U.S. to Bolster Arizona Border Security
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration will deploy more than 500 additional Border Patrol agents to Arizona to deter illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said Tuesday, even as a self-appointed civilian group was preparing to launch its own patrols.
An announcement scheduled for today will bring top Homeland Security officials from Washington to a cavernous hangar at an Air Force base near Tucson, home to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft that patrol the border.
The display of bolstered federal patrols and technology will come two days before an ad hoc civilian patrol commences its border protection campaign known as the Minuteman Project. Roving patrols of civilians, including some individuals who might be armed, will attempt to spot illegal border-crossers and call in federal officers to make arrests. Organizers expect more than 500 volunteers to participate.
"President Bush called the Minuteman Project a bunch of vigilantes -- but if it's the case that this [federal crackdown] did start because of the Minuteman Project, then the project is a success," said Bill Bennett, a spokesman for the group in Tombstone, Ariz. "I find it very interesting that this is all coinciding."
Federal officials said the timing of their announcement had nothing to do with the Minuteman Project, although they acknowledged a strained relationship with the group. "We're the front line," said one Homeland Security official.
With the peak border-crossing season approaching, federal officials said their announcement reflected a new phase of the Arizona Border Control Initiative begun last year.
When the deployment is complete, about 3,000 Border Patrol agents will be assigned to the 370-mile Arizona frontier, mostly desert terrain. About 150 new agents will be sent immediately.
Unmanned aerial drones of the sort used by the military in Afghanistan also are expected to return to the skies above Arizona in coming months, an official said. The drones were tested there last year.
In addition to the border agents, investigators from Immigration and Customs Enforcement will redouble efforts to disrupt smuggling networks by identifying key leaders and going after their financial assets.
Critics say the campaign is just the latest edition of an annual federal crackdown that few believe can stop the flow.
- Illegal Immigrants' Death Toll Sets Record Sep 03, 2005
- Deaths of Illegal Crossers Up in Arizona Sep 19, 2004
- K-9 Reinforcements to Help Put the Bite on Drug, Alien Smugglers Feb 17, 1988
