http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_3794823

Article Launched: 5/07/2006 12:00 AM


Amnesty rumors intensify border woes
Smugglers take advantage of desperate migrants
By Sara Carter, Staff Writer
Pasadena Star-News

ONTARIO - Three thousand dollars is what they thought freedom would cost.

Nearly two dozen people paid much more.

In April, they boarded a boat from the Dominican Republic and headed over the choppy Caribbean waters trying to reach Puerto Rico. They sought U.S. amnesty that doesn't exist.

Each person on the overloaded makeshift craft paid more than what a round-trip airplane ticket from California to Europe would cost. Smugglers collected roughly $80,000 for the journey, which would never reach its destination.

Four men and one woman died in the April 22 tragedy. The others struggled to keep the boat afloat in the Caribbean. U.S. Border Patrol agents in Puerto Rico apprehended 13 of the passengers, but the fate of others is still unknown, according to a Border Patrol field report.

"I interviewed \ and they were coming for the `Bush amnesty,' " said a Puerto Rico-based U.S. Border Patrol agent, under condition of anonymity.

"Instead, they got caught, lost their money and got returned to the Dominican Republic - the best-case scenario in comparison to those who gave their lives."

Rumors of amnesty for illegal immigrants in the United States and a guest-worker program have been spreading throughout communities in Latin America and Asia. It's given smugglers the opportunity to take advantage of those wanting to get into the United States, say Border Patrol agents working along the Mexican border and in Puerto Rico.

Congress is stalemated on immigration reform, but border agents say many of the would-be immigrants they've detained believe amnesty has passed or will pass very soon.

But amnesty isn't necessarily as popular with U.S. residents.

According to a Zogby poll conducted last week, 69 percent of Americans support the tough reforms of HR 4437, which would force illegal immigrants to return home, enforce employer verification, build a wall along the southwest border and encourage greater cooperation among law enforcement agencies.

"The American people support stricter border security," said Andy Ramirez, chairman of Chino-based Friends of the Border Patrol.

Ramirez said using words such as "amnesty" and "guest worker" on a world stage - without making it clear that it does not exist and may not happen - is creating a dangerous situation at the border.

"Basically, we believe in safe, orderly and legal migration," said Nancy Beck, spokeswoman for the State Department. "Unfortunately, some of the groups \ may not have access to Web sites and other technologies that would allow them to access the accurate information."

Mexican government officials contend that a lack of significant immigration reform in the United States is exacerbating the problems on the border and in effect allowing smugglers to take advantage of migrants trying to cross.

"The lack of legal framework is causing all of these problems," said Rafael Laveaga, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington.

"Smugglers are taking advantage of the current political debate, but a program that would allow us to manage immigration effectively would give us the opportunity to tackle the human smuggling operations. It may not make it disappear, but it would allow us to diminish it."

Grupo Beta, a Mexican-sponsored support group that supplies medical aid, food and water to migrants making the trek into the United States, attempts to deter people from crossing by explaining the dangers and risks, Laveaga said.

"It's not the organization's policy to tell the migrants not to cross, but the group does what it can to get them to change their minds," he said.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, the number of people trying to enter the United States is growing.

Since October, the number of migrant apprehensions has gone up more than 6 percent compared to the same period last year, said Mike Friel, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Scott James, a former agent in the Tucson, Ariz., sector, said agents expected the increase in migration as soon as the president announced immigration reform was necessary.

James, who was one of 2,400 Border Patrol agents working the Arizona-Mexico border, resigned in February citing a series of failures within the Department of Homeland Security he says left the nation at risk.

"Every time the president waves the carrot of amnesty or speaks of a guest-worker program with the possibility of amnesty, it skyrockets the pressure and violence along the border," James said. "People take foolhardy risks trying to get across, and the narcotics traffickers take advantage of that, too - using the migrants, exploiting them to cross more narcotics into the United States."

James said the loss of human life is what is most distressing when working on the front lines.

For the agents in Puerto Rico, the political debate on Capitol Hill is far from the reality they witnessed this past month. One agent said he interviewed a man whose wife drowned when their boat broke apart in the water.

"I will never forget the look on his face," the agent said. "It was almost as if he already knew. I didn't tell him what happened to his wife. It was all I could do to process him. I went home and wept."

sara.carter@dailybulletin.com

(909) 483-8552