Checkpoint compromise
Smaller, stationary one best for now

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS

The Tucson Sector is the most porous stretch of the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

Here, 48 percent of the drug traffic and 44 percent of the illegal immigrant traffic cross the border.

An estimated 1,049 illegal immigrants and 2,749 pounds of narcotics are smuggled through this region every day.

We are the weakest link on the U.S. border. Every other sector has far more infrastructure, and most have checkpoints.

There are 34 interior checkpoints between Texas and California.
It is not a coincidence that southern Arizona is experiencing an unprecedented flow of illegal immigrants and drugs. I cannot and will not stand by and allow this sector to remain the major route for smuggling into our country.

We need a comprehensive strategy to address this serious problem. Such a strategy must include checkpoints.

Earlier this year, the Border Patrol drafted plans to build a large, permanent checkpoint on Interstate 19 between kilometers 51 and 52, near Amado.

My constituents strongly objected. They argued that such a facility would not work at that location because of the dense population. The size of the proposed structure also drew strong criticism.

In response, the Border Patrol discarded its initial checkpoint plan and has agreed to operate an interim checkpoint at kilometer 41.5 or 42 - the site of the current one - and to abandon the idea of a massive structure like the one in Laredo, Texas.

These are significant concessions. They will not please everyone, but they go a long way in meeting the concerns of residents along I-19 while also giving the Border Patrol the tools it needs to do its job.

I believe an interior checkpoint on I-19 is critical as part of an essential, secondary defense strategy designed to capture those who elude security measures directly on the border.

I support a checkpoint that is stationary, away from major population centers and equipped with the technology and manpower to effectively apprehend illegal human and drug traffic.

The checkpoint must be part of a plan to enhance the public safety of nearby communities and accommodate the flow of commercial traffic.
Checkpoints are not new to us in southern Arizona. We have had them on I-19 for many years.

Despite its deficiencies, the existing makeshift checkpoint has played an important role in apprehending illegal immigrants and seizing drugs.
From October 2006, when it stopped moving up and down the highway, to July 2007, the Border Patrol arrested 6,925 illegal immigrants. During a comparable timeframe when the checkpoint was still moving (October 2005 to July 2006), the Border Patrol had only 3,690 apprehensions.
Marijuana seizures while the checkpoint has been fixed totaled 59,346 pounds, compared with only 17,562 pounds seized during the same number of months when it was traveling back and forth.

But we can do even better. The existing checkpoint does not have adequate cameras, radar and Border Patrol agents to deter flanking and unintended impacts on nearby residents.

The interim checkpoint will include these improvements.

Over the coming months, I will be closely monitoring the progress of interim and permanent checkpoint planning and focusing on several key factors:

• Effectiveness: I have asked the Border Patrol to report to Congress every six months on apprehensions, seizures, levels of community violence, costs, traffic patterns and environmental impacts.

The Border Patrol must be held accountable. I and other members of Congress want to see the numbers. The examination of a fully equipped interim checkpoint will provide us the opportunity to evaluate whether a permanent structure makes sense and is cost effective.

I also will ask the Government Accountability Office to provide an independent, third-party evaluation of the effectiveness of checkpoints in the Tucson Sector and elsewhere. Joining in this request will be Arizona's U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl and Rep. Raúl Grijalva. This study will also look at how a permanent checkpoint fits into a comprehensive border security plan for the Tucson Sector.

• Community safety: Checkpoints will only work in southern Arizona if they make our border more secure while providing more safety, not less, to our communities. To that end, I wrote to U.S. Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar in May, asking him to take steps to improve community safety near the existing checkpoint.

He responded favorably by adding more patrol agents, sensors, sky watch towers and ground surveillance radar.

More public safety enhancements are needed at the interim checkpoint. A checkpoint must be properly staffed and equipped - with high-tech capabilities including radar, cameras and ground sensors - to ensure the safety of nearby residents.

These features must be part of the Border Patrol's interim checkpoint.

• Overall strategy: As many of my constituents have argued, checkpoints must be part of comprehensive border security, and we must focus on securing the border at the border. This must be the Border Patrol's primary emphasis. Cameras, ground sensors, radar and satellite communications, fencing and vehicle barriers in strategic areas must be increased at the border, along with more patrols of roads adjacent to the border.

Other critical elements of a comprehensive strategy include additional resources for the federal judicial system to enforce immigration laws.

• Local law enforcement: I have deep concerns about the impact of illegal immigration on local law enforcement agencies. They simply cannot be asked to do the work of the federal government in enforcing immigration laws.

This is why I fought to increase funding for the state Criminal Alien Assistance Program. I am pleased to report that we were able to add $70 million to the program. Checkpoints must not place an extra burden on our sheriffs.

Our environment, public safety, national security and financial stability are threatened by our border security crisis.

Also, hundreds of people are dying in our desert every year. Since Oct. 1, 2006, at least 186 people have lost their lives crossing the desert in southern Arizona. The situation is unacceptable.

Insufficient border security is only one aspect of our broken immigration system.

I am a strong advocate for comprehensive immigration reform, and I supported efforts in the House and Senate to pass such legislation.
I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make the federal government more accountable and effective in managing immigration policies and to take common sense steps to bolster border security.

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords" is the Tucson Democrat representing Arizona Congressional District 8.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/border/63772.php