Tagged: U.S. Border Patrol

October 24th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on At least 400K migrants crossed border into U.S. this year

At least 400K migrants crossed border into U.S. this year

(BREITBART) — U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 400,000 migrants who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry during Fiscal Year 2018. The number of migrants arrested represents a significant increase over the previous year’s total of 303,916.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials reported on Tuesday afternoon that 396,579 migrants were apprehended during the fiscal year that ended on September 30. Of those, Border Patrol agents apprehended 107,212 Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) and 50,036 Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC).

CBP officials previously stated that the numbers represent a “clear indicator that migration flows are responding to gaps in our nation’s legal framework.”

“Our nation faces a dangerous crisis on the border that threatens American communities,” DHS Spokeswoman Katie Waldman told Breitbart News in response to an inquiry about border migration numbers. “Congress refuses to close catch-and-release loopholes in the law that would allow authorities to detain and remove family units safely and expeditiously.”

The removal of actual family units, or those posing as family units, has been made virtually impossible by Congressional inaction – which will most likely result in record numbers of families arriving illegally in the United States this year,” Waldman stated.

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June 22nd, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on U.S. border agents warned of ‘open warfare’ with ‘grenades’ in Mexico at Texas border

U.S. border agents warned of ‘open warfare’ with ‘grenades’ in Mexico at Texas border

(BREITBART) — by Brandon Darby & Ildefonso Ortiz

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) of South Texas are being warned about risks posed to them on the border by “open warfare” including grenade attacks occurring on the Mexican side.

The warning echoes Breitbart Texas’s Cartel Chronicles reports on the bloody war occurring at the border between a faction of the Mexican Gulf Cartel and Mexican authorities.

The warning was issued by the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) to agents in the RGV Sector. It reads:

WARNING ADVISORY TO BORDER PATROL AGENTS IN RGV SECTOR

Recent events in Tamaulipas, Mexico, specifically in and around the city of Reynosa, pose a special risk to U.S. Border Patrol agents working in the region.

The Reynosa faction of the Mexican Gulf Cartel recently lost its leader and the group is engaging in open warfare with Mexican authorities and possibly with rival factions or other transnational criminal groups. Open source reports indicate gunbattles and use of grenades and other explosives in the fighting.

Border Patrol agents working the line in any station’s area of operations immediately across the largely open border from Reynosa, Mexico, are advised to employ extra caution in the performance of their duties. Stray rounds from firearms have previously injured U.S. law enforcement personnel on the border.

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June 21st, 2017 Related News Comments Off on US-Mexico drug tunnels evolving amid increased border security

US-Mexico drug tunnels evolving amid increased border security

(KPBS) — By Jean Guerrero
The inside of the

Photo by Jean Guerrero

Under the corrugated steel plates that divide the U.S. and Mexico in Otay Mesa, dozens of clandestine cross-border tunnels slash through the soil.

As President Trump looks to build new barriers along the border, criminal organizations in Mexico are improving the tunnels they use to smuggle people and drugs under the border fence – making them smaller and maintaining a high level of sophistication, featuring electricity and railways.

Smuggling tunnels vary in shape and size, but generally fall under one of these three categories, according to U.S. Border Patrol:

— Rudimentary tunnels, or “gopher holes,” are cheaply made and stretch short distances, maybe 50 feet. They are used to smuggle humans or small quantities of drugs under the border.

— Interconnecting tunnels exploit existing municipal infrastructure, linking up with storm drains and sewer lines. They are used to smuggle humans and drugs under the border.

— Sophisticated tunnels can stretch for long distances (the longest ever found was equivalent to the length of eight football fields) and are often equipped with lighting, electricity, ventilation, water pumps, railways and more. They are used to move large volumes of drugs under the border.

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June 13th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on FBI’s suspect in kidnapping of border agent is cartel-connected, deported 3 times prior

FBI’s suspect in kidnapping of border agent is cartel-connected, deported 3 times prior

(BREITBART) — The FBI is searching for a suspect in the matter of a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was found severely injured on the side of an El Paso Sector roadway after having been kidnapped.

A leaked official document and a variety of sources reveal the name and birth date of the suspect and two images of the man. Sources operating under the umbrella of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reveal the man is believed to have been deported three times prior, each time being allowed to leave the U.S. voluntarily without legal consequences.

The suspect is also believed by sources to have connections with the Juarez Cartel, or its enforcement arm, La Linea.

A BOLO was issued to federal agents along the border revealing:

Sergio Ivan Quinonez-Venegas is wanted for questioning in connection with the kidnapping and assault of an off-duty Border Patrol agent that occurred on the evening of June 9, 2017.

Quinonez’ date of birth is 01/25/1984. Quinonez has a possible criminal history of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The BOLO continues further with the names of the FBI special agents leading the investigation, where the document was prepared, and contact information for those parties. The two images provided were also included in the BOLO released to federal agents. Such information was redacted by Breitbart Texas, but the remainder of the BOLO is provided below.

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February 16th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Drug catapult discovered attached to U.S.-Mexico border wall in Arizona

Drug catapult discovered attached to U.S.-Mexico border wall in Arizona

(ANTIMEDIA) Phoenix, AZ — While patrolling in Arizona last week, U.S. Border Patrol agents located a catapult near the Douglas Port of entry area that was being used to hurl marijuana from Mexico to the United States.

According to officials, border agents noticed a number of people retreating from the area as they approached, and upon further investigation, they discovered two bundles of cannabis weighing over 47 pounds total. When the agents saw the catapult, they dismantled the apparatus, which was later confiscated by Mexican law enforcement authorities.

In 2013, The Guardian reported that a “marijuana cannon” had been seized from the border city of Mexicali after U.S. officers informed Mexican police that a large number of marijuana packages seemed to have been “fired” over the border. Mexican officials say they have confiscated several such devices in recent years.

You’re gonna have to make that wall a little bit higher, President Trump.

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January 25th, 2017 Related News Comments Off on Border Patrol union: Trump’s border plan ‘gives us the tools we need’

Border Patrol union: Trump’s border plan ‘gives us the tools we need’

(BREITBART) — by Ildefonso Ortiz

As President Donald J. Trump prepares to kick off his new border security plan, various news outlets have begun to criticize the effort by focusing on the border wall. However, members from the union representing the men and women from the U.S. Border Patrol stated that the proposal comes from listening to agents instead of politicians.

Various outlets have continued to question the notion of building a border wall and have focused on the perceived challenges of such an enterprise. Other outlets have criticized the effectiveness of the measure claiming that it does not address the current immigration crisis. The various news organizations have failed to mention the complete control that Mexican drug cartels have over human smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and other illicit activities along both sides of the border.

The executive orders that President Trump will be signing provides border security agents with the tools that they have been denied for too long, said Hector Garza, a U.S. Border Patrol agent and the President for the Local 2455 of the National Border Patrol Council. As part of the union’s leadership, Garza is able to speak about issues affecting the men and women that he represents.

Despite the many misconceptions by pundits and individuals who have not been to the border, a wall with the addition of new manpower, surveillance technology and other equipment will be an effective tool in slowing down illegal immigration and drug smuggling, Garza said.

“We know we won’t have a wall along the 2,000 miles of border,” he said. “What we will have is a wall where it is needed. That barrier with proper manpower, resources, technology and other tools will be effective. But most important, for the first time we have a president that wants to secure the border.”

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December 9th, 2016 Breaking News Comments Off on Senator: The wall will be built, ‘not that expensive, shovel ready, works’

Senator: The wall will be built, ‘not that expensive, shovel ready, works’

(WASHINGTON EXAMINER) — By Paul Bedard

Quick action in Congress to fund construction of President-elect Trump’s border wall is expected next year and it shouldn’t be too expensive complete, according to a key lawmaker who chairs the committee that oversees immigration.

What’s more, said Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, the project should be considered “shovel ready,” and part of the proposed $1 trillion infrastructure project eyed by the incoming administration.

“In terms of federal spending, it’s not going to be that expensive and if President Trump when he becomes president is talking about an infrastructure program, well this would be a shovel ready project,” said Johnson, citing 2006 legislation signed by former President Bush and called the Secure Fence Act to fund completion of the wall.

Appearing before Johnson’s Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee last week, the chief of the U.S. Border Patrol said the fence should be completed. “Does it work? Yes,” said Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan.

Johnson told Secrets that there are immigration fees that can be instituted or increased to raise money from Mexicans and others seeking entry to the United States. He suggested that it might cost “a few billion.”

He added that a wall would not only increase security but alleviate the staffing woes in the Border Patrol.

“Fencing actually works. So we need better fencing. We need more better fencing. And that could relieve pressure. Let’s face it, part of the problem that Customs and Border Protection is dealing with is the fact that they are having a hard time hiring enough people. So the nice thing about fencing, particularly if you have double fencing with a road in between the fencing, it requires fewer agents. And so you kind of kill two birds with one stone there. You provide better security and you are able to provide this better security with fewer agents. That’s a good thing,” the newly reelected senator said.

And he said that a wall isn’t needed for all of the border, some of which is nearly impossible to get to because of rough terrain and some covered with technology.

“From my standpoint, the wall maybe viewed somewhat as a metaphor. I don’t think we need 1,700 miles of it, but we need far better fencing than we’ve got,” said the senator.

Asked about potential protests in Congress to construction, Johnson said he believes the House and Senate should respect the election outcome.

“Hopefully they heard the wish of the American public that we want to secure our border,” said Johnson.

“If we’re ever going to fix our immigration system I think the American public is going to demand that they have confidence in the fact that we are committed to securing our border, which they very justifiably don’t have that confidence,” he said.

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