Tuesday, 1 February 2000
http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/102-6245.html
The U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector had its busiest month
ever last month, detaining more than 68,000 illegal entrants through
Sunday.
By this morning, that number is expected to top 70,000 apprehensions,
10,000 more than the 60,537 illegal entrants detained in March
1999, the previous record.
Not unexpectedly, the Douglas Station, the nation's No. 1 illegal
entry point, led the sector with 30,267 apprehension through Sunday,
3,000 more than in March.
In Naco, apprehensions jumped from 3,899 in January 1999 to more
than 12,000 last month.
The rise in apprehensions was anticipated and planned for, said
David Aguilar, the Tucson Sector chief.
``We knew that we were going to get hit hard, and we did some
proactive planning. What we are seeing now was anticipated. .
. . Our effectiveness has increased, and we're making our apprehensions
in a much more efficient means and we're making them away from
the populated areas, away from the transportation hubs,'' he said.
``Our intelligence tells us that we are making a difference in
this corridor ... that a shift is beginning to occur away from
the corridor.''
Aguilar said the three-tiered strategy of the Border Patrol has
placed a tight hold on illegal immigration in Nogales, where on
Sunday there were fewer than 200 apprehensions. That level of
control is developing in the downtown Douglas area as well, he
said.
Aguilar said apprehensions, particularly in the area west of Douglas
and east of Naco, are rising, but the overall activity - the combination
of apprehensions, reported entry attempts, the number turned back
and thenumber that make it through - is beginning to level off.
Aguilar said the same is true at the checkpoints north of the
border, which have played a significant role in the agencies'
strategy, accounting for 84 percent of the apprehensions at the
Willcox Station, 32.7 percent of apprehensions at Sonoita and
46 percent of apprehensions at the Tucson Station.
But the rise in apprehensions will continue until the smugglers
feel enough pressure that they decide to leave or quit, he said.
He said resources continue to arrive. Last week, an additional
18 officers were moved in to join the more than 400 agents already
working there. And additional remote surveillance camera stations
will soon added to the border surveillance system at Douglas.
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