Beef up border security, state officials urge

by Michael Ferraresi and Jahna Berry - Apr. 20, 2009 11:10 AM
The Arizona Republic

Arizona officials pleaded this morning with members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to beef up security along the Mexico border to curb drug cartel violence that some fear has already seeped into U.S. cities.

Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Terry Goddard offered testimony and faced questions as part of the first panel of the day. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon and Arizona law enforcement leaders are set to testify as part of separate panels.

As part of the early testimony, Brewer told Homeland Committee members she was "very disappointed" that the federal government rejected her request to send 250 additional National Guard troops to help secure the border.

Goddard told Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Homeland Committee chair, that the Mexican drug cartels partner with prison gangs and local street gangs to sustain the flow of drugs that have led to more than $2 billion in illegal revenues. Goddard estimated that drug cartels are operating on some level in more than 200 U.S. cities.

Anecdotal reports and early statistical analysis suggested that Phoenix suffered more than 360 abductions in 2008. Goddard said many of the extortion-related kidnappings include criminal-on-criminal attacks, which contribute to confusing statistics about the impact of border-related kidnappings and home invasions on local law enforcement agencies.

"The victims are often perpetrators in another context," Goddard told the senators. "They're not less victims because of that, but oftentimes they're running a drop house when they're kidnapped."

"The reporting of these crimes is often less than prompt, if it happens at all," he said.

In his opening statement, Lieberman cited an FBI report that Mexican drug cartels are now the No. 1 organized crime threat in the U.S., surpassing the Mafia.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio provided a written testimony in lieu of skipping the event to travel to New York for an appearance on Comedy Central's political parody "Colbert Report."

"Phoenix has not become the kidnap capitol because the city encouraged narco-traffickers to move their loads through the city; drug trafficking efforts here have been at least equal to that of all other large border cities," Arpaio wrote.

"We are distinguished in this regard due to historically ignoring an illegal practice that has now become both lucrative and very violent," he said.

Four people stood outside the Phoenix City Council chamber holding signs and showing their support for anti-immigration efforts and Sheriff Arpaio.

"We don't want any amnesty," said Martha Payan, of Phoenix. "We want that information taken back to President Obama."

The four said they were 'responsible American citizens.' One man, who declined to give his name, brought the signs that the group held.

"Illegal immigration does equal drug cartels, you can't separate the two," said Kathryn Kobor, of Phoenix.


Money and violence

Lieberman wants more federal money to help local law enforcement stem the flow of drugs coming into the U.S. and prevent U.S. guns from ending up in the hands of Mexican cartels.

Local police departments and sheriffs also are eyeing federal funds. For example, the Phoenix Police Department has applied for a $7.2 million federal-stimulus grant to expand a unit that investigates kidnappings and home invasions tied to drug and human smuggling.

Immigrant-rights groups want the new focus on organized crime to lead to more nuanced border policies.

"What we have seen in the past (is) that there has been a one-size-fits-all militarized approach to the border," said Jennifer Allen, executive director of Border Action Network. Unregulated immigration, organized crime and terrorist threats are separate issues that need different solutions, she said.

"We don't need to treat . . . a woman crossing the border to reunite with her family, like she is a member of a drug cartel," Allen said.

Meanwhile, the Mexican government wants Washington to turn up the heat on weapons smugglers. It's a thorny political issue because Americans are reluctant to tighten rules for gun shows and for gun owners, said Consul General Carlos Flores Vizcarra, the top Mexican diplomat in Arizona.

"I think the public in the U.S. needs to be more educated about how this is not only a Mexico problem," Vizcarra said.


Listening to Arizona

Today's hearing is a good fact-finding tool, but don't expect the homeland security panel to pitch new border legislation anytime soon, an immigration expert said.

Any new bills from Congress would probably be linked to immigration-reform talks later this year, said Marc Rosenblum, a senior policy analyst at the non-partisan think tank Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

And typically, the Senate Judiciary Committee addresses immigration issues, he added.


Reporter Sadie Jo Smokey contributed to this article.

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