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Border Patrol tries new tactic, nets 228 in bus station sweeps
U.S. Border Patrol agents this week began conducting patrols at Phoenix-area bus stations in an effort to disrupt smuggling organizations that transport undocumented immigrants from the border to other parts of the country. Since Saturday, when the patrols began, Border Patrol agents have apprehended 228 undocumented immigrants, said agent Andrea Zortman, a spokeswoman for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector.Border Patrol agents began patrolling bus lines after noticing a decline in smuggling activity at Sky Harbor International Airport, where Border Patrol agents have maintained a presence for more than a year. "It just makes sense, if they are not using the airports, they are using the bus stations," Zortman said. Zortman declined to identify which bus stations or bus lines are being targeted, to avoid tipping off smugglers. The bus station sweeps will continue indefinitely, Zortman said, as part of the Arizona Border Control Initiative, a multimillion-dollar effort to stem the flow of illegal immigration through Arizona, which remains the nation's most popular entry point. Border Patrol agents have conducted patrols at bus stations in Tucson for years, but this is the first time the tactic has been used in Phoenix, she said. With its major airport, proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border, and access to interstate highways, Phoenix has become a major transportation hub for smugglers to transport undocumented immigrants from the border to other parts of the country. Border Patrol agents apprehended 67 undocumented immigrants Saturday, 59 on Sunday, 53 on Monday and 49 on Tuesday, Zortman said. Patrols continued Wednesday, but the number of undocumented immigrants apprehended was not available, she said. Zortman said Border Patrol agents rely on intelligence and experience to identify suspected undocumented immigrants, not racial profiling. "The color of one's skin or their perceived ethnic identity has nothing to do with how we do our job," Zortman said. Snipped: illegal alien advocate whines. Posted by: trailing wife 2004-11-04 |
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