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 News from Around the Americas | October 2007 
Arizona Sheriff's Border Unit Makes Presence Felt
 Carli Brosseau - Associated Press
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 |  | We're the new kids on the block.
- Sgt. James Murphy |  | |
Tucson, Ariz. - Tearing through the desert at 100 miles per hour on a twisty, rural road south of Tucson takes courage and a strong stomach.
The harrowing, high-speed chases through the desert are almost a nightly occurrence for those trying to stem the tide of illegal immigration.
Mixed in with the border crossers are smugglers, both Mexican and American, who bring people and drugs north. Preying on all of them are heavily armed gangs that drive south from Tucson and Phoenix to ambush these caravans.
Standing in the way is a complex web of law enforcement, whose officers, agents and deputies number in the thousands. It includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the National Guard and - since June - the Pima County Sheriff Department's Border Crime Unit.
"We're the new kids on the block," said Sgt. James Murphy, who heads the six-deputy unit, formerly known as Safe Streets.
In four months, deputies have become accustomed to the hair-raising dashes through the desert - in one recent nine-hour shift, there were two - and they can even steer with their knees while listening to the dispatcher and checking for updates on their laptops.
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said he created the Border Crime Unit in response to a series of high-profile rip-offs in which bandits stalked and attacked smugglers for their loads of people or drugs.
"We had five homicides in a few months. When it started happening near Green Valley - near a retirement community - it was clear we had to do something," Murphy said.
Drug loads are often worth more than $500,000, and smugglers usually are paid about $2,000 per load, Murphy said.
That ups the ante on what people are willing to do to get away.
"The stakes have been raised," Murphy said. "We've seen a notable increase in the firepower we face. We see more assault rifles."
Dupnik said each year the county spends about 10 percent of its budget, or $11 million, dealing with border-related crime, which the county defines as any crime involving illegal immigrants.
He said 10 percent of county jail inmates, or about 200 people, are in the country illegally.
Capt. Oscar Miranda, who heads the Support Operations Division, said more than $1.5 million has been allocated for salaries, vehicles and equipment for the unit.
That is set to increase. The budget approved by the county Board of Supervisors in July would allow for hiring 12 more deputies, four of them in November, Dupnik said.
The increase in funding will not change the unit's mission or its strategy, the sheriff said, although the mission can sometimes seem futile.
"It feels like you're taking six or seven pebbles and throwing them in the Colorado River and trying to have the Colorado River stop," Murphy said. "But if Border Patrol can plug nine out of 10 holes, and we can plug the 10th, then we'll be effective."
Border Patrol Agent Mike Scioli said in fiscal year 2007, which ended in October, federal agents caught about 378,000 illegal immigrants in the Tucson sector, which includes all of Arizona except for three counties bordering the Colorado River.
More than 1.2 million pounds of marijuana, 104 pounds of heroin and 1,075 pounds of methamphetamine were seized in Arizona in fiscal 2007, DEA spokeswoman Ramona Sanchez said.
Since June 7, when the Border Crime Unit became operational, deputies have seized more than 1,900 pounds of marijuana, apprehended more than 60 illegal immigrants, seized two vehicles, and recovered four stolen vehicles and one stolen gun, Deputy Dawn Hanke said.
But six deputies and a sergeant in SUVs spread over more than 9,000 square miles cannot tackle the problems associated with the border alone. Geography, the scarcity of resources and political imperatives make cooperation unavoidable.
There is some grumbling among deputies, however, that the Border Patrol sometimes tries to unload smaller cases on them.
Cooperation is now limited to sharing intelligence and equipment. But soon, federal and local agencies will draw closer, almost to the point of becoming indistinguishable.
A full-time Border Patrol agent has been assigned to the county's Border Crime Unit, Dupnik said.
A DEA agent is also slated to join, though a start date has not been set, Dupnik said.
The agents will work full time and go out on missions with deputies, he said. Their salaries will be paid by their respective agencies.
Dupnik said the agents may get deputy badges, which would allow them to enforce state as well as federal law.
In turn, deputies on the unit receive training similar to some federal agents: classes on concealed compartments, drug interdiction and falsified documents. The deputies also are on the waiting list for a five-week federal course that would allow them to enforce immigration law under the supervision of ICE, Dupnik said.
Dupnik has long maintained that enforcing immigration law is a federal responsibility.
He said the creation of the new unit and the acceptance of $1.3 million last year from the Department of Homeland Security does not indicate a position shift.
"What we are doing is addressing the crime associated with the border," Dupnik said. "That's what affects us."
The unit relies heavily on intelligence from federal agencies and ranchers, as well as traffic stops on isolated desert roads. There is a hot line, but few people have called.
Supervisor Sharon Bronson, whose district borders Mexico for 133 miles, said she has received positive feedback from constituents, especially ranchers.
"To the best of my knowledge, this cooperation is unprecedented," said Bronson, who is a member of the U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition. "The ranchers really appreciate the energy and visibility."
That visibility, however, could work against deputies in cases where they need immigrant cooperation, said Jennifer Allen of Border Action Network.
Cat Rodriguez of Derechos Humanos echoed that criticism.
"It criminalizes immigrants," she said. "It creates a culture of fear, and it doesn't give (law enforcement) the trust to solve other crimes." |
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