Thread: Government Does Study On Border Patrol And Quality Of Life

Government Does Study On Border Patrol And Quality Of Life
Miri Marshall-Weekend Anchor/Weathercaster/News Reporter

7:19 pm MDT August 29, 2009

PHOENIX, Arizona -- A preliminary government study found the Border Patrol isn't measuring how its checkpoints along the border affect the quality of life in surrounding communities.

A Government Accountability Office draft found that the Border Patrol hasn't documented how many agents it needs to confront smugglers sneaking around a proposed permanent checkpoint on Interstate 19 in southern Arizona, among other findings.

Residents near a southern Arizona checkpoint have complained that illegal immigrants and smugglers are flooding their community as they sneak around the roadblock. The Border Patrol operates a checkpoint at an overpass in Tubac, Ariz.

The report is scheduled for release Monday. The Associated Press obtained its highlights on Friday from a congressional source who asked not to be named because the report hasn't been officially released.

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, examined the performance of checkpoints and the extent to which Border Patrol considered the effect of checkpoints on nearby communities.

Border Patrol spokesman Omar Candelaria and C.J. Karamargin, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of southern Arizona, declined to comment on the draft report.

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, who left office more than two years ago, had supported measures that had withheld funding for permanent inspection stations. Kolbe argued checkpoints that are periodically moved are more effective than permanent ones because they introduce the element of surprise to smugglers.

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/20622586/detail.html

Nobody ever asked me about my quality of life living on the border.
I have thousands of acres of BLM land I can go hiking in but I can't because I'm afraid I will attacked or killed by illegals or drug smugglers! I always have to keep a constant eye out for people approaching my home because I never know what they will want. The constant stress is taking it's toll on my old body. I can't even go to the store and leave my wife home by herself because we just never know when something will happen.
People and agents living and working out here are being shot at, stabbed and killed so my fears are well grounded.
If it wasn't for the Border Patrol doing their best down here I would not be able to live here. The cartels or some other gang would rule this place making life unbearable and a lot more risky.

How about a study showing the relationship between quality of life on the border as a result of the federal government not doing their job.