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Border agents will be allowed to make arrests on city streets
Donât know if this was news elsewhere, but here in San diego, it was big. A controversial order that largely barred 1,600 San Diego-based Border Patrol agents from stopping suspected illegal immigrants on city streets was rescinded yesterday by officials in Washington, D.C. The directive, issued in an Aug. 8 memo from San Diego sector chief William T. Veal, had provoked widespread fury among the agents and touched off a public outcry after the memo was leaked to the media earlier this week. leaked by outraged agents Yesterdayâs announcement was made from the office of Robert Bonner, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. A review of the memo "determined that it was an overly broad and restrictive statement of Border Patrol policy in the San Diego sector," bureau spokeswoman Gloria Chavez said. "Commissioner Bonner has directed that the memorandum of Aug. 8 be rescinded." The directive grew out of an Aug. 2 incident in which a illegal alien Mexican family of five en route to the Mexican Consulate in San Diegoâs Little Italy neighborhood was stopped and arrested by Border Patrol agents within a block of their destination. They were sent back to Mexico within hours. The agents said they acted legally, but the consulate filed a formal complaint with the Border Patrol the same day. Vealâs memo went to Border Patrol stations countywide six days later. "We have a continuing obligation to prevent any public perception that the Border Patrol may be conducting âneighborhood sweeps,â " the memo read. "The operational priorities of the San Diego sector are geared toward maximum containment at the border." so, if you sneak in, itâs free and clear, and Gov. Davis will issue you a driversâ license too! Under the directive, agents were barred from "any interior enforcement or city patrol operations in or near residential areas or places of employment." They were, however, allowed to check public transportation such as buses and trolleys, but only at stations or aboard the vehicles. Yesterday, calls to Vealâs office were referred to Customs and Border Protection officials in Washington. His ass should be fired - he basically was granting sovereign territorial rights to the Mexicans in any area they decided to get "outraged" about. "Dickhead" is too polite a word to describe this PC asshat Bonner has directed Border Patrol chief Gustavo de la Viña to conduct a nationwide review of Border Patrol policies governing the authority — or lack thereof — of its agents to enforce immigration law in areas outside the immediate border. Many of those policies were a legacy of the old Immigration and Naturalization Service, which had overseen the Border Patrol, Chavez said. In March, the INS and 21 other federal agencies were folded into the Department of Homeland Security. "We are the guardians of our nationâs borders," Chavez said. "We recognize that preventing the entry of illegal aliens is necessary for the protection and safety of our citizens. Commissioner Bonner wants the Border Patrol agents in the field, the men and women risking their lives to ensure the safety of our nation, to know that he supports them and appreciates them for protecting the homeland." Reaction among agents to yesterdayâs developments was positive. "We have received no formal word that itâs been rescinded," said Agent Joe Dassaro, president of Local 1613. "A lot of people donât believe itâs true. They think itâll remain as some sort of unwritten policy." Still, Dassaro was pleased by the news. "The important thing is, it sends a message to the smugglers and those people who would do our country harm that we will pursue them," he said. Dassaro credited pressure both from his union and angry residents, as well as media exposure, for getting the directive killed. "The average citizen out there is outraged by this policy," he said. The policy amounted to a de facto amnesty for illegal immigrants, he said. "This was being portrayed in the Mexican press as the law of the land," Dassaro said. "We were hearing things about illegal aliens (making obscene gestures) to our agents, challenging them in places where they hadnât been challenged before." He was just as upbeat about the mandated review of Border Patrol procedures. "Finally, somebody is getting on board and realizing we need to review these policies," Dassaro said. "This could be the break we need for the American people in terms of security."
All it will take to really seal the borders is a terror attack perpetrated by someone sneaking in along the Mexico border. Then the Army will be deployed even with all the hue and cry from "immigrant advocates"....bastards Posted by: Frank G 2003-08-16 |
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