New chief: Tucson Sector is 'daunting'

By Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.30.2007

The U.S. Border Patrol's new Tucson Sector chief called taking over the reins of the busiest stretch of the Southwest border a "daunting task" in a change of command ceremony Thursday.
Robert W. Gilbert, who had been El Paso Sector chief since November 2005 prior to moving west, officially assumed his post in a ceremony full of pageantry and tradition in front of more than 200 agents and attendees at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa Thursday morning. He succeeds Michael Nicley, who retired last month after 26 years with the agency and two years as Tucson Sector chief.
"Where the Tucson Sector goes, the Border Patrol goes," Gilbert said. "Look at the vast amount of work that happens here in the sector — the number of illegal aliens apprehended, the criminals that are apprehended, the narcotics that are seized. This sector by far leads everything we do nationally."
The Tucson Sector has been the busiest along the southern border for apprehensions since 1998, for border deaths since 2000 and for marijuana seizures since 2003. A 28-mile stretch of the sector near Sasabe is being used as the testing ground for the Department of Homeland Security's latest high-tech border-security strategy called SBInet.
Overseeing the implementation of so-called "Project 28," which will bring land-based radars, sensor platforms and other technology starting in April, will be one of Gilbert's top priorities, he said.
"The inception of SBInet and many other initiatives on the forefront for the Tucson Sector will keep Southern Arizona in our nation's headlights," he said.
The sector is in the spotlight for an investigation of a fatal shooting by a Border Patrol agent in January. Cochise County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer hasn't determined if charges will be filed against agent Nicholas Corbett, but the release of 300 pages of reports showed discrepancies between the agent's version of events and that of witnesses and forensic evidence.
Gilbert wouldn't address the specifics of the case, citing an ongoing investigation, but said it bears no resemblance to the highly publicized case of El Paso-based agents Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio "Nacho" Ramos, who were convicted by a jury of assault, obstruction of justice and civil-rights violations for shooting a drug smuggler and failing to report it.
"Those agents, in the course of their duty, got out of line, they did an illegal act," he said. "They fired a weapon and then they tried to hide it. By doing that, no investigation occurred. This is a shooting that occurred that was immediately reported, so the difference is night and day here."
Gilbert, a second-generation Border Patrol agent who began his career in San Diego in 1985, addressed a host of issues in a brief interview session following the ceremony:
● On his strategy to slow the flow of drugs and traffic, he said he'll follow the national three-part plan that calls for agents on the ground supported by technology and tactical infrastructure such as lights, roads and fences.
● Agents should conduct their mission in a humane manner and remember that 90 percent of illegal border crossers are coming for economic reasons and not to do harm, he said. He'll have an open-door policy for community groups and consulates to hear their concerns and establish communication. At the same time, though, he asked the community to remember that the agency's task is to secure the border and stop anybody coming across between the legal ports of entry.
● While not addressing specifics of a semi-permanent checkpoint on Interstate 19 that raised the ire of locals in Tubac, he did say permanent checkpoints are an important component of border strategy and that roving inspection sites don't offer the element of surprise they used to do in the current age of cell phones and rapid communication.
He appears to be a fine choice to lead a sector with nearly 2,600 agents, said Wes Bramhall, president of Arizonans for Immigration Control, a group that opposes illegal immigration and supports the Border Patrol.
He established good communication with immigrants' rights groups in El Paso from what colleagues there told Jennifer Allen, president of Tucson-based Border Action Network. The Mexican Consulate in El Paso told Juan Manuel Calderón Jaimes, the Mexican general consul in Tucson, that Gilbert worked well with it, too.
"The communication is a critical component for being accountable to communities they serve and operate," said Allen, whose organization supports immigrant communities and advocates for comprehensive immigration reform.
Gilbert will be responsible for securing the Tucson Sector, similar in size to the El Paso Sector, but different in its makeup.
"This is a large area, a very remote area and it's very rugged," Gilbert said. "It creates a lot of challenges we are going to have to address."
● Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com.

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