Thread: Napolitano reviews South Texas border operations

February 21, 2012 9:47 PM

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MCALLEN — The recent reviews of deportation cases to focus on undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes or previously been deported is a necessity and shouldn’t demoralize U.S. Border Patrol agents, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors have been reviewing thousands of deportation cases in recent months in an effort to focus resources on such cases. That has left many immigrants who have lived in the U.S. illegally for years in a legal limbo, neither achieving legal status nor facing immediate deportation.

Napolitano, a former Arizona governor, told reporters at a Border Patrol station 5 miles from the Rio Grande that recently apprehended undocumented immigrants remain a priority, but that existing cases must be prioritized to make best use of resources.

"We want to protect public safety and protect the integrity of the immigration system," Napolitano said. "We want to prioritize removing from the country those who have committed crimes in addition to violating our nation’s immigration laws."

George McCubbin III, president of the National Border Patrol Council that represents agents, echoed the rank-and-file agents’ concerns about using more discretion in deportation cases.

"It’s just another tool for the administration to allow people to stay here," said McCubbin, a Border Patrol agent assigned to the Tucson, Ariz., sector. "It’s a backdoor way toward the overall goal, which is amnesty."

Before Napolitano spoke, about 30 people from local civil rights organizations protested outside carrying signs calling for immigration reform, something Napolitano repeated in her remarks.

Sergio Narvaez, a 63-year-old from Mission, said people who come to work should be respected and deportations should be halted except for those convicted of crimes.

Data released Tuesday by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University showed that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiated 39,331 deportation cases in the final three months of 2011 — about one third fewer than in the previous quarter. Even adjusted for seasonal variance, it appeared there were about 10,000 fewer cases than would be expected, according to a statement from TRAC.

"Even with fewer filings there is little evidence that these cases are being better targeted toward serious criminals," the statement said.

Earlier Tuesday, Napolitano met with area border sheriffs. She said they confirmed that U.S. border communities have so far avoided anything approaching the level of drug-related violence seen across the border in Mexico.

"There are undoubtedly some crimes that occur that are related to drugs, let me not underestimate that," Napolitano said. "We know. But the kind of violence that you’re seeing on the Mexican side where it’s really cartel on cartel, cartel against law enforcement in a sustained, organized way, that kind of spillover violence we have not seen."

"I think we can be ahead of and will be ahead of any kind of systemic spillover violence," she added.

Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner David Aguilar, who is from the area, said he invited Napolitano to see the challenges on this part of the border, among them the distinctive terrain along the winding Rio Grande.

During her day and a half visit Napolitano reviewed port-of-entry operations at the Pharr International Bridge and flew above the Rio Grande.

Napolitano reviews South Texas border operations | texas, mcallen, napolitano - Brownsville Herald

EL PASO, Texas — A woman shopping on a busy downtown El Paso street became the first victim of bullets flying across the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Tuesday when she was hit in the calf and wounded, authorities said.

The 48-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was pushing a stroller when she was struck. Gregg Allen, El Paso’s chief of police, said the wound was caused by a “full metal jacket hard-nosed bullet” like those used in assault rifles.
Because of that, he said, the projectile caused a clean exit wound. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was treated and released.

El Paso Mayor John Cook asked residents to remain calm, saying there is “no way to prevent incidents like this from happening” and the odds of getting hit by a stray bullet are minimal.

Many people who were in the area at first didn’t realize what had happened.
“We didn’t hear anything. The first thing we heard was the firemen coming, but we didn’t know what was happening,” said Luis Gomez, a pedestrian who was shopping in the same area where the woman was hit.

She was struck at the same time Juarez police were battling alleged carjackers a few hundred feet from the U.S. border. Allen said reports indicate up to 50 shots were fired in that gunfight.

Police notified the public school district about the shooting and three El Paso schools were put on lockdown.

The bullet was sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety for ballistic analysis, but Allen said it is unlikely the owner of the gun will be found.

Since drug-related violence in Juarez spiked in 2008, bullets have struck El Paso buildings, including a local high school, City Hall and the University of Texas at El Paso. However, this is the first time a person has been hit.

Juarez and El Paso share a large metropolitan area. Their downtown areas are separated by the Rio Grande and the border fence. While El Paso has been dubbed one of the safest cities in the U.S., Juarez’s homicide rate put it among the most dangerous cities in the hemisphere.

washingtonpost.com

It is time for this administration to become a bad memory.

VOTE in 2012 to end this regime.

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