Crossing the border: Unusual tactics become the routine when it comes to sneaking into U.S.
By Troy Turner The Daily Times
Farmington Daily Times
Article Launched:03/20/2007 12:00:00 AM MDT

Today's story is one in a series that examines major changes in Mexico, and how they affect us.

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Operation Spotter might sound like a name worthy of a good bird dog, and that is indeed something akin to how the U.S. Customs and Border Protection uses it.

The primary border crossing that links El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez has more than 100,000 people a day traveling through it, with an astounding 20,000 of those daily crossovers doing so on foot.

That makes the U.S. border station on the El Paso side one of the busiest border stations along the entire 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico boundary.

Juarez, with its population of more than 2 million, provides much of the labor force that fuels the economic engine in this region. Thousands with valid work visas cross into El Paso en route to work, then casually return home in the evening, south of the border. Several hundred, if not a thousand Americans do likewise, going to and from jobs in Juarez.

Trucks that help feed and clothe Americans at affordable prices form long lines at the inspection station, getting checked for everything from illegal drugs to nuclear radiation.

Similar long lines form on the Mexican side for pedestrians and automobiles looking for passage.

A footbridge over the border bears a large plaque on a fence at the center of the bridge, with an English welcome to the United States on the north side, and a Spanish welcome to Mexico on the south. Credentials inspectors await the foot traffic on the American end, while inspections on the Mexican side are far less rigid.

Amid all the hustle and bustle of tourists, security, hard-working people and backed up traffic, camouflaged like quail hidden in the bushes are the bad-guy spotters looking for cracks in the system, says David Longoria, port director for the U.S. Border Patrol.


Passport for rent?


Spotters are those people border agents identify as criminals looking for opportunity, often acting as lookouts and observers for well-organized drug gangs or human smuggling operations based in Juarez.

"With Operation Spotter, we look for the spotters and watch them," Longoria said about a relatively new effort to turn the tables on the gateway spies. When they cross over the bridge to the American side, officers often nab those suspected of serving as spotters. "We bring them in, fingerprint them, take their picture."

Then, computer checks are made to search for any criminal history, and the new information is recorded. "Many of them have narcotics records," Longoria said.

There are many illegal tricks attempted when it comes to smuggling, said Isabell Mullens, a recently promoted senior officer with the Patrol. Among the hottest new markets is that for rented documents.

People looking for illegal entry into the United States can, for the right price, actually rent stolen identities from criminals who collect them. Part of the fee includes coaching on how to interview with border inspectors who question those entering the U.S.

"They match you with the photo on the ID," which could be a stolen passport, driver's license or something similar, "and then you can rent it for $200 or more," Mullens said. "They will walk you over, then get the documents back."

Paying customers must first practice the interview. "They make you memorize all of the information and practice telling it. They pretend to be officers, in fake interviews," she said. "If you can't pass the test, they tell you to just cross the river," meaning no rental and less chance of losing the marketable documents.

"Crossing the river" for those customers who fail the test also means less a chance of gaining entry into the States.


They try everything


The line of cars several lanes wide backs up onto the bridge linking the two countries.

Inside the vehicles of those trying to get into America, last-minute shuffling is done to try to avoid raising suspicion. Identification documents are prepared, packages are covered and the look of casual is put onto faces.

Others tired of the routine from doing it on a daily basis pull out a newspaper, book or chat on their cell phone as they patiently wait to advance toward the checkpoint with American officers.

Back on the American side, Mullens and the dozens of officers staffing the checkpoint go through a wide array of question and inspection techniques.

They've seen it all, she says, from people hiding in obvious places such as the car trunk or under a seat, to people ripping out side panels and getting boarded back in them.

A photo among many on a bulletin board showing some of the desperate attempts includes one of the more humorous efforts. "This guy," Mullens said with a smile, pointing to the photo, "actually sat in a van's passenger seat, a captain's chair, and he tried to disguise himself as the captain's chair," wearing the plastic seat-covering over the front of his body and sitting conformed to the chair's shape.

It didn't work.

Meanwhile, a drug-hunting dog was brought out from the main office, and its attending officer began walking among the waiting vehicles parked nearest the inspection portals, allowing the dog to sniff at each vehicle.

It did not take long to produce results.

They approached a small pickup truck, and the dog showed an intense interest with its sniffing. It let out a bark, and the officer called for assistance. The driver and passenger were asked to step out of the truck.

The officer opened the tailgate and allowed the dog to jump up into the back, where it sniffed the truck's bed and began scratching and yelping in excitement.

Only a few minutes later, officers figured out that the truck's flatbed was raised about an inch or two higher than normal, and in the hollow compartment created, they found a large supply of marijuana stuffed inside. Such a discovery is part of the job here, where more than 100,000 pounds of illegal drugs were confiscated just last year, leading the nation in that statistic for border entry points.

Arrests were made, and Mullens congratulated the officers for being alert.

"We want good experts in here," she explains, "so that when Osama bin Laden comes in, bam! We catch him."

It is another routine day here on the border.

Yet, routine remains far from the normal.


Troy Turner is the editor of The Daily Times. He can be contacted at P.O. Box 450, Farmington, N.M. 87499; or at tturner@daily-times.com.



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