December 16, 2011

In total, seven smugglers were prosecuted for immigration fraud and nine cheerleaders, including seven minors, were deported back to Colombia. The last smuggler, Duastin Salazar, 28, pleaded guilty this week and was sentenced to time served and a $100 fine.

An ICE spokesman said the scheme was "definitely unique."

[Update] Pic of typical Colombian cheerleaders added. Courtesy of YHAUG in Comments.

October 07, 2011

John Hawkins scores an interview with Rick Perry on illegal immigration.

September 20, 2011

Americans across the nation are just starting to learn what Texans have known for years: Rick Perry is not a believer in strong enforcement of immigration laws, and Texans are 'fed up' with it.

Video via KXAN (click to play):

Texas Tea Party leaders are unhappy with Gov. Rick Perry’s immigration-related positions and want him to call another special legislative session to give state lawmakers a third opportunity to ban sanctuary cities.

“This is an issue that is simmering and bubbling up to the surface … We are tired of lip service. We are fed up. We are fed up, too, Gov. Perry,” Texas Tea Party Caucus Advisory Committee chair JoAnn Fleming of Tyler said Monday.

More details courtesy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

The Tea Party representatives presented Perry's office with more than 3,000 signatures.

"Although we do not necessarily hold you completely responsible for the inexcusable actions of the House and Senate members during the regular and special sessions, the ball is now squarely in your court," the Tea Party letter says. "It is solely within your power as Governor to call the legislature into session and demand they complete the important work that they promised their constituents they would do."

The letter cited a recent University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll showing that Texas voters consider illegal immigration the most important problem facing the state. Inadequate border security ranked second.

September 13, 2011

Yet another reason why border security cannot be overlooked. The three Pakistani nationals were living in Ecuador where they conspired to smuggle members of the Paksitani Taliban into the US.

Use your imagination as to what they thought the Taliban members were going to do once they got here. I don't think opening a Quick-E-Mart was foremost in their imaginations.

The good news is that the man they thought was in the Taliban, really worked for the FBI.

Imagine that? Burn! Winning.

FBI press release:

WASHINGTON—Three Pakistani citizens pleaded guilty today in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to provide material support to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The guilty pleas were announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. for the District of Columbia; John Morton, Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Miami Division.

At a hearing today before U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in Washington, D.C., Irfan Ul Haq, 37; Qasim Ali, 32; and Zahid Yousaf, 43, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. At sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 9, 2011, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. As part of their plea agreements, the defendants have agreed to a stipulated order of removal to Pakistan upon the completion of their criminal sentences.

“Today’s case underscores the threat posed by human smuggling networks that facilitate terrorist travel,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco. “I thank the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who were responsible for this successful investigation.”

“These defendants sought to smuggle someone they believed to be a member of a terrorist organization from halfway around the world into the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “For financial profit, they were willing to jeopardize the safety and security of the American people. Human smuggling operations pose a serious risk to our national security, and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners at home and abroad to combat this dangerous threat.”

“These criminals were willing to use their human smuggling network to help a terrorist slip across our border without any regard for the consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Ten years after 9/11, this case reminds us that we must remain aggressive to stop terrorists from infiltrating our homeland and harming our nation.”

“ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents will continue to use every available resource to protect the American public from terrorist organizations and individuals who support them,” said ICE Director Morton. “Today’s announcement demonstrates our international resolve to ensuring that our nation is safer and more secure. I applaud the outstanding work conducted by our HSI attaché office in Ecuador who led this extensive investigation. I would also like to commend our HSI office in Atlanta, along with our law enforcement partners in the United States and Ecuador, who assisted us in this case.”

“These criminals said they didn’t care if the men they smuggled ‘swept floors or blow up’ something. As long as they got paid, they did not care if innocent people would be killed in a potential terrorist attack,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Gillies. “The FBI’s number one priority is counterterrorism and we will continue to work with our partners to protect the U.S. and its people from harm.”

Ul Haq, Ali, and Yousaf were arrested in Miami on March 13, 2011, on an indictment filed in the District of Columbia charging them with one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. Based on the defendants’ guilty pleas to terrorism conspiracy charges, the government will dismiss at the sentencing hearing the charges of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling against the defendants.

Ul Haq, Ali, and Yousaf admitted that between Jan. 3, 2011, and March 10, 2011, they conspired to provide material support to the TTP in the form of false documentation and identification, knowing that the TTP engages in terrorist activity and terrorism. According to court documents, Ul Haq, Ali and Yousaf conducted a human smuggling operation in Quito, Ecuador, that attempted to smuggle an individual they believed to be a member of the TTP from Pakistan into the United States. The TTP was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department on Sept. 1, 2010.

Court documents indicate that law enforcement agents directed confidential sources to ask the defendants, who were residing in Ecuador at the time, for their assistance in smuggling a fictitious person from Pakistan to the United States. Over the course of the ensuing negotiations, the defendants were made aware that the person to be smuggled was a member of the TTP who was blacklisted in Pakistan.

According to the court documents, the defendants agreed to move this person from Pakistan into the United States, despite his purported affiliation with the TTP. Ul Haq, according to the court documents, told the confidential sources that it was “not their concern” what the men “want to do in the United States—hard labor, sweep floor, wash dishes in a hotel, or blow up. That will be up to them.” The defendants accepted payment from the confidential sources for the smuggling operation and procured a false Pakistani passport for the purported TTP member.

The investigation was conducted by the HSI attaché office in Quito, Ecuador, with the HSI office in Atlanta, the Miami Division of the FBI and the Ecuadorian National Police.

The investigation was conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. National Central Bureau of INTERPOL, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Embassy in Quito and the Government of Ecuador provided invaluable support.

The case was prosecuted jointly by prosecutors from the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Criminal Division, the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

August 20, 2011

I noticed earlier today this had happened. Gov Brewer re-posted it in defiance. Good to see they apologized although (as of this writing) her Facebook page hasn't been updated yet to state such.

Facebook issued an apology Saturday for deleting a post by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer that criticized President Obama over his administration's new policy on prioritizing deportations of illegal immigrants.

Brewer's picture and a statement that accompanied it were removed Friday from Facebook, apparently because they "violated Facebook community standards."

"The post was removed in error," Andrew Noyes, Manager of Public Policy Communications at Facebook said in a statement. "We apologize for any inconvenience."

Facebook/Obamabots just got OWND by Gov Brewer...

August 19, 2011

San Diego

EL CAJON — For its many regulars, the Chaldean social club in El Cajon is a place to drink tea or coffee, play Dominoes and discuss the news of the day.

But federal and local authorities say the social club, tucked in a nondescript brick strip mall behind a metal security door, is also the headquarters of an Iraqi drug- and gun-trafficking organization with ties to a Mexican drug cartel and a Detroit crime syndicate.

Sixty people associated with the social club at 811 E. Main St. have been arrested over the past 10 days in the investigation, dubbed “Operation Shadowbox,” and investigators were continuing to hunt for others implicated in the scheme[...]

Mark Arabo, a local Chaldean and president of the Neighborhood Market Association, applauded police for making the city safer.

“This in no way, not even a half of one percent, is representational of the Chaldean community at large,” Arabo said. “Chaldeans are hardworking, great family people, Christians and give back to the community. There are so many great things Chaldeans do for the community, so this just comes as a shock.”

August 16, 2011

Let me get this straight,among other things, the gunrunner program caused the death of Agent Brian Terry and untold number of other victims.

Drug gangs/war lords were given unending supply of weapons, which weren't tracked as well as cash to purchase said weapons. The cash wasn't tracked either. Mexico was kept in the dark

• There was little to no information sharing from the Phoenix Field Division, ATF Headquarters and the Justice Department to their colleagues in Mexico City. Every time Mexico City officials asked about the mysterious investigation, their U.S. based ATF counterparts in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. continued to say they were "working on it" and "everything was under control."

The ATF has promoted three key supervisors of a controversial sting operation that allowed firearms to be illegally trafficked across the U.S. border into Mexico[...]

All three have been heavily criticized for pushing the program forward even as it became apparent that it was out of control. At least 2,000 guns were lost and many turned up at crime scenes in Mexico and two at the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona.

The three supervisors have been given new management positions at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. They are William G. McMahon, who was the ATF’s deputy director of operations in the West, where the illegal trafficking program was focused, and William D. Newell and David Voth, both field supervisors who oversaw the program out of the agency’s Phoenix office.

As Ed notes regarding the three "we made mistakes comment":

Perhaps listening to those agents who warned that this would result in disaster? Maybe not punishing those whistleblowers who brought your “mistakes” to light?

Previous:

Oversight Committee Video Honors Fallen Border Patrol Agent in Botched Gunrunning Sting
Rep Issa: Getting to the bottom of who authorized & knew about the deadly operation Fast and Furious
GOP Senators Grassly, Issa Request DOJ Hand Over Documents Related to Fast & Furious, Named 12 Senior Justice Officals In Letter
Arizona: Weapons Linked to Valley Crimes are linked to Fast & Furious
It Begins: Dems to Spin Fast & Furious to anti-gun rally
Rep Issa's Reponse To Todays Remarks by Obama
Rep Issa on Oversight Committee Hearing on Operation Fast & Furious

Related:
War on Guns
Sipsey Street Irregulars
A Journalist's Guide To Project Gunwalker

Practice makes perfect[Emphasis mine]:

.....I mean, we know that there are Predator drones being flown for practice every day because we're seeing them, we're preparing these young people to fly missions in these war zones that we have. But some of those, they have all the equipment, they're obviously unarmed, they've got the downward-looking radar, they've got the ability to do night work and through clouds. Why not be flying those missions and using (that) real-time information to help our law-enforcement? Becuase [sp] if we will commit to that, I will suggest to you that we will be able to drive the drug cartels away from our border."

Headlines such as During practice, Predator drone such and such nabs high profile drug lord would be a heck of a lot better than " Border Agent Brian Terry killed by gun from botched Operation Fast and Furious gunrunner program".

August 07, 2011

México tierras helicóptero militar en Laredo por error

El error de mi culo!

Kenny will translate for you

August 03, 2011

A memorial video on Agent Terry was released today, Aug 3, online by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Update: Changed the video, this is from youtube/user/oversightandreform. Same video but felt it fitting:

RIP sir..

Ginny Simone talks to California Congressman Darrell Issa about his legislation to honor fallen Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, and the latest House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the Fast and Furious scandal - NRA News - July 29, 2011

Thank you Reps Issa and Grassley, may those responsible, at the top, be held accountable.

h/t Jeff

Previous:

Rep Issa: Getting to the bottom of who authorized & knew about the deadly operation Fast and Furious
GOP Senators Grassly, Issa Request DOJ Hand Over Documents Related to Fast & Furious, Named 12 Senior Justice Officals In Letter
Arizona: Weapons Linked to Valley Crimes are linked to Fast & Furious
It Begins: Dems to Spin Fast & Furious to anti-gun rally
Rep Issa's Reponse To Todays Remarks by Obama
Rep Issa on Oversight Committee Hearing on Operation Fast & Furious

Related:
War on Guns
Sipsey Street Irregulars
A Journalist's Guide To Project Gunwalker

July 27, 2011

An illegal alien, a jihadi, and a would be Obama assassin walk into a bar. But I repeat myself:

An Uzbek man, who was living illegally in the U.S., was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury for allegedly making multiple threats to assassinate President Obama, then gaining possession of explosive material and a machine gun...

He was residing at the Oak Mountain Lodge in Birmingham, according to a search warrant obtained by FoxNews.com. Authorities sought any information in his room regarding Obama, as well as sniper rifles, documents relating to assassinations and Jihadist manuals....

Kodoriov came to the United States in June 2009 and remained in the country on a student visa, according to the statement. His student visa was revoked April 1, 2010, for failure to enroll in school, according to the arrest affidavit.

You'd think we learned that lesson 10 years ago.

H/T: The Religion of Peace

This video breaks down what yesterday's hearing entailed. This investigation just keeps getting worse, if that's possible.

Click here for the rest of the videos.

Also, more coverup: LATimes

Reporting from Washington—

The claim by senior ATF officials that none of the weapons lost in the botched Fast and Furious sting operation were used in the shooting of a Border Patrol agent is not supported by FBI ballistics tests, according to a copy of the FBI report on the shooting.

Last week, spokesmen Scot Thomasson and Drew Wade of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told The Times that the FBI had assured them that neither of the two Fast and Furious weapons found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry's death were the ones that killed the agent.

"We're not aware of any forensic evidence that would link these guns to the homicide," they said.

A copy of the FBI report obtained by The Times' Washington bureau shows ballistics tests did not rule out the Fast and Furious guns.

Rep Issa and Sen Grassley release staff report focusing on impact of Operation Fast and Furious on Mexico

Full report below fold:

ATF Officials in Mexico Denied Access to Information by U.S. Counterparts about Reckless Strategy that Allowed Guns to Fall Into the Hands of Mexican Drug Cartels

WASHINGTON – Findings in a second staff report released by Representative Darrell Issa and Senator Chuck Grassley show that ATF officials based in the United States Embassy in Mexico City were increasingly worried about the alarming rate of guns found in violent crimes in Mexico from a single ATF operation based out of the ATF's Phoenix Field Division. Issa is Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Grassley is Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"The consequences of arming Mexican drug cartels seem obvious. But even guns turning up at crime scenes in Mexico wasn't enough for Justice Department officials to arrest straw purchasers and shut down their trafficking operations. Tragically, it wasn't until Fast and Furious guns were found at the murder scene of a Border Patrol Agent that Justice officials finally ended this reckless and arrogant effort," said Issa.

"It's incomprehensible that officials at the Justice Department, the ATF and the U.S. attorney's office would keep their counterparts at the U.S. embassy in Mexico City in the dark about Operation Fast and Furious. Keeping key details secret while straw purchasers continued buying weapons for gun traffickers jeopardized our relationship with our southern ally and put lives at risk," Grassley said.

The report released today outlines several important findings, including:

• There was little to no information sharing from the Phoenix Field Division, ATF Headquarters and the Justice Department to their colleagues in Mexico City. Every time Mexico City officials asked about the mysterious investigation, their U.S. based ATF counterparts in Phoenix and Washington, D.C. continued to say they were "working on it" and "everything was under control."

• Lanny Breuer, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the Justice Department, was clearly aware of Operation Fast and Furious and touted the case during a visit to Mexico.

• ATF officials in Mexico City were incredulous that their agency would knowingly allow guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels, and they were incensed when they finally began to learn the full scope of Operation Fast and Furious and the investigative techniques used.

Issa and Grassley are leading a congressional inquiry into the ill-advised strategy known as Operation Fast and Furious.

A copy of the report can be found here[PDF].

July 12, 2011

ZIP

(The Hill) — Republican lawmakers have requested correspondence records, including emails and handwritten notes, from a dozen senior Justice Department officials who may have been involved in a controversial gun-tracking operation.

The Hill has obtained a letter sent from Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) and Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.) to Attorney General Eric Holder this week in which they ask for communication records from 12 senior officials with the Department of Justice (DOJ), including James Cole, the recently confirmed Deputy Attorney General.

Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, are investigating the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) botched operation “Fast and Furious,” which sold thousands of weapons to known and suspected straw purchasers for Mexican drug cartels

Meanwhile, Obi One is doing this:

This is outrageous!

Related:
War on Guns
Sipsey Street Irregulars
A Journalist's Guide To Project Gunwalker

Previous:

Arizona: Weapons linked to Operation Fast and Furious linked to valley crimes
It begins: Dems to spin Fast and Furious to anti-gun rally
Darrell Issa's response to Obi One remarks today on Fast and Furious
Anti-gun Zealot to take the place of ATF"s Melon[Note: he didn't step down, doesn't wanna be the fall guy]
Rep Issa's on Oversight Hearing on Operation Gun Runner

June 30, 2011

Ed Morrissey

The top Democrat on a House investigative committee is broadening an inquiry into a botched gun-tracing operation, called Operation Fast and Furious, to include a look at American gun laws.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the leading Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, released a report early Thursday titled “Outgunned,” that details how Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents say gun laws need to be tightened for them to fight organized crime along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Previous:
Rep Darrell Issa's Response To Obi One's Remarks Today On Operation Fast & Furious

June 29, 2011

Issa.house.gov

Washington, DC - House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa released the following statement on President Obama's comments at his press conference today on Operation Fast and Furious:

"President Obama's remarks today on Operation Fast and Furious were disappointing. There was no sign of urgency to provide answers or explain why no one at the Justice Department has accepted responsibility for authorizing an illegal gunwalking operation six months after Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder. The American people expect more from the President than unsubstantiated assertions that the Attorney General didn't know about this reckless program and no explanation about who authorized it."

Obi One wants this all to go away. Fortunately for us, it ain't over by a long shot.

Related sites to keep up to date on this:

waronguns.blogspot.com
sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com
Journalist Guide to Project Gunwalker

Previous:

WH Set To Throw ATF's Melson Under Bus..But Anti-Gun Zealot To Take His Place?
Google's YouTube "Fast & Furious" Censorship: Rep Issa's Oversight Hearing On Operation Gunrunner

June 09, 2011

Shhh, Obi One & Nappy won't like, doesn't fit their narrative

Officers who were taking part in a multi-agency Texas Rangers operation exchanged gunfire Thursday with drug-runners along the Rio Grande, wounding at least three suspects.

AUSTIN (June 9, 2011) — U.S. law enforcement officers exchanged gunfire early Thursday morning with drug runners while attempting to intercept boats loaded with drugs on the Rio Grande, the Department of Public Safety said.

The officers were participating in a multi-agency Texas Ranger Recon operation, the DPS said.

At least three suspected drug runners were wounded in the shootout, the DPS said.[Continue reading]

May 10, 2011

Via Breitbart:

Guess this wasn't a part of the border Obi One was talking about today

May 09, 2011

Urban Infidel:

It was such a beautiful day I was planning to be there for only about an hour to cover the lunacy. 30 minutes was all I could take.[More]

About Bill

Related:
Report: Hezbollah Has Set Up Base Camp in Mexico Near Border

April 27, 2011

Via FNC

EXCLUSIVE: He is a confidential informant and ex-felon. He lives among drug dealers and corrupt officials along the U.S.-Mexican border. And after a year on the job, he is calling it quits.

"The American public is being led to believe that we have a drug war and border war and a terror war that are all being successfully prosecuted, and that is absolutely not the case," the informant told Fox News. "The American people, the American taxpayer are being bilked for billions of dollars in programs that are utter and abject failures."[Emphasis mine..ed]

The informant took Fox News on a tour of his operational territory, southwest Arizona and northern Sonora. It includes sleazy bars and cheap hotels, places where he meets the people who have connections to guns and drugs.

"This is the fence between Agua Prieta, Mexico, and Douglas, Ariz.," he said from behind the wheel of a late-model sport-utility vehicle as we roll down a dirt road along an iron fence separating the two countries[...]

"Frankly, at this point I have little heart left for this country," he says.

As for sharing his story with Fox News, which he agreed to do provided we did not use his name, he says, "It will be good for a few nights public stimuli... three days later it will be business as usual."<[More, including video]

It was found north of downtown Brownsville, which borders Matamoros, Mexico.

More on this, including video, can be found here

April 18, 2011

Kinda sounds like the ROPMA

Between 2006 and 2010, nearly 1,000 of the victims murdered by drug cartels were under the age of 18. Recently, many of these child victims have been toddlers and infants.

One infant was shot and killed while strapped into a car seat, while another was murdered while his grandmother cradled him in her arms.

In Chihuahua, a state police commander and her 5-year-old daughter were walking to school when both were shot dead by cartel gunmen.

In another case, three young girls between the ages of 12 and 15 were executed in their home in Ciudad Juarez when assassins showed up at their home to kill their father. When they realized he was not home, they killed his three young daughters instead.

Another savage murder involved a 4-year-old girl found dead with a bullet to the chest, slumped over the body of her murdered, bound, and gagged mother.

In these cases, it appears that the children were not victims of circumstance, but were actually targeted by the assassins. A message is being sent: no one is safe, no one will be spared from the violence. The murder of a rival or a law enforcement official is no longer enough; they now will kill children to reinforce fear.[More]

And, approved most undoubtedly by ROPMA

March 24, 2011

La Raza and other groups must be very proud of these students.

h/t New Zeal

March 23, 2011

Patrick Poole

A potentially explosive admission by federal prosecutors in the pending sentencing of Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane in a San Antonio federal courtroom could aid the case of border states looking to take the initiative to stem the flood of illegal immigrants coming into the U.S.

In this court filing, provided exclusively here at Pajamas Media[below the fold....ed], prosecutors admit that Dhakane, who ran a human smuggling ring based in Brazil for the Somali Al-Shabaab terrorist group, transported “violent jihadists” into the country. He stated that “he believed they would fight against the U.S. if the jihad moved from overseas locations to the U.S. mainland.” (p. 7)

The contents and implications of this admission by DOJ will be one of the items discussed when my colleagues Army Lt. Col Joseph Myers (ret.), Mark Hanna, and I will be testifying Wednesday before the Arizona House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee on the topic of “Cross-border Terror Threats and Islamic Radicalization in Arizona.”

Dhakane was charged in March 2010 with lying about his terror ties when he applied for asylum in 2008, specifically omitting information that he had worked for two specially designated global terrorist entities (SDGT). He pleaded guilty earlier this year to lying to the FBI and awaits sentencing next month. Rather than trying him on terror charges, federal prosecutors are asking for terror enhancements on the sentence for lying to the FBI.

In the DOJ sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors explain that Dhakane knowingly smuggled violent jihadists into the country:

Today we will be discussing what states might be able to do to confront this problem in the absence of federal attention to the border and exactly who might be on our side of the border ready to help terrorist groups. As DOJ has admitted in the Dhakane case, terrorist operatives are already inside the U.S. and are prepared to go operational at the command of their leadership. If the issue of homegrown terrorism is already keeping Attorney General Eric Holder awake at night, why aren’t similar concerns being translated into action to defend Americans from cross-border terror threats?

Scribd memo below fold:

Thanks to FB

"Our borders are safer than they have ever been before"~Janet Napolitano

All occupants of the vehicle, including 2 US citizens attempting to smuggle them into US, had the name "Perez" on their uniforms.

Border Patrol agents recently arrested 13 illegal immigrants disguised as U.S. Marines and riding in a fake military van, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday.

The illegal immigrants were clad in Marine uniforms when they were apprehended at the Campo Border Patrol Westbound I-8 checkpoint at 11 p.m. on March 14 near Pine Valley, Calif., border officials said. Two U.S. citizens in the van also were arrested[...]

The van used in the smuggling attempt, according to California's El Centro Border Intelligence Center, was a privately owned vehicle registered out of Yucca Valley, Calif., and was bearing stolen government plates that had been defaced. The center digit -- 0 -- was altered to read as an 8. Further research through multiple government agencies determined that the plate belonged to a one-ton cargo van registered to the U.S. Marine Corps.

I wonder where their final destination was to be.

March 18, 2011

KTSM

JUAREZ— An Arizona family was gunned down in Juarez Thursday evening during a family reunion, leaving two people dead and others wounded.

Five family members were at a reunion at a home located at Rosales and Madera St. in the Colonia Anahuac when gunmen opened fire. 26-year-old Josue Reyes Castro and 36-year-old Miguel Angel Martinez Varela were taken to a clinic in northern Juarez where they later died. Two other people were also injured in the attack, but there was no word on the severity of their injuries.

March 12, 2011

(Ciudad Juarez, Mexico) An associate professor of anthropology at Northern Arizona University, Veronica Perez Rodriguez, 35, has been kidnapped.

A source at the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office said she was visiting her mother in Ciudad Juarez Friday afternoon "and the moment she left her family's house she was intercepted by armed men and deprived of her liberty."

Ivna Giauque with the Department of U.S. Consular Affairs told CNN they hadn't been alerted about a kidnapping because they've been focused on the earthquake that hit Japan on Friday.

March 03, 2011

Armed illegal immigrants just can't appreciate the humor in being pelted with beanbags by Border Patrol... Go figure.

Border Patrol agents shot beanbags at a group of suspected bandits before the men returned fire during a confrontation in a remote canyon, killing agent Brian Terry with a single gunshot, records show.

...The documents say the group of illegal border entrants refused commands to drop their weapons after agents confronted them at about 11:15 p.m. Two agents fired beanbags at the migrants, who responded with gunfire. (Source)

February 16, 2011

Of course, nothing will be done about it.

Watch the video and the report on the right hand side of the page. Click the square that shows the truck on the bridge.

In other happy unsecured border news, the Border Patrol has operational control of a whopping 44% of the border. Now, if that doesn't make you feel safe, I don't know what would.

February 14, 2011

The story and video can be found here and here. I got this from Ace who offers three plausible reasons why the guy would claim there have been WMD found at border crossings or otherwise smuggled into the US.

Let me offer a fourth possible explanation: the law enforcement definition of WMD and what normally passes for WMD in the public's imagination are much different.

When we think of WMD we think of dirty bombs or chemical weapons. But law enforcement has a technical and very specific meaning when they speak of WMD. Something as small as a pipe bomb can be classified as WMD to law enforcement. In fact, the charge of "possession of a weapon of mass destruction" is pretty common.

I'm just throwing that out there as another explanation.

January 27, 2011

Update: Image of book, thanks to DMartyr. Found at Amazon no less:

DHS official "don't jump to conclusions".

FOX

EXCLUSIVE: A book celebrating suicide bombers has been found in the Arizona desert just north of the U.S.- Mexican border, authorities tell Fox News.

The book, "In Memory of Our Martyrs," was spotted Tuesday by a U.S. Border Patrol agent out of the Casa Grande substation who was patrolling a route known for smuggling illegal immigrants and drugs.

Published in Iran, it consists of short biographies of Islamic suicide bombers and other Islamic militants who died carrying out attacks.

According to internal U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents, "The book also includes letters from suicide attackers to their families, as well as some of their last wills and testaments." Each biographical page contains "the terrorist's name, date of death, and how they died."

Agents also say that the book appears to have been exposed to weather in the desert "for at least several days or weeks."[...]

Authorities would not release a picture of the book to Fox News, or reveal how long they believe it was lying in the desert.[More...]

This gives a new meaning to high

January 26, 2011

Via Ace of Spades:

Last time it came up, 2009 (we're smart in Texas, sorta. At least we only let our legislators meet once every two years), an almost evenly divided Texas House (76-74), Democrat Reps were able to kill it with parliamentary rules. But with a 100-50 seat majority, House Republicans will pass it, and Governor Goodhair will sign it.

CNN

(CNN) -- An American missionary was fatally shot in Mexico on Wednesday, police said.

The preliminary investigation indicated that Nancy Davis, 59, and her husband were traveling on a Mexican highway near the city of San Fernando, Mexico, when they were confronted by gunmen in a black pickup, the Pharr Police Department in Texas said in a statement. San Fernando is south of the border city of Reynosa in Tamaulipas state.

"The gunmen were attempting to stop them and the victims accelerated in efforts of getting away from them," the police statement said. "At a certain point the gunmen discharged a weapon at the victim's vehicle and a bullet struck the victim Nancy Shuman Davis on the head."

Davis' husband, identified as Sam Davis by family friends, drove their truck "at high rate of speed" to the Pharr International Bridge, which crosses the Rio Grande. Nancy Davis was taken to a hospital in nearby McAllen, where she was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later.

May Nancy Shuman Davis RIP

Update: MySA(SanAntonio) has more background on Mr & Mrs Davis

Update II: TheMonitor: Pharr police release new details in fatal shooting of missionary in Mexico

PHARR — A police officer watched the blue Chevrolet pickup truck speed against traffic toward the checkpoint at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge shortly after noon Wednesday.

Inside was Sam Davis and his wife, Nancy, who was still alive after suffering a gunshot to her head about 70 miles south of the Rio Grande, police said.

Police and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers called an ambulance, which rushed the 59-year-old missionary to McAllen Medical Center. She died at 1:54 p.m. Wednesday.

The rural Monte Alto couple worked as missionaries in Mexico for more than three decades.

“We’re glad he was able to get to our bridge and we were able to get the medical assistance for his spouse,” Pharr Police Chief Ruben Villescas said. “However, this tragically ended with a perishing end.”

h/t Mean Kitteh

Update III: A video was uploaded to YouTube: Sam and Nancy Davis singing at Christian Chapel:

Deported from Canada, Imam Said Jaziri caught sneaking into the US

January 18, 2011

From FNC:

Less than 18 seconds. That's how long it took two young women to climb a U.S.-Mexico border fence that costs millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

In a video shot by filmmaker Roy Germano, two women show how easy it is to reach the top by climbing the fence's concrete-filled steel pipes in less than 18 seconds, MyFoxHouston.com reports.

The billion dollar (so far) virtual fence has been scrapped and the physical fence as designed is ineffective. What's next, Obama? Spiffy new signs to stop illegals?

[sigh]

So close and yet so far.

January 13, 2011

Sheriff: "First time county crews have come under direct fire"

EL PASO, Texas -- Hudspeth County, Texas Sheriff Arvin West confirmed a Hudspeth County road crew came under fire Thursday morning from gunmen in Mexico.

Sheriff West told ABC-7 that around 10:30 a.m, Thursday a road crew was repairing a part of Indian Hot Springs road, just east of Neely's crossing in Hudspeth County along the US-Mexico border when they came under gunfire from the Mexican side.

The border is safer, really...

h/t Yon

December 15, 2010

FNC

Nearly three months after American David Hartley was shot and killed by a drug gang while jet-skiing with his wife on a lake straddling the Texas-Mexican border, U.S. investigators say the gunmen were "authorized" by their cartel to kill Hartley's wife, as well.

David Hartley, 30, of Milliken, Colo., was shot in the back of his head on Sept. 30 by alleged Mexican drug smugglers while jet-skiing on Lake Falcon with his wife, Tiffany[...]

On Wednesday, Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez said he recently received information on two additional suspects who may have disposed of Hartley's body and jet ski. He declined to name them, saying, "We don’t want to alert them that we know who's involved."

Gonzalez, citing confidential informants, also said that suspected Zeta drug cartel members on board the three speed boats were also ordered to kill Tiffany Hartley, who managed to escap[More...]

Our thoughts are prayers are with agent Terry's family.

RIP sir.

Chronicle

TUCSON, Ariz. — The U.S. Border Patrol says that one of its agents has been shot to death after a confrontation in southern Arizona.

Border Patrol spokesman Eric Cantu confirmed the agent's death to The Associated Press on Wednesday morning.

Cantu tells KTVK-TV the agent is identified as Brian Terry. Cantu says Terry was shot and killed after confronting several suspects near Rio Rico north of Nogales.

At least four people are in custody and possibly one more remains at large

November 20, 2010

Not secure. Some who ask "will this be resolved by Christmas?" needs to get a clue:

While TSA stories abound, what about the border? Oh right, DHS & DOJ more concerned with air travelers than terrorists/drug cartels crossing our borders! Sue Arizona, yea that's the ticket, that will make us so much safer. Tell Texas Gov. Perry he can't have extra help for the border. Subjecting 12yr old's to full body scans, while drug cartel's 12yr old and older go around and savagely behead people. Gawd, enough is enough.

There's more, much more at Fausta's

Jawas immigration and border issues archive