Thread: Arizona prosecutors find others way to get at smugglers

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...01-11-19-32-27

Jan 11, 7:32 PM EST

Arizona prosecutors find others way to get at smugglers

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press Writer

PHOENIX (AP) -- Without their most powerful tool against illegal immigration, state prosecutors will rely on wire taps, surveillance and financial information to crack down on human traffickers in the smuggling season that begins in earnest next week.

Earlier this week, a judge struck down the first effort by state prosecutors to seize suspected immigrant smuggling money flowing from other American states into northern Mexico. The foray into Mexico was an expansion of an earlier tactic to use special court orders to seize suspected smuggling proceeds coming into Arizona.

As he seeks to get the court decision reversed, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said his office will use other methods to crack down on smugglers, but that nothing will prove as effective as the special seizure orders, known as "damming warrants."

Prosecutors can still seek seizure orders for smuggling money coming into the state. But that approach is of little use because payments to traffickers are being routed from other American states to Mexico, even as they continue to sneak people in through Arizona, Goddard said.

"Nothing has been as effective as the damming warrants. I believe that it is a very, very strong tool. Frankly, our fight against coyotes (smugglers) will be retarded if we cannot use them," Goddard said.

In recent years, state authorities have sought to reduce Arizona's role as the country's busiest illegal entry point as they have rejected the long-standing notion that immigration enforcement was solely a federal responsibility.

The heaviest flow of illegal border-crossers into Arizona begins next week and will end in May. Immigrants - some returning from an extended holiday back home - are seeking seasonal agricultural work, construction positions and other jobs in the underground labor market.

Goddard said his office can try to build smuggling cases from financial information that they can glean from subpoenas that were issued in their seizure efforts.

This tactic, however, isn't as effective as the seizure orders in providing additional leads and disrupting smuggling organizations, Goddard said.

State authorities said the special court orders have resulted in $17 million in seizures, deterred other illicit money transfers and led to the arrests of more than 100 smugglers.

The judge who struck down the foray into Mexico said it violated constitutional protections on interstate and international commerce and that prosecutors didn't show that the wire transfer customers in question were involved in crimes.

The federal agency that's responsible for immigration enforcement beyond the borderlands said it's examining the possibility of using federal subpoena power to track suspected smuggling money flowing into Mexico.

The idea is to capture some of the same information that state authorities were tracking, said Alonzo Pena, the chief of investigations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona.

Another option for state and local authorities is Arizona's 17-month-old immigrant smuggling law.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, a prosecutor who is an advocate for cracking down on illegal immigration, said he has won more than 160 convictions under the law.

While the law targets immigrant smugglers, Thomas is the only prosecutor in the state to charge those who paid to be sneaked into the country as conspirators to the crime.

The state smuggling law should serve only as a complement to federal immigration efforts, Thomas said.

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http://dwb.newsobserver.com/24hour/nati ... 1461c.html

Published: Jan 18, 2007
Modified: Jan 18, 2007 4:22 AM
Ariz. looks for ways to battle smugglers

By JACQUES BILLEAUD, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

PHOENIX (AP) - Stripped of a powerful tool in the fight against illegal immigration, Arizona prosecutors say they will rely on such standard tactics as wire taps and surveillance to crack down on human traffickers as the annual surge in smuggling begins this week.

A judge ruled last week that state prosecutors have no right to seize money transfers into Mexico from other states - cash that investigators suspect pays for human trafficking. Such seizures violate constitutional protections on interstate and international commerce, the judge said, adding that prosecutors failed to show that the wire transfer customers were committing crimes.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said his office will use other means to combat smuggling, but he added that nothing will prove as effective as the ability to seize money transfers with special court orders known as "damming warrants."

The name comes from the attempt to "dam" up all wire transfers meeting certain criteria until the person to whom the money is being sent can show the cash is for a legal purpose.

Armed with such warrants, authorities have seized $17 million in money transfers into Arizona and arrested of more than 100 smugglers, he said.

"Nothing has been as effective as the damming warrants," Goddard said. "I believe that it is a very, very strong tool. Frankly, our fight against coyotes (smugglers) will be retarded if we cannot use them."

Goddard has said he intends to appeal last week's court decision.

The judge's ruling was particularly stinging because the heaviest flow of illegal border-crossers into Arizona is expected to begin this week.

In past two years, the Border Patrol made nearly half of all its arrests along the southern border during the first four months of the year, reflecting a pattern that agents say they have noticed during the past decade.

Most border-crossers are taking advantage of cooler temperatures in their pursuit of seasonal agricultural work, construction positions and other jobs in the underground labor market. Some are returning from extended holiday visits with families in their native countries.

Prosecutors can still seek court orders to seize money transfers into Arizona that are suspected of being smuggler payments. But that approach is of little use because payments to traffickers are being routed from other states into Mexico, Goddard said.

Alonzo Pena, the chief of investigations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona, said the agency is examining the possibility of using federal subpoena power to track suspected smuggling money flowing into Mexico.

State and local authorities in Arizona have tried to diminish its standing as the country's busiest illegal entry point by rejecting the notion that immigration enforcement rests solely with the federal government.

Maricopa County has prosecuted immigrants as conspirators under a state immigrant smuggling law adopted 17 months ago. County Attorney Andrew Thomas said he has won more than 160 convictions under the law. Most of those who were convicted were the customers of smugglers.