BISBEE — After the death of Cochise County rancher Robert Krentz, Arizona and federal lawmakers voiced their outrage, but has there been a real effort to stop the crime and violence spilling over the border with Mexico?
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It’s like closing the barn door after the horse has escaped.
“The people I represent do not believe that their federal government has heard their pleas for help,” Giffords wrote in a second request for help on the border. “While much has been done over the past months to increase border security, it is clear that our border is not yet secure and that drug cartel violence is threatening the lives of our citizens.”
Giffords, whose 8th Congressional District includes 114 miles of international border, called for the National Guard’s deployment on March 30, three days after Robert Krentz was slain on his Cochise County ranch. “On behalf of the people I represent and the thousands of other Americans who live in the most troubled sections of our southern border, I ask for your help in meeting the first responsibility of government: to provide for the safety and protection of its citizens.”
State Rep. Pat Fleming is convinced that there is a total failure to deal with crime and violence along the border in Arizona. “Our immigration system is broken and those in Washington, D.C., have been unable or unwilling to solve it. This is an issue that also requires leadership and action at the federal level or it will simply get worse, especially in Southern Arizona. Border security and immigration need to be acted on by Congress, as well, so that states and cities are not forced to act and bear the entire expense of enforcing our immigration laws. We need tough immigration reform that cracks down on human smugglers, the illegal sale of weapons to drug cartels and other violent criminals, and we need to give law enforcement the tools they need to secure our borders. I support making sure law enforcement has the tools they need to go after violent criminals.”
She agrees with the policy of being proactive on illegal immigration issues, but added that she wants immigrants here legally to be treated fairly and with respect.
Gov. Jan Brewer requested that Napolitano deploy National Guard troops to the border. She received no response. She’s decided to take action to protect the state from border violence and has assembled a task force to help deal with the growing violence that plagues border communities and the state, said her spokesman, Paul Senseman.
Brewer is working on a financially sustainable plan with her Security Cabinet officials that includes the Guard. Details are not available.
Brewer could deploy the Guard as a state active-duty mission, but it would cost Arizona taxpayers $28 million for 250 personnel and support staff. If Napolitano sent the Guard to the border, Washington, D.C., would pick up the tab.
U.S. Sen. John McCain also reviewed the Arizona Cattle Growers Association proposal and praised it. He said, “The plan includes a number of excellent proposals that I have advocated for and believe should be implemented — including putting additional Border Patrol agents on the border and deploying National Guard troops.”
McCain continued: “Adding Border Patrol is economically feasible and it should be done. The money to pay for these new agents can be reprogrammed from the failed Secure Border Initiative net virtual fence program.”
The virtual fence was touted as a critical component of the illegal immigration strategy of the Department of Homeland Security when run by Michael Chertoff back in 2006. The technology contract was awarded to Boeing that year. The goal was to field the most effective mix of current and next-generation technology, infrastructure, staffing and response platforms, according to the Department of Homeland Security Web site. The virtual fence was supposed to integrate multiple state-of-the-art systems and traditional security infrastructure into a single comprehensive border security suite.
Arizona’s Senate did pass a bill Tuesday that would provide new policies to give law enforcement agencies more leverage in apprehension of people in the country illegally. While it has yet to be signed into law by Brewer, it’s already drawing fire from civil rights activists who claim it perpetuates racial profiling.
As far as anyone knows, there are no added Guard boots on the ground in Arizona despite pleas from state and federal officials. But Giffords is not giving up. “Then and now, I believe that the deployment of the National Guard represents an essential first step in reassuring Arizona’s border communities of our commitment to their safety â€- We can and must bring this situation under control, and the responsibility rests with the federal government to get the job done.”
Shuttles busted
Federal officials arrested the owners and employees of five shuttle operations Thursday they charge were knowingly ferrying illegal immigrants from Tucson to Phoenix. John Morton, an assistant secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, described Thursday’s busts as a major shift in how ICE and other federal agencies will deal with illegal immigration. “We are not seeking to prosecute a given smuggler, a given shuttle company, a given driver,” he said.
Comments
sarum wrote on May 11, 2010 2:50 AM:
To Joseph Perrin wrote on Apr 29, 2010 8:24 PM:
Prudence wrote on Apr 24, 2010 5:03 AM:
Terri wrote on Apr 23, 2010 1:42 AM:
I am very disappointed that not a single representative asked for fence money.
A fence is either cost neutral or a cost saving. If the fence stops drugs from getting into America, then that is that many less drug addicts and dealers that no longer need to be jailed. Or illegal aliens who need to be sent home. Or hospital bills to be paid.
Compare the cost of building the fence vs the cost of paying for jailing people in prisons and adding all these troups.
The fence will pay for itself a hundred times over. "
sean wrote on Apr 22, 2010 10:57 AM:
Joseph Perrin wrote on Apr 22, 2010 12:34 AM: