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Borderland Beat -
Reporting on the Mexican Cartel Drug War
Maps of the Mexico Cartels
RADIO INTERVIEWS -
News New Mexico
Dr. Jerry Schickendanz
and Dr. John Fowler 06/30/11
Tom Cooper and Dudley
WIlliams 06/22/11
Steve Wilmeth and Joe
Delk - 06/15/11
Steve Wilmeth and Gene Wood (NAFBPO) - 06/08/11
Jerry Schickendanz and
Frank DuBois - 06/01/11
Steve
Wilmeth Interview with Joe Dreyfuss, KJLL am 1330 Tucson, AZ
12/01/10
Dr. Jerry Schickedanz &
Dr. Chris Allison 09/09/10
Frank DuBois,
former NM Secretary of Ag, Deputy Assistant Secty of Interior
09/02/10
Joe Delk, Dona Ana
Soil & Water Conservation District and Steve Wilmeth, Rancher
08/26/10
Gene Wood, Retired Border Patrol Sector Chief and Steve Wilmeth, Rancher 08/20/10
Tom Cooper, past Chairman of
PFPOWH, 08/12/10
A SMALL SELECTION OF ARTICLES
WILMETH'S WEST by
Stephen L. Wilmeth
The Border, The Environment & Federalism: A Proposal and A Stance
[NEW
12/18/11]
The Dance: Leopold Chronicles
[NEW
12/11/11]
Boothell Country: The Continuing Saga - Parallel Universes
[NEW
11/20/11]
Sanctuaries Behind the Plan -
One County Buffer - Wilderness Paradise
[NEW
10/09/11]
Security or Open Borders
[NEW
9/25/11]
Judges, Kings and Select Committees - Failure of Congress
[NEW
8/14/11]
Border Wilderness and the
National Security Threat - Wilderness is Causative
[NEW
8/03/11]
The Sovereignty of the
Individual - The Cornerstone
[NEW
7/24/11]
The Corruption of Values - Promises Made... Promises Ignored
[NEW
7/10/11]
Historic Patterns of Vegetation & Enviro Bankrolls
[NEW
7/03/11]
The Federal Land Rancher: Sharecropping in the Modern World
[NEW
6/26/11]
Illegals, Wallow and
Horseshoes - Arizona's Undeclared War
[NEW
6/19/11]
The Growing Dilemma - Scarcity of Values [NEW
6/12/11]
Safety On The Border - S.1024 Revelations [NEW
5/31/11]
Constitutional Drift &
The Bingaman Syndrome [NEW
5/22/11]
Reckless Leadership Strategy
[NEW
5/15/11]
Border Patrol, Land Laws, and Access Constraints
[NEW
5/09/11]
The Issue is the Truth - Border Apprehension Predictor
[NEW
4/17/11]
Progress of the Mexican Revolution - "Mira las Huellas"
[NEW
4/10/11]
Equine Logic - Wilderness Expansion - The Cast of Insatiable Appetite
[NEW
4/03/11]
The Red Globe
Lesson - The Idea of Robust Horizons - Government Suppresses the
Unexpected
[NEW
3/27/11]
Land and People - The Value Promise - Meritorious Possession [NEW
3/20/11]
The Border Conflict Continues: Manipulation of a Predetermined Result [NEW
2/14/11]
Sovereignty - Precious or Sanctimonious?
[NEW
1/30/11]
Regulation Without Representation - The Dynamic Reallocation of Western
Lands
[NEW
1/24/11]
Federal Agents Say Environmental Laws Hamper Work (The Westerner) [NEW
10/28/11]
FBI Report: "The US Southwest Border Region Represents a Continuing Criminal
Threat to the United States" (The Westerner) [NEW
10/23/11]
Study Finds Wilderness Has Negative Economic Impact on Local Areas
(full study)
(The Westerner) [NEW
10/18/11]
Dona Ana Sheriff Decries Bingaman Wilderness Bill as "Height of Folly"
(The Westerner) [NEW
08/08/11]
Fox News:
America's Third War Coverage on Border Security
A Dirty, Vicious Business - In Peck Canyon Corridor, Violent Crimes and
Discovery of Body Part Occur With Disturbing Regularity (Tucson
Weekly)
[NEW
6/01/11]
Stratfor Global Intelligence
Report - Mexican Drug Wars, Bloodiest Year to Date
[NEW
1/10/11]
Border 2010... A Year In Review (Tucson Citizen)
[NEW
12/24/10]
The Danger of Congress and the Omnibus Bill - Call From The Borderland
(The Westerner)
[NEW
12/21/10]
Half of All Illegal Entries and Marijuana Smuggled Into U.S. in 2010 Came
Through One Sector of AZ Border, Says Border Patrol (The Westerner)
[NEW
12/20/10]
Law and Order on the Border
(American Farm Bureau)
[NEW
12/12/10]
The BACA - Government and Environmental Collusion (The Westerner)
[NEW
12/8/10]
Alejandro Garza and His Border War (The Westerner)
[NEW
12/2/10]
Enviros Rule U.S. Border Policy - The Truth Emerges: Environmentalism Trumps
National Security (The Westerner)
[NEW
11/21/10]
On The Border: One-sided Agency Cooperation - Agency Cooperation Where?
(The Westerner)
[NEW
11/14/10]
Interior Extorts $$ In Interagency Border Battle (The Westerner)
[NEW
11/11/10]
A Gift to the
Drug Cartels: Will New Mexico Become the New Arizona? (Center for
Immigration Studies)
[NEW
10/20/10]
National Association of
Former Border Patrol Officers
Proposal
for Comprehensive Immigration and Enforcement Report, October 3, 2010
(Specifically referring to the issue of wilderness, see Step 9, Other
Matters, p.20, and Environmental Legislation, p.21)
[NEW
10/03/10]
ICE Chief Morton to Field: See No Illegal Aliens (Center for
Immigration Studies) [NEW
08/20/10] "According to a
draft policy
document now being circulated among a limited group of stakeholders, ICE
chief John Morton intends to prohibit not only his officers, but also local
officers with 287(g) immigration authority, from busting illegal aliens who
are discovered as a result of traffic violations."
Series by rancher Ed Ashurst,
Apache Arizona on the Federal Observer website:
Letter from an Arizona Rancher
A Border Manifesto
A Border Manifesto #2
A Border Manifesto #3
A Border Manifesto #4
A Border Manifesto #5
Wilderness Expansion and (Unlawful) Beneficiary Use by Stephen L.
Wilmeth
Wilderness: Expansion and (Lawful) Beneficiary Use by Stephen L. Wilmeth
Wilderness' Economic Revolution - Catron County by Stephen L. Wilmeth
Mysterious People with Rough Hands by Stephen L. Wilmeth
The Arizona Smuggling Corridors by David B. Ham and Stephen L. Wilmeth
The Wilderness Border and its Implications on American Security by
Richard E. Hays and Stephen L. Wilmeth
Wilderness Compromises Border Security by Frank DuBois
And Then, There Were 10, But Still No Champion by Stephen L. Wilmeth
[NEW 7/26/10]
Rancher Wilderness Views Remain Unheeded - Border Security Issues Still a
Significant Problem by Jerry Schikedanz
Don't Shackle Border With Wilderness Bill by Tom Cooper
The True Consequences of the Wilderness Bill by Jerry Schikedanz
Potrillo
Mountains Ranching: A Woman's View of the Wilderness (Las Cruces Sun
News)
[NEW 08/04/10]
The Krentz Tragedy - Murder on the Border by Stephen L. Wilmeth
Border Patrol Veterans Speak Out (WorldNetDaily)
National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers - letter to
Congressmen,
Senators
Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border: Coyotes, Bears, and Trails (Video)
Hidden
Cameras on the Arizona Border 2: Drugs, Guns and 850 Illegal Aliens
(Video)
Hidden
Cameras on the Arizona Border 3: A Day in the Life of a Drug Smuggler (Video)
Gaming the Border: A Report from Cochise County, Arizona (Video)
Murdered Arizona Border Resident's Widow: "We Can't Let This Happen to
Another Rancher" - (Fox News)
[NEW 7/28/10]
Enforcing Smuggling in Southern Arizona (PoliceMag.com)
[NEW 7/28/10]
Map of Cartel Related Slayings in Mexico by State
[NEW 7/28/10]
The Border: A Dirty War
For border security news, see the
M3 Report -
Reports derived and translated directly from Mexican and Central American
News Sources by the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
(NAFBPO)
The Westerner regularly posts articles related to border security and
Wilderness designation. Here are links to the Westerner posts by
relevant tags:
Border
Wilderness NM
Wilderness
See the
news archive below for many more articles, listed in date sequence.
Our
videos section has clips of
several news stories related to border security and federal lands.
POSITION STATEMENTS
08/2011
Letters Against S.1024:
Letter from Congressman Steve Pearce to Sec. of Interior Ken Salazar on
S.1024
National
Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
Dona Ana County
Sheriff Todd Garrison
Luna County
Sheriff Raymond Cobos
Hidalgo
Country Sheriff Saturnino Madero
Las Cruces
Chamber of Commerce
Building Industry
Association of Southern New Mexico
Dona
Ana Soil & Water Conservation District
NMSU Southwest
Border Food Safety and Defense Center
Las Cruces TEA Party
Letter, and
Enclosure
People for Preserving
Our Western Heritage
Mesilla Valley
Sportsmen's Alliance
Rio Grande Soaring
Association
Luna County
Village of Hatch
Dona Ana
County Organizations and Community Leaders Letter
Las Cruces
Association of Realtors
Coalition Listing
- over 800 strong supporting an alternative to Wilderness designation
National
Association of Former Border Patrol Officers Proposal for Comprehensive
Immigration Enforcement and Reform
Dona Ana County Soil & Water Conservation
District
Resolution Requesting Cooperating Status and
Wild
Lands Resolution Cover Letter (02/15/11)
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BORDER WARS SERIES
Border Wars - National
Geographic Channel
GOVERNMENT REPORTS & SOURCES ON BORDER ISSUES
GAO Report - Arizona Border
Region, 11/2011
Texas Border Security - A Strategic Military Assessment, September 2011
10/10/11
NMDA Notice For Livestock Scale Inspection Requiring Law Enforcement Escorts
for Inspectors South of I-10 (NMDA) 07/11/11
US CBP Intelligence
Report, Vekol Valley, Table Top Wilderness, 78+ Miles N of Mexican Border
Congressional Hearing Testimony from 4/15/11
Mr. George Zachary Taylor, National Association of Former
Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO)
Mr. Gene Wood, National Association of Former
Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO)
Southwest
Border - Border Patrol Operations on Federal Lands (GAO Report, 4/15/11)
Southwest
Border - More Timely Border Patrol Access and Training Could IMprove
Security Operations and Natural Resource Protection on Federal Lands
(GAO Report 10/2010)
GAO: Armed Smugglers and Marijuana Growers Threaten the Safety of Americans
on Federal Lands (CNS News)
Las Cruces BLM Office Borderland Safeguards handout contains the
following warnings:
|
BE AWARE that you are in areas of Safety Concern.
BE CAUTIOUS... of the following:
1. High speed driving/law enforcement pursuits
2. Language barriers increase risk
3. Risk of contact with unknown personnel in vehicles or on foot
4. Radio and cell phone "dead spots"
5. Use only trained responses
6. Leaving BLM vehicles unattended
7. Vehicles found unattended
8. Biological hazards
9. Know where you are/describe your location
10. Let dispatch & law enforcement know your trip plan
11. Expect the unexpected!
INTERNATIONAL BORDER WATCHOUTS
1. No communication link with others, dispatch, and/or law enforcement
2. Working in a Law Enforcement Area of Concern
3. Armed confrontations either by law enforcement and/or illegal entrants
4. Small or large groups of people being transported either on foot or in a
vehicle
5. Accidental witnessing of (large) quantities of drug deals and drug
transportation
6. High Speed driving and law enforcement pursuits in your work areas
7. Aircraft trying to avoid detection and frequent law enforcement aircraft
operations due to these illegal activities
8. Historical, administrative, and cultural sites that have been vandalized
and broken into
9. Locks and fences deliberately knocked down or cut
10. Large amounts of footprints - these may be headed to your work area
11. Abandoned vehicles either intact or set on fire
12. Wildfires caused by abandoned warming and cooking fires
13. Individuals that appear ill
14. Trash and high concentrations of human fecal materal in heavily used
illegal entrants staging areas and routes
15. Methamphetamine labs either occupied or abandoned. Chemical
dumping.
16. Marijuana field protected by growers
17. Workers alone and/or working at night
18. Leaving your BLM vehicle unattended
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Arizona BLM Reports on
Impacts Caused by Undocumented Aliens Crossing Federal Lands in Southeast
Arizona
Arizona Border Trash -
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
Arizona BLM - Reclaiming Our Arizona Monuments
Menu of All AZ BLM Reports
FY 2009 Summary Report
FY 2009 Fact Sheet
- Cleanup efforts include the areas within 100 miles of the border
- 234 tons of trash, 62 vehicles, 404 bicycles, approximately 800
tires removed
- Tohono O'odham Reservation removed over 20 tons of trash
- AZ Game & Fish removed over 20 tons of trash
- Cost for FY 2009 was $1,137,500
- Photo of typical layup site
Former Border Patrol Officers - NO CONFIDENCE
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Vote of No Confidence in ICE Director and Assistant Director
"This action [vote of no confidence] reflects the growing dissatisfaction
and concern amount ICE employees and Union leaders that Director John Morton
and Assistant Director Phyllis Coven have abandoned the Agency's core
mission of enforcing United States Immigration Laws and providing for public
safety, and have instead directed their attention to campaigning for
programs and policies related to amnesty and the creation of a special
detention system for foreign nationals that exceeds the care and services
provided to most United States citizens similarly incarcerated. It is
the desire of our union within ICE and our employees to publicaly separate
ourselves from the actions of Director Morton and Assistant Director Coven
and publicly state that ICE officers and employees do not support Morton or
Coven, or their misguided and reckless initiatives, which could ultimately
put many in America at risk. ... ICE is misleading the American public with
regard to the effectiveness of criminal enforcement programs like the ICE
'Secure Communities Program'. ... ICE has virtually no consistent
national policies. As a result, the Agency lacks adequate direction
and managerial infrastructure. Operations suffer, accountability is
nonexistent, and ICE is unable to perform at its potential."
DHS
2009 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics (DHS, added 09/26/10)
FBI Series - On The Southwest Border
On The Southwest Border - Corruption, Drugs, Gangs and More
(08/02/10)
Public Corruption: A Few Bad Apples (8/9/10)
When Violence Hits Too Close To Home (08/12/10)
FBI - Forging Ties in Tijuana (08/16/10)
A Drug Buy in El Paso (08/30/10)
On The Southwest Border - Going After the Major Players (09/09/10)
On The Southwest Border - Understanding the Gang Threat (09/23/10)
The Importance of Intelligence (10/01/10)
Border
Security Operations, Texas Rangers, Center - Nuevo Lardeo Cartel Battle
Tactics Analysis 07/16/10 (Warning - GRAPHIC)
GAO -
Alien
Smuggling - DHS Could Better Address Alien Smuggling Along the Southwest
Border - GAO Report, July 22, 2010
“alien smuggling along the southwest border is
an increasing threat to the security of the United States and Mexico as well
as to the safety of both law enforcement and smuggled aliens.”
“According to the National Drug Intelligence Center’s (NDIC) 2008 National
Drug Threat Assessment, the southwest border region is the principal entry
point for smuggled aliens from Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Aliens from countries of special interest to the United States such as
Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan (known as special-interest aliens)
also illegally enter the United States through the region,”
"some Mexican drug trafficking organizations specialize in smuggling
special-interest aliens into the United States."
From the
2009 National Drug Intelligence Center,
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis Outlook:
"Mexican
DTOs [drug trafficking organizations] that traditionally smuggle drugs
through the El Paso/Juárez plaza will most likely seek alternative routes to
avoid confrontations with Mexican Government counterdrug forces and rival
DTOs by shifting some of
their smuggling activities to the U.S.-Mexico border in New Mexico. As a
result, it is quite likely that drug-related violence in U.S. communities
along the border in New Mexico will increase as law enforcement officials
and rival traffickers respond to the shifts in smuggling routes."
A Line In The Sand - Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border,
House Committee on Homeland Security
Department of Interior
Threat
Assessment
Department of Interior
Safe Borderlands
Initiative
National Drug Intelligence Center New Mexico High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area
(HIDTA) Drug Market Analysis for 2009
New Mexico HIDTA
Overview for 2009
Republicans Natural
Resources Committee
Overview of Securing our Border on Federal Lands
April 9, 2009 press release from the BLM - " BLM
Cautions Public Regarding Border Violence" -
"The
international border with Mexico is becoming of increasing concern to the U.S.
Government due to an increase in dangerous illegal activities and an
escalating trend in border violence."
GAO
(US Government Accountability Office) report, 09/27/07: "Security
Vulnerabilities at Unmanned and Unmonitored U.S. Border Locations".
They state
"The possibility that terrorists and criminals might
exploit border vulnerabilities and enter the United States poses a serious
security risk... Congress is concerned that unmanned and unmonitored areas
between these ports of entry may be vulnerable. ... In unmonitored locations,
CBP does not have this equipment in place and
must
rely on alert citizens or other information sources to meet its
obligation to protect the border."
In the
summary of the above GAO report, they indicate for
"Federally managed
lands adjacent to border", that "Investigators
approached the U.S.-Mexico border", and observed "No visible
law enforcement response, no observable electronic monitoring equipment,
investigators observed evidence of frequent border
crossings into the United States at this location." They
also state "However, our limited security assessment identified potential security vulnerabilities on federally managed
lands adjacent to the U.S.–Mexico border; we did not observe
monitoring or a law enforcement presence during the time our investigators
visited these areas. The Department of the Interior (Interior) provided us
with a memorandum of understanding between itself; the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), of which CBP is a component; and the Department of
Agriculture (USDA) documenting the agreed approach to protecting federal
lands along U.S. borders. Although CBP is ultimately responsible for
protecting these areas, officials told us that certain
legal, environmental, and cultural considerations limit options for
enforcement. ... Our observations on the southern border showed a significant
disparity between the large law enforcement presence on state lands in one
state and what seemed to be a lack of law
enforcement presence on federally managed lands."
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services
Memo on Border Law Enforcement on Refuge System Lands in the Southwest
Buenos
Aires National Wildlife Refuge Borderland Challenges USFWS Presentation
National Park Service
Border Resource
Impacts presentation (large PDF)
National Park Service - The following announcement is posed on the website
for the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument:
"Due
to an increase in illegal border activity, all backcountry areas are closed
indefinitely to both hiking and overnight camping. Please check with the staff
at the Kris Eggle Visitor Center for current information. We anticipate
this will be a temporary closure, though we are not certain when we can expect
areas to reopen." Note: We are uncertain of when
this advisory was first posted, but it was on the above website for most of
2008, and was still on the website as of 03/29/2010.
From the
Arizona Game & Fish website for Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge:
Special Note Regarding Border Issues:
"Unit
36B is a corridor for the trafficking of undocumented aliens (UDAs) and drugs.
Hunters will see the trails and trash left by these people. Hunters are urged
to use caution when hunting and camping in 36B or any of the other border
units. It is advisable to use some sort of visible anti-theft device on your
vehicle, for vehicle thefts have increased the past two years. Having a group
of UDAs walk through a hunting area may negatively impact your hunt. The key
to hunting in the border units is the ability to flex and adapt." See this
link for closure information on the area.
BLM
Southern Arizona Project to Mitigate Environmental Damages Resulting from
Illegal Immigration
National Drug Intelligence Center
National Methamphetamine Threat Assessment 2010
FROM THE
FBI
“El
Paso may be the busiest city in the world in terms of the flow of drugs,”
said Special Agent Mike Cordero, a member of the FBI/DEA Strike Force, an
investigative team established in 2007 to target “the biggest of the big”
drug trafficking organizations.
"El Paso, Texas, whose sister city in
Mexico - Juarez - has become as deadly as any war zone thanks to the drug
cartels."
"The cartels make billion-dollar profits
trafficking drugs. Gaining and controlling border access is critical
to their operations. They maintain that control through bribery,
extortion, intimidation, and extreme violence. Some areas on the
Mexican side of the border are so violent they are reminiscent of the
gangster era of Chicago in the 1930s or the heyday of the Mafia's Five
Families in New York. ... In Juarez, decapitated heads of murdered cartel
members have been displayed on fence posts to intimidate rivals."
"The disturbing level of violence sometimes
overshadows the national security risks along the border"
"Thanks to drug money, the cartels have
enormous power - and they use it to bribe, intimidate and murder."
ELECTED OFFICIALS
Congressman Bishop Discusses Border Security and Federal Lands
(07/16/10)
View
the video commentary
from
Congressman
Bishop regarding the information contained in the referenced NPS
presentation and DOI Threat Assessment report used in our presentation
"Wilderness
On The Border".
Pearce Calls Wilderness Bill Fatally Flawed
Other
areas along our country's southern border have already discovered the serious
impacts on law enforcement and threats to national security that result from
the restrictions on areas designated as wilderness. Dona Ana County
Sheriff
Todd Garrison has
stated "I have seen what has happened along the border in Arizona
where it also has been turned into a wilderness area, and because of this, I,
as Sheriff, had concerns for county residents."
QUOTES FROM BORDER PATROL OFFICERS & OTHER
OFFICIALS
HR1505 Testimony -
Guyant 1,
Guyant 2,
Leshy,
Pena,
Thorsen,
Thrasher
(07/08/11)
National Assoc.
of Former Border Patrol Officers Letter to Senator Bingaman on S.1024
Border
Patrol Veterans Speak Out (WorldNetDaily)
"The presence of any wilderness on the
Mexican border is a danger to the security of the United States."
Jim Switzer, National Association
of Former Border Patrol Officers
"...when wilderness designations are in enforcement
areas, they can substantially affect the ability to conduct necessary daily
operations and limit the construction of infrastructure."
Commissioner
Alan Bersin, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection
"Smuggling organizations quickly learn to
scout, identify, occupy and utilize unguarded border locations. To
disrupt criminal operations, Border Patrol officers must have COMPLETE
access TO ALL AREAS adjacent to the border. Border Patrol agents must
have the flexibility to monitor and have a PHYSICAL PRESENCE to confront
illegal activity, regardless of where it occurs along our borders.
Failure to do so gives the perpetrators the upper hand, established routes
of safe passage into the U.S., and weakens the first line of defense.
The control of ANY corridor translates into the control of all illegal
activity in that corridor. Border Patrol must have access to ALL
trafficking corridors, NO EXCEPTIONS. Our borders have never been so
severely tested. The United States is at a critical crossroads
regarding our sovereignty and national security. Anything that impedes the
Border Patrol from actively patrolling corridors automatically enables and
enhances criminal activity. The authority vested in Border Patrol
agents must be UNENCUMBERED. Wilderness designation creates
significant impediments for Border Patrol."
Buck Brandemuehl, Chief of U.S. Border Patrol (Retired),
Border Security Forum, Las Cruces, May 2010 (large PDF of presentation
slides)
"The
current effort to create Wilderness along the border in Dona Ana County and
ultimately the expansion of such activities along the extended border is
dangerous and ill conceived."
Richard Hays, retired Chief of Air
Operations for the Border Patrol
"The
smuggling organizations are very aware of where the protected lands are.
They're aware of where the [Border Patrol's] restrictions are, and tend to
take advantage of them. They exploit the wilderness areas."
David
Bemiller, the Border Patrol Tucson Sector's public-lands liaison
"The purpose of
this document is to bring attention to the fallacy, and danger, of efforts
underway to further deny Federal Law Enforcement Officers (Border Patrol
Agents), access to areas necessary to defend our southern borders by granting
additional "wilderness area" designations. Our southern
border is today more vulnerable to terrorist activities than at any other
time in our National history. This is not the time to consider
additional designations as 'wilderness'. It may be appropriate at this
time for our Country to repeal some previously approved wilderness
designations to insure the best possible chance for success in ongoing
security activities."
Mr. Kent Lundgren, Former Chairman, National Association of Former Border
Patrol Officers
"The Potrillos have ALL the
characteristics for the perfect smuggling corridor. No motorized vehicle
access and no mechanized equipment is the original intent of the law and the
cornerstone of Wilderness. NO law enforcement agency can provide
protection under these conditions. Environmental idealism has trumped
national security. Designating Wilderness on the border IS NOT WORKING.
Wilderness designation contribute significantly to criminal activity and
environmental devastation. With appropriate support, U.S. Border Patrol agents
can succeed in security our border. WHEN our borders are secure,
environmental restoration has a far greater chance of success."
Gene Wood, Retired U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent and Sector Chief
(McAllen, TX and Yuma, AZ)
Border Security Forum, Las Cruces, May 2010
(large PDF of presentation slides)
"Wilderness Areas, Wildlife Refuges, and
similar federally controlled lands are the PRIME smuggling corridors into the
United States. Most federally protected lands on the U.S./Mexico border
RESTRICT OR PROHIBIT normal and exigent law enforcement activities."
Zack Taylor, Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (Ret.),
Border Security Forum, Las Cruces, May 2010
(large PDF of presentation slides)
"In
each wilderness debate, there has been a continued reference to a
Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) that was agreed to between the Departments of Homeland
Security, Interior, and Agriculture which provides for Border Patrol access
to Federal lands. That MOU spells out clearly the ability to operate on
such lands including designated wilderness. In wilderness designated
areas, the Patrol has the right for entry if in pursuit, however, normal
deterrent operations, including the maintenance and placement of technical
surveillance equipment would require negotiations between the Agencies
involved. Considering the urgency of protecting our borders,
negotiating for access which could take up to 90 days is unacceptably
dangerous." It is also
important to understand that a MOU is not a binding document.
Press release prepared by the National Association of Former Border Patrol
Officers
"This effort to
create a wilderness designation for a large portion of our southern border
did not originate from citizens of New Mexico and Arizona. It
originated from the NMWA and Sky Island Alliance. These groups share
genesis and past board membership from the environmental movement, Earth
First!. The father of Earth First!, Dave Foreman., is the founder of
NMWA. It was Mr. Foreman who wrote the book “Ecodefense; A Field Guide
to Monkey Wrenching.” These are the folks who promoted the spiking of
trees, the burning of high end condominiums, the destruction of new cars on
parking lots, and the sinking of whaling ships." (Note:
NMWA is the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance) They go on to state "The
Tumacacori Highlands of Arizona, and the Potrillo Mountains and Broad Canyon
portion of the New Mexico proposal are not just idealistic areas where “earth
and its community of life are undisturbed by man”. If they become
wilderness, they will be heralded not only by those who believe wilderness
designation should be made at any cost, but equally by human smugglers, drug
runners, and those committed to the destruction of our country."
WILDERNESS, BORDER PATROL, AND NATIONAL SECURITY, National Association of
Former Border Patrol Officers
"Today, our National Security and overall
Public Safety is under constant threat of assault in the border region
between the United States and Mexico. Daily, the Americans that live
in the border states and particularly those that actually live within the
border region are in imminent danger due to the amount of the violent crime
that is taking place on public lands. The lawlessness that exists on
public lands in the border region is an open invitation to terrorists.
The horrible face of terrorism is seen everywhere along the Mexican Border.
Illegal aliens and drugs are passing through these public lands undetected."
Thomas J.
Cronin, Chairman, National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers
"Law enforcement
work in the National Park Service is the most dangerous in federal service. National Park Service officers are 12 times more
likely to be killed or injured as a result of an assault than FBI agents.
Overall, NPS law enforcement has a morbidity rate triple that of the next
worst federal agency."
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
"Obviously, the impact of that policy [*] is severe on our
operations," he said. "When you can't drive in those areas, it makes it
impossible to patrol and enforce the law, and it transforms it into a
sanctuary for illegal aliens." [*] - "that
policy" is referring to federal land management policies such as Wilderness,
National Wildlife Refuge, etc. that hinder Border Patrol operations.
(from a
Fox News report. July 2010)
T.J.
Bonner, president of the National Border Council, the union for Border
Patrol agents
"... the criminal activities and
violence of the drug trafficking organizations in Mexico is not only an
international threat, it is a homeland security issue in which all Americans
have a stake. ... ICE recognizes the severity of the violence and illicit
activity in Cuidad Juarez."
Alonzo R. Peña, the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Operations
"... there has been an increase in
the level of drug cartel-related violence on the Mexican side of the
Southwest border, particularly around Cuidad Juarez and Tijuana, and along
the Nuevo-Leon-Tamaulipas-Texas border. As I unequivocally stated
then, and as I repeat now, addressing the violence in Mexico is vital to the
United States interests."
John Morton, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant
Secretary
"We urge everyone
else to take into consideration the dynamics of protecting future watershed
resources without imposing such restrictions in these designated wilderness
areas that the water resources cannot be used appropriately."
Gary
Esslinger, Treasurer/Manager of EBID
"There
are two issues that we are immediately concerned about regarding the
designation of Wilderness status in our County. The first is access to
open spaces heretofore unrestricted. The roads and points of access
into the present WSA's designated bounds have become and remain immediate
access for our activities. As such, we believe they are legal
right-of-ways that must be permanently and without qualification left open to
access. Secondly, the Homeland Security demands that are increasing
annually have huge implications especially in the West Portrillo area of the
proposal. If access is closed to the West Potrillo WSA, we believe the
only observers of the closure to mechanized access will be the drug runners
and coyotes that will welcome the presence of a huge chunk of open space
adjacent to the border.".
Debra Russell, President of the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Posse
"Our organization does not
and cannot support the current scheme of carving out Wilderness in Dona Ana
County for the stated reasons presented and pushed by advocates who knowingly
or unknowingly disregard the qualification of true Wilderness designation
according to our understanding of the Wilderness Act."
Dona Ana County Sheriff's Posse
U.S. Border Patrol Weekly Blotter
OTHER RESOURCES
7/11/11
The Human Tragedy of Illegal
Immigration: Greater Efforts Needed to Combat Smuggling and Violence
(Heritage Foundation)
Arizona Cattle Growers'
Association
Restore Our Border (ROB) Security Plan
The Arizona-Mexico Border: An
Update (prepared for
Governor Jan Brewer by the Rocky Mountain Information Network)
Photos,
videos and other documentation of the Border Invasion -
www.borderinvasionpics.com
The Border: A Dirty War (The Big Peace)
Fire Fighting Along the Border
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 (Part
3 has the most information related to illegal immigration impacts)
PFPOWH PRESENTATION - WILDERNESS ON THE BORDER
"Wilderness
On The Border" is an audio/visual
presentation that outlines information obtained from a
National Park Study and a
Department of Interior
Threat Assessment report about the devastating
impacts of designated federal Wilderness on our country's southern border.
OTHER LEGISLATION
HR 5016 - Securing Our Border on Federal Lands. A bill
introduced: "To prohibit the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture
from taking action on public lands which impede border security on such
lands, and for other purposes." This would be a step in the
right direction to ensure that Border Patrol and other law enforcement
agencies could have the necessary access to federal lands to carry out their
mission.
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