Thread: Agent says Border Patrol prepared for end of Jump Start

Agent says Border Patrol prepared for end of Jump Start

By Kevin Buey/For the Sun-News
Article Launched: 04/22/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

DEMING — If Operation Jump Start concludes in July as scheduled, the U.S. Border Patrol in the Deming Station area is prepared.

"When this started, the program was designed to be a stop-gap measure, to give us time to hire and train and deploy more agents," said Rick Moody, agent in charge of the Deming Station.

The Deming Station has grown from about 100 agents to 300 since Operation Jump Start began in summer 2006.

The federal operation brought National Guard troops to the southern borders of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, with the Guard working as additional eyes and ears for the Border Patrol.

Guard presence along with more Border Patrol agents has resulted in a reduction of as much as 70 percent in illegal activity, Moody said.

The addition of more agents and infrastructure should allow the Border Patrol to maintain that control, Moody said.

"We receive new agents continually from the academy," Moody said of the Artesia-based facility. "They are continuing their training and orientation. We still have fencing going in. We're in a good position."

New Mexico's congressional delegation has been among those urging continuation of Operation Jump Start.

There has been an unexpected impact on illegal crossing traffic — the presence of Mexican military troops in Palomas and other parts of Chihuahua state as a deterrent to violence that has plagued Mexico's border towns.
"The Mexican military has already made an impact," Moody said. "Any time you have a ramped-up operation by Mexican authorities, it is certainly conducive to pushing activity out of the area."

It's not known how long Mexican troops will remain in the region.


Kevin Buey writes for the Deming Headlight, a member of the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers Partnership, and can be reached at kbuey@demingheadlight.com.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/news/ci_9008094

Guard presence along with more Border Patrol agents has resulted in a reduction of as much as 70 percent in illegal activity, Moody said.

What a blatent lie..that is unless he was referring to the areas where only rattlesnakes and cacti dare go.

it gets worse and worse!