Incredibly, the illegal aliens frequently entered the base with little scrutiny. It didn’t lead to increased security at military bases around the country, however. A few months later a dozen illegal aliens got arrested for working inside a Texas military installation, Ft. Bliss and Biggs Army Airfield.

http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/20...t-dod-mission/

Added second article posted above to the Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/content.php?r=2...ot-DOD-Mission