Sea smuggling up again in 2009
Overall illegal entry arrests down for the first time in four years

Story Discussion COLLEEN MENSCHING - cmensching@nctimes.com | Posted: Saturday, September 12, 2009 6:10 pm | (3) Comments

For the third year in a row, authorities have seen an increase in the smuggling of people and drugs along the San Diego County coast, officials said.

But this also is the first year the region has seen a drop in arrests of illegal immigrants since 2005, they said.

Authorities continue to chalk the changes up to the 2005 Secure Border Initiative, a Department of Homeland Security plan to tighten the nation's borders and reduce illegal immigration, though some groups cite the weak economy.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Guy Pearce, whose agency is one of several involved in the regional anti-smuggling effort, said smuggling activity on the water appears to be up about 50 percent from the same time in the last federal fiscal year.

Last year, the Coast Guard handled 33 smuggling boats and processed 221 migrants, Pearce said.

Those numbers have risen this year to 42 vessels and 311 migrants, he said. He said the numbers represent a mix of human and drug smuggling incidents.

"Across the board, we're seeing an uptick in all forms of transnational crime taking place in the water," Pearce said.

Overall, though, Border Patrol arrests of illegal immigrants in the region are down about 25 percent, said Border Patrol spokesman Mark Endicott.

The Border Patrol recorded 112,228 apprehensions in the first 11 months of this federal fiscal year, down from 149,415 apprehensions for the same period last year, Endicott said.

A July report by the nonprofit Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., said the fact the legal immigration numbers have remained steady while illegal immigration has dropped shows that increased enforcement in border areas has been effective.

But illegal immigrants also are likely to be discouraged from crossing the border when the U.S. economy is weak, the report stated.

"It seems likely that when the economy recovers, the illegal population will resume its growth," it stated.

Endicott said he believes the decrease is due to high-profile measures such as the increased number of Border Patrol agents, more rigorous checkpoint enforcement, and infrastructure improvements such as the fence project at the so-called Smuggler's Gulch between Tijuana and Imperial Beach.

"It's basically the decrease we can attribute to stepped up enforcement ... especially through the San Diego sector," Endicott said.

Officials said they've noticed other smuggling trends this year.

Cocaine seizures in the region have increased dramatically, Endicott said. He said the Border Patrol took custody of slightly less than 700 pounds of the narcotic in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year.

In the last 11 months, they've seized more than 1,700 pounds, Endicott said. The Interstate 15 corridor has been a particular hot spot, he said. Whether the increase was the result of increased enforcement or increased drug smuggling, Endicott couldn't say.

Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said her agency has seen more teenagers walking though border crossings with marijuana hidden under their clothes.

The teens they've caught have typically been legal U.S. citizens, high school students who live near the border and were recruited by drug dealers, Mack said. The strategy is an example of creativity on the part of dealers, she said.

"They're not bound by laws or rules or policy. Their only obstacle is how creative they want to be, their ability to come up with new ideas," Mack said. "Our goal is to stay two steps ahead of them."

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