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Border Patrol enlists city help

Police asked to stop truck; 20 snagged

Sarah Muench
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 7, 2005 12:00 AM

Chandler police were called in to assist U.S. Border Patrol agents as they tracked a truck packed with suspected undocumented immigrants heading into Chandler on Wednesday night.

Agents were following the truck as it headed toward Chandler when they called on police for backup, said Jose Garza, a Border Patrol spokesman.

Garza would not say where agents began to follow the truck or its make and model.

At the request of the Border Patrol, Chandler police initiated the traffic stop near Arizona Avenue and Queen Creek Road.

As the truck yielded, at least 12 people ran from the truck into a field, said Chandler police spokeswoman Livi Kacic.

Police and Border Patrol agents set up a perimeter around the field and apprehended 20 people, including the driver.

Kacic said it's rare that Chandler police are called to help with Border Patrol issues.

"I can't think of the last time we've done that," she said. "If another agency asks us to help them, we'll help them."

City police working with immigration authorities has been a sensitive subject in Chandler since 1997, when more than 400 people were arrested during a "roundup" that targeted undocumented immigrants but also detained many legal residents.

The actions cost the city $575,000 in legal settlements.