http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3320086

Border Patrol Agents always at risk
Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer

On a cold, dark night in the Otay Mountains, Border Patrol Agent Luis A. Santiago lost his life. On June 9, 1994, just before midnight, Santiago was on foot patrol along the tall, rocky hillside that borders Mexico when he and other agents spotted a large group of illegal immigrants crossing into San Diego.
The agents identified themselves. The immigrants ran, scattering into the mountain brush. Santiago gave chase.

No one’s sure what happened next. Some of Santiago’s fellow agents believe he was pushed from the mountain’s edge by a smuggler; others think he lost his footing.

He fell more than 120 feet to his death.

As agents Nicholas Coates and Brett Booth began a patrol along those same mountains one early Thursday morning in November, they recalled the death of their comrade.

"It’s something you’re always mindful of when you’re on patrol," Coates said as he pointed to the canyon where Santiago lost his life. "The majority of the time, we work by ourselves."

"We heard he was blindsided and pushed from the canyon’s edge by a smuggler," Booth said of Santiago.

Border Patrol agents have no shortage of horror stories to tell when they talk about the dangers of guarding America’s frontier. Santiago’s death is just one such tale.

Since 1990, 23 Border Patrol officers have been killed in the line of duty. The job also has its share of nonfatal hazards, as agents sustain all manner of injuries while patrolling the hot deserts and mountainous terrain of the Southwest or the cold, desolate lands of the Canadian border to the north.

Roughly 11,000 Border Patrol agents guard nearly 7,000 miles of border. It’s not enough, say critics who claim that lax U.S. border security has left the nation at risk.

Michael Chertoff, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, plans to add 1,000 agents nationwide in 2006, said Jarrod Agen, spokesman for the department.

"It’s a major priority for the department to seal off people coming through illegally," Agen said. Plans for next year also include 20,000 more beds for detaining illegal immigrants.

On numerous occasions, illegal immigrants have pelted agents and their vehicles with large rocks. Other times they’ve opened fire on agents, according to an Arizona Border Patrol agent who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The dangers are compounded by the patrol’s work scheduling and shift changes, which often leave agents operating alone in difficult conditions, Coates said.

Rough roads and terrain are another problem. Older vehicles often get flat tires, and many times officers sit for hours waiting to spot illegal migrants or smugglers crossing the border.

Smugglers will drive at high speeds on the wrong side of the road in San Diego County, knowing that border agents will call off the chase if civilian lives are in danger, Coates said.

That kind of excitement is offset by agents’ sometimes tedious daily routines. Long hours are spent under the hot sun or in the cold night air, watching the desolate border.

Coates and Booth, who have selected two-year assignments as spokesmen, have jobs that aren’t quite as rough as being out in the field.

Coates has a few months left in his current assignment and misses being out on patrol. He’s planning on returning soon.

Still,

he said he has seen significant progress in the San Diego sector over the past 10 years. Agents’ lives have been made safer thanks to high-tech equipment, he said.

"In 1998, we had 30 to 40 people in groups coming over the mountains, and now we have 10- to 15-person groups," Coates said. "We have radiation portal monitors for detecting radioactive material. There are sensors along the border to detect people crossing, night vision goggles, and other high-tech devices that make our job safer."

But equipment can’t replace people.

"How do you stop someone from coming over a 4,000-foot mountain?" Booth asked. "We go on foot patrol. There’s no other way to get them. It’s a daunting task – especially if radio communication is down."

The smugglers bringing in illegal immigrants aren’t humanitarians, Coates added. They do it for the money, and are dangerous men who agents are sometimes forced to confront in desolate places, he said.

Smugglers spend months planning new routes to avoid being caught by border agents. "They know our routines," Booth said. "They leave the illegal aliens behind, in the middle of the desert or high on a mountain, if they can’t make the crossing. They’ll leave them there to die."

Border patrol search and rescue teams have assisted thousands of migrants lost in the desert and have saved more than 7,500 lives along the southern border, Booth added.

For many agents, the most difficult part of patrol is finding migrants who have died making the long journey, Coates said. From Oct. 1, 2004, through Sept. 29 an more than 450 migrants lost their lives trying to cross the southern border, according to statistics gathered by the U.S. Border Patrol. That total passed the previous record when 383 migrant deaths were recorded in 2000. Still, border agents, like most law enforcement officials, find ways to overcome the hardships the job entails. They pass the time laughing, telling stories and living like brothers when they’re not on patrol. And they count on each other in the event of a crisis, Coats said.

In the post-Sept. 11 era their duties have doubled – guarding the border from terrorists and apprehending illegal immigrants can feel overwhelming when considering the security of a nation, Coats said.

"We knew the risks when we took the job," Booth added. "Our job is to guard the borders and protect Americans. It’s an important job. ... We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t love it."