Border Patrol agent relates tales of drug, human trafficking




By ERIC MUNGENAST, Staff Writer February 19, 2009



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Eric Mungenast/Maricopa Monitor, Staging spots like the one above are scattered across Arizona and Pinal County. They serve as drop-off and pickup locations for smugglers moving illegal immigrants across the country.

MARICOPA - Last month, the Maricopa Police Department captured nine illegal immigrants who fled from a van near the Cobblestone Farms subdivision.
Such incidents are common in cities anywhere remotely close to the border, and Pinal County has a plethora of locations, known as landing spots, where immigrants wait for smugglers Â*- or coyotes - to pick them up.

U.S. Border Patrol agent and Casa Grande resident Michael Scioli is one of 3,300 agents covering the 90,000 square miles known as the Tucson sector and has seen the plight of illegal immigrants up close.

In one year, agents in the Tucson sector will arrest on average 316,000 illegal aliens and will confiscate 817,000 pounds of marijuana.


Scioli's road to joining the border patrol began in Buffalo, N.Y., where he worked for the Internal Revenue Service. However, most of his family members were cops around Buffalo, and when Border Patrol had an opening, Scioli jumped at the opportunity.

"Lo and behold, like five and a half years later, I'm here," he said, then paused for a moment. "I really didn't think I'd be here this long."

He mentioned the aforementioned statistics while on the way to view landing spots during a Feb. 6 excursion, but stopped mid-sentence and pulled next to a fairly new black truck, parked on the side of a dirt road near the site and driven by a man in his early sixties with a thick mustache wearing a beige cowboy hat.

"Are you OK?" Scioli asked.

"Yeah, I was taking a leak," the man replied.

Satisfied, Scioli drove on, his eyes glancing at his rearview mirror.

"You always ask that," he said. "No matter what."

Border Patrol agents are trained to find the unusual within the usual, like watching for drivers pulled over on dusty roads or for sagging undercarriage indicating the weight of a van.

The first landing spot proved to be a bust, all signs of humanity removed except for unwanted tires.

The trip to the next spot came with a primer about the immigration process. It all starts with the individual trying to cross into the U.S. The coyotes tend to enter the picture shortly thereafter, filled with grand promises of a short trip into America.

The Statue of Liberty? Just five miles across the border, a coyote might say. Phoenix is just a short stroll across the border, a place filled with jobs and opportunities.

The coyotes play upon the ignorance of what becomes their cargo - using the little bits of knowledge about America these people have to lure them into a harrowing trip across the border.

Coyotes will typically receive somewhere between $500 and $2,600 per person to cross the border, Scioli said, with those crossing usually smart enough not to pay until their arrival.

The cost increases severely for immigrants from other countries in Central or South America. Scioli said one group of Chinese immigrants paid $20,000 each to travel from China into the U.S.

The next site was about six miles outside of Stanfield, off McGregor Road in the middle of nowhere. It appeared to be the perfect spot, although one that would create nightmares for a young child, with the gnarled trees and coyote calls.

The spot was littered with discarded blankets, tattered clothes and worn-out backpacks.

Scioli said the people who make the trip usually take all of their earthly possessions, but often discard most of them due to the heartless heat of the desert.

After immigrants pay the coyote for his or her services, they are led to one of the landing spots and told to wait for either a different person to continue the journey with, or for a truck or some other vehicle to pick them up and transport them to yet another landing spot.

The immigrants will wait at that spot for hours or days or weeks, however long it takes for the next guide to come and lead them forward, if the next guide comes at all.

The trip to the final spot of the day was marked by a brief excursion to follow a white van off Interstate 8, coming from a dusty road where nobody lived, which Scioli called "out of the ordinary."

Scioli followed the van for about two miles, trying to see if the back was sagging heavily or if the driver began to panic and slow down at the sight of the Border Patrol truck. Maintaining a regular speed and staying calm is nearly impossible for guilty drivers, Scioli said.

But the driver of this van was cool and collected, his demeanor no different with the presence of the official automobile.

"He's not in the least bit concerned," Scioli said, as he veered away from the van.

Given the danger and death involved with such a crossing into America, is it really worth it for the immigrants to cross illegally?

"If they really sat down and thought about it, they wouldn't have to pay as much for a visa," Scioli said.

The price for a working visa is much less than what the coyotes charge, but it costs much more in terms of time, and time is much more valuable for the truly despondent.



©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2009

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