Arizona border land a ‘war zone’


BISBEE, Ariz. — The frustration is palpable. It’s on the faces of ranchers who work within arm’s reach of loaded rifles for their own safety, and who shake their heads when they talk about the effectiveness of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Some of them work in fear after a rancher was shot to death on his property in March by a suspected illegal immigrant.

The problem is visible: hidden cameras show hundreds of people streaming through the desert on a regular basis. Some carry what police say are 80-pound bundles of marijuana; others are young males and females looking for a better life.

The next day, piles of water bottles and backpacks litter the ranches in spots where they stopped to rest. On Monday, May 25, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office picked up yet another dead body just two miles from the border.

The fear is audible: in the words of Hispanic residents afraid an over-reaction will lead to a police state, where they can be harassed simply for being Hispanic.

And the motivation for the immigrants is understandable. Those from Mexico said wages there are as low as $5 a day. If they can find a job.

All this makes the solution elusive. A recently passed Arizona law that gives local police and deputies new powers in enforcing immigration laws, and makes being in the country illegally a state crime, has met opposition.

Some fear it will open the door to racial profiling, though the measure was amended to say law enforcement “may not solely consider race, color or national origin in implementingâ€