Thread: Border Star: Organizing against organized crime

Border Star: Organizing against organized crime
BY TARA BOZICK - TBOZICK@VICAD.COM
August 23, 2008 - 12:00 a.m.

A constant flow of money, guns and illegal immigrants spill across the Texas border.

A clampdown of major state thoroughfares – U.S. highways 77 and 59, for example – increasingly push smugglers to ranch land and county roads.

In response last year, Texas created Operation Border Star – an intense multi-agency effort that attacks crime in targeted regions affected by the dangerous spillovers.

Sheriff’s coalitions work with the U.S. Border Patrol and border-area police departments – and receive state funding to do so.

Victoria County Sheriff T. Michael O’Connor is a key player in this alliance.

He was the driving force in forming the Coastal Corridor security sector, one of five state sectors that receives special attention and Border Star funding.

O’Connor also played a major role in creating a Joint Operations Intelligence Center in Victoria, said Steve McCraw, director of Texas Homeland Security.

Critics say the operation is failing. Instead of curbing illegal flows, critics say joint efforts simply push the crimes into even more dangerous areas – and force immigrants and smugglers to take desperate measures.

They say joining sheriffs with border agents increases the fears of immigrants, who won’t report crime if it’s likely they’ll be deported.

Everyone agrees these crimes, and the state’s vast, porous border, need more federal attention. As McCraw noted, the state’s border is only as safe as its weakest link.

Texas’ border covers about 65 percent of the country’s land union with Mexico. The state is a transshipment center for organized crime. Steep profits attract organized gangs.

“You’re seeing a militarization of the mafia,â€

Thanks for the statistical info. This should be shown to other political leaders to show that enforcement works. And also present them with a choice: to enforce immigration and reap measurable benefits--or to cave in to open borders zealots for an unknown future.

Did I smell a hint of "we should stop enforcing all our laws because all these illegals are getting scared?"