Police see opportunity in federal border program
By Jonathon Shacat
Herald/Review
Published on Sunday, November 25, 2007

BISBEE — The Bisbee and Douglas police departments participate in an initiative that offers overtime pay to officers for doing work to help stop illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

Police in Sierra Vista are not involved in the program.

Money, call volume and proximity to Mexico are some of the factors that play a role in the situation.

Area police officers working on routine patrols sometimes stop a driver of a vehicle who can’t provide identification. If they suspect the person is an illegal immigrant, they notify the Border Patrol.

Funding from Operation Stonegarden allows officers the opportunity to put forth additional efforts to secure the border.

“Stonegarden is a federally funded interdiction program. While the purpose is aimed at finding illegal immigrants in the country, the method is simply proactive traffic enforcement,â€