DOUGLAS, Ariz. — Pressed against the Mexican border, this isolated city in the high desert ranks as one of the nation's busiest gateways for illegal immigration.
Encounters with illegal border crossers are so frequent that even Mayor Ray Borane hardly noticed the group of Mexicans hiding in the bushes recently outside the home he is building.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday August 30, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 44 words Type of Material: Correction
Arizona border town -- A photo caption that accompanied an article in Friday's Section A about undocumented border crossers in Douglas, Ariz., incorrectly described the location of a U.S. Border Patrol supervisor. The supervisor was standing in a drainage pipe, not a drainage ditch.
"I have seen illegal immigration all my life," he said, shrugging. "Illegal immigration has a life of its own. You can't stop it."
The impact of this human tide led Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to declare a state of emergency in four counties including Douglas' last week. She cited the spread of "dangerous criminal activities" and the failure of the federal government to "secure the United States and Mexico border."
But on the front lines in Douglas, senior government leaders, federal agents and many residents are hard-pressed to identify the emergency conditions. Borane said the city of 15,000 was in generally good shape and had learned to live with the annoyances that accompanied the flow over the border.
Crime has been dropping, and the city hasn't recorded a homicide in a couple of years, Police Chief Charles E. Austin said. Women in town say the streets are safe to walk at night.
Though the city's downtown has faded and some stores are vacant, huge new retail outlets are adding employment and tax base. The city, which is 90% Latino, is far more dependent on trade with its sister city, Agua Prieta, than the rest of Arizona, Borane said.
Local civic institutions appear sound. Douglas' public school system -- most of whose graduates go on to college -- is easily handling enrollment, which until this year had been declining.
"It is not an emergency or a crisis," school district Supt. Gail Zamar said. "I just don't see it."
Douglas defies the conventional wisdom that towns all along the border have been overwhelmed by illegal immigration and are falling apart. Many here say border problems are being exaggerated by politicians, interest groups and the media.
To be sure, illegal immigrants cause substantial damage in and around Douglas. They have trampled sensitive ecosystems in the nearby mountains, dumped many tons of litter in the countryside, vandalized ranchers' property and caused havoc with local healthcare systems.
But those burdens are part of a much larger relationship with Mexico. On balance, Borane said, immigration has been a benefit.
