BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas – The bloody drug war in Mexico shows no sign of relenting. Neither do calls for tighter border security amid rising fears of spillover violence.
This hardly seems a time the U.S. would be willing to allow people to cross the border legally from Mexico without a customs officer in sight. But in this rugged, remote West Texas terrain where wading across the shallow Rio Grande undetected is all too easy, federal authorities are touting a proposal to open an unmanned port of entry as a security upgrade.
By the spring, kiosks could open up in Big Bend National Park allowing people from the tiny Mexican town of Boquillas del Carmen to scan their identity documents and talk to a customs officer in another location, at least 100 miles away.
The crossing, which would be the nation's first such port of entry with Mexico, has sparked opposition from some who see it as counterintuitive in these days of heightened border security. Supporters say the crossing would give the isolated Mexican town long-awaited access to U.S. commerce, improve conservation efforts and be an unlikely target for criminal operations...[Full Article]
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN - Associated Press | AP – 23 hrs ago
November 12, 2011
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Two Border Patrol agents walked by a patch of brush on a remote ranch and saw nothing. But 19,000 feet overhead in the night sky, a Predator unmanned aircraft kept its heat-sensing eye on the spot.
In an operations center about 80 miles away, all eyes were on a suspicious dark cluster on a video screen. Moments later, the drone operators triggered the craft's infrared beam and pointed the agents directly to the undergrowth where two silent figures were hiding.
Last week's mission was just another night out for a Predator program that is playing a larger role in the nation's border security as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection adds to its force of unmanned aircraft. The agency received its second Predator B aircraft in Texas last month and will add its sixth overall on the Southwest border when another is based in Arizona by the end of the year.
The aircraft are credited with apprehending more than 7,500 people since they were deployed six years ago. They bring the latest in military technology to one of the oldest cat-and-mouse pursuits in the country. But on the border, even sophisticated devices struggle with the weather and conditions — just as humans do.
"I'm trying to mark. I'm looking for a hole in the clouds," said an exasperated operator as he lost his video image of a "hotspot" in a stand of trees. Cloud cover, along with crosswinds and rain, are the drones' enemies.
The aircraft can remain airborne for 30 hours though missions typically run eight or nine hours with the ground crews rotating in the control trailers. Smugglers of humans, drugs and guns are the chief prey.
The Predators, which were being used in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, were introduced on the border in 2005, the year before Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on his country's drug gangs and violence along the border exploded. Since then, the aircraft have logged more than 10,000 flight hours and aided in intercepting 46,600 pounds of illegal drugs.
"It's like any other law enforcement platform," said Lothar Eckardt, director of the Office of Air and Marine's Predator operation housed at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. "No different than a helicopter."
A Predator system — the plane, sensors, control consoles and antennas — costs $18.5 million. The craft's 66-foot wingspan stretches out from a relatively small body supported by spindly landing gear, making them appear almost insect-like. A single propeller powers them from behind, allowing for relatively quiet flights.
Inside the ground control trailer, a pilot and sensor operator sit side by side at consoles that include four screens each, a joystick, keyboard, several levers and rudder pedals. The pilot does the flying. The sensor operator works the infrared equipment and other technology under the aircraft's nose.
Some question whether the remotely-piloted aircrafts' impact justifies the price.
"The big knock on the UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) program ... is that it's so expensive," said T.J. Bonner, former president of the National Border Patrol Council, the agents' union. He said the money would be better spent on more boots on the ground and manned aircraft.
The Predator's touchiest missions are those that take it across the border into Mexico. A 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable posted by Wikileaks described a meeting between then Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and several members of Mexico's national security cabinet in which Mexican officials appeared to enthusiastically endorse the idea of surveillance flights. But publicly Mexican officials have been loath to speak about anything that could be perceived as impinging on the nation's sovereignty. In March, Mexican officials defended allowing U.S. surveillance flights and said a Mexican official was always present in the control room.
The Predator program now has one continuous patrolling zone from the Texas-Louisiana line, down the Gulf coast and up the border to El Centro, Calif.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, who pushed to add the second unmanned aircraft in Texas and eventually hopes to have six based here, called them an "extremely important" part of the border enforcement mix of agents and technology.
"At that height out there, they can cover so much territory," he said.
Arizona will add its fourth Predator in Sierra Vista to help patrol from California to New Mexico and into West Texas. Eventually, one of the Texas aircraft will receive specialized maritime radar and concentrate on searching for smugglers in the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean.
For now, the Predator's greatest focus is along the US-Mexico border, where the drug war has increased concerns about spillover violence. They are especially valuable in night operations.
On that mission in the predawn hours Tuesday, the Predator guided agents tracking a group of six to eight illegal immigrants through thick clusters of oak trees and high grass an hour north of the Rio Grande. Seen through the agents' night-vision goggles the Predator cast a pillar of green light that illuminated two men lying in the undergrowth.
"It's awesome," Border Patrol agent Daniel Hernandez said. "It's a great asset to have here; something that made my job a little more efficient."
Washington (CNSNews.com) – An illegal alien apprehended by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency during the last fiscal year had an estimated 84 percent chance of never being prosecuted, according to figures compiled by the office of Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas)...[Full Article]
Posted by Erin Rosa - September 21, 2010 at 2:48 pm
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning to test iris scanning technology on undocumented immigrants in the border town of McAllen, Texas, according to a report from a Mexican news service.
In a story that has gained little media attention in the United States, DHS representative Amy Kudwa confirmed to Notimex that the agency will be conducting a preliminary test of the technology in October on undocumented immigrants who have been detained in southern Texas. The eye scanners being tested are reported to have the ability to track up to 50 people a minute from several feet away.
Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have already warned against the potential for the technology to be used by the government to abuse the civil rights of citizens and foreigners traveling in the country. The scanners record the biometric information and store it in a database for identification at a later time.
The report quoted Kudwa, saying that “This is a preliminary test of how the technology works. At this point we have no specific plans to acquire or deploy this technology.” However, the test raises the possibility that the technology will be adopted by the agency to replace the collection of finger prints that is normally done when immigrants are locked up.
DHS manages the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agencies, which detain thousands of immigrants each year.
[Webmaster - First, they start by testing it on the illegal immigrants. That is to condition and acclimate us to accept the technology and process. Then, when they deem the time is right, they will deploy this for use on all U.S. citizens.]
The federal government has posted signs along a major interstate highway in Arizona, more than 100 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, warning travelers the area is unsafe because of drug and alien smugglers, and a local sheriff says Mexican drug cartels now control some parts of the state.
The signs were posted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) along a 60-mile stretch of Interstate 8 between Casa Grande and Gila Bend, a major east-west corridor linking Tucson and Phoenix with San Diego.
They warn travelers that they are entering an "active drug and human smuggling area" and they may encounter "armed criminals and smuggling vehicles traveling at high rates of speed." Beginning less than 50 miles south of Phoenix, the signs encourage travelers to "use public lands north of Interstate 8" and to call 911 if they "see suspicious activity."
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, whose county lies at the center of major drug and alien smuggling routes to Phoenix and cities east and west, attests to the violence. He said his deputies are outmanned and outgunned by drug traffickers in the rough-hewn desert stretches of his own county.
"Mexican drug cartels literally do control parts of Arizona," he said. "They literally have scouts on the high points in the mountains and in the hills and they literally control movement. They have radios, they have optics, they have night-vision goggles as good as anything law enforcement has.
"This is going on here in Arizona," he said. "This is 70 to 80 miles from the border - 30 miles from the fifth-largest city in the United States."
He said he asked the Obama administration for 3,000 National Guard soldiers to patrol the border, but what he got were 15 signs...
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection's first MQ-9 Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle to be stationed along the northern border of the United States lands at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., Dec. 6, 2008.
Credit: Reuters/Department of Defense/Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp/Handout
PHOENIX | Mon Aug 30, 2010 4:43pm EDT
PHOENIX (Reuters) - The U.S. government will have unmanned surveillance aircraft monitoring the whole southwest border with Mexico from September 1, as it ramps up border security in this election year, a top official said on Monday.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said U.S. Customs and Border Protection would begin flying a Predator B drone out of Corpus Christi, Texas, on Wednesday, extending the reach of the agency's unmanned surveillance aircraft across the length of the nearly 2,000 mile border with Mexico.
"With the deployment of the Predator in Texas, we will now be able to cover the southwest border from the El Centro sector in California all the way to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, providing critical aerial surveillance assistance to personnel on the ground," Napolitano said during a conference call...
[Webmaster - They will start using drones and blimps on the borders...then slowly start moving inland...increasing the control grid. All for our "security" of course...]
Alex breaks down the incredible out of control situation of the border that Obama is still ignoring, but yet at the same time is more concerned with the Iraqi Border! http://www.infowars.com/ http://www.prisonplanet.tv/
The Obama administration announced Monday that National Guard troops will begin to be deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border on August 1st "as part of the administration's unprecedented efforts to combat the transnational criminal organizations that smuggle weapons, cash and people" on the border.
President Obama said in May that up to 1,200 National Guard troops would be deployed to the border to provide support in the fight against illegal immigration and criminal activity along the border.
According to the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense, the largest chunk of National Guard troops - 524 - are being deployed to Arizona, which has become the focus of the debate over immigration thanks to its controversial immigration law.
Federal officials said California and Texas are getting more than 200 troops each, while 72 are being deployed in New Mexico and 130 are "serving as command and control and other support."
The Obama administration says the troops will be in place for a year. They "will provide direct support to federal law enforcement officers and agents working in high-risk areas to disrupt criminal organizations seeking to move people and goods illegally across the Southwest border," according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
According to the Associated Press, the troops will be fully deployed by September...
At least 21 people have been killed after a fierce gun battle in the latest explosion of violence between rival Mexican drugs gangs.
The bloodshed took place only 12 miles from the U.S. border in Arizona in an area that is one of the main transit routes used by the powerful drug cartels.
Mexican authorities said the shoot-out in the state of Sonora was a showdown between rival drugs and migrant trafficking gangs.
Already this year more than 5,000 people in Mexico have been killed in drug-related violence.
The total death toll since the Mexican government launched an all-out war on the drug cartels in 2006 stands at 23,000.
The border towns have been gripped by increasing violence over lucrative drug routes in regions like Sonora, Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez.
The ruthless cartels have killed hundreds of police officers, military officers, top officials and politicians with 2010 likely to be one of the worst year yet...
On June 18, 2010, Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl told the audience at a North Phoenix Tea Party town hall meeting that during a private, one-on-one meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office, the President told him, regarding securing the southern border with Mexico, "The problem is, . . . if we secure the border, then you all won't have any reason to support 'comprehensive immigration reform.'" [Audible gasps were heard throughout the audience.] Sen. Kyl continued, "In other words, they're holding it hostage. They don't want to secure the border unless and until it is combined with 'comprehensive immigration reform.'"
Sen. Kyl also said he reminded President Obama that the President and the Congress has an obligation, a duty, to secure the border.
Mexican drug cartels have set up shop on American soil, maintaining lookout bases in strategic locations in the hills of southern Arizona from which their scouts can monitor every move made by law enforcement officials, federal agents tell Fox News.
The scouts are supplied by drivers who bring them food, water, batteries for radios -- all the items they need to stay in the wilderness for a long time.
“To say that this area is out of control is an understatement," said an agent who patrols the area and asked not to be named. "We (federal border agents), as well as the Pima County Sheriff Office and the Bureau of Land Management, can attest to that.”...
About 3,500 acres of southern Arizona have been closed off to U.S. citizens due to increased violence at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The closed off area includes part of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge that stretches along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu told Fox News that violence against law enforcement officers and U.S. citizens has increased in the past four months, forcing officers on an 80 mile stretch of Arizona land north of the Mexico border off-limits to Americans.
The refuge had been adversely affected by the increase in drug smugglers, illegal activity and surveillance, which made it dangerous for Americans to visit...
Narco-terrorists, Mara Salvatrucha hit teams, kidnappers and slave traffickers cross the US-Mexico border with increasing frequency. Ranchers are murdered and cops robbed and assaulted at gunpoint. Millions of people enter the country illegally and drain state resources and fill the welfare rolls and prisons. Mexican military helicopters violate the sovereignty of the United States at will.
Muslim terrorists don’t need to sneak across the border. They can enter legally — thanks to the CIA — like this guy did.
But the feds are not worried about this. Instead they claim to be worried about the Somalia-based al-Shabaab terrorist group.
“The Department of Homeland Security is alerting Texas authorities to be on the lookout for a suspected member of the Somalia-based Al Shabaab terrorist group who might be attempting to travel to the U.S. through Mexico,” a security expert tells Fox News.
It is said the group is running hundreds of Somalis from Brazil through South America and eventually across the Mexican border. “Many of the illegal immigrants, who court records say were given fake IDs, are alleged to have ties to other now-defunct Somalian terror organizations that have merged with active organizations like Al Shabaab, al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad Al-Islami.”
Al-Shabaab has aligned itself with the prized fake terror war asset al-Qaeda and has made statements about its intent to harm the United States, according to Fox. “In recent years, American Somalis have been recruited by Al Shabaab to travel to Somalia, where they are often radicalized by more extremist or operational anti-American terror groups, which Al Shabaab supports. The recruiters coming through the Mexican border are the ones who could be the most dangerous, according to law enforcement officials.”
In April, Somalis with alleged ties to al-Shabaab were arrested and then “mistakenly” released from custody in Mexico (meanwhile, apprehended illegals from Guatemala rot in prison). “Included in the group is Mohamed Osman Noor, 35, of Somalia, who U.S. officials suspect has strong ties to Al-Shabaab Mujahideen, an Islamist insurgency group in the ongoing war in Somalia with ties to al Qaeda,” the Washington Examiner reported.
“All were in Mexican Immigration custody due to illegal entry into Mexico and were released on January 21, 2010,” said an intelligence official with the Laredo Sector Border Intelligence Center, a joint federal task force under the Department of Homeland Security that operates on the border. “All agents are reminded to maintain a heightened level of awareness and emphasize officer safety tactics when encountering individuals at all times. All agents are highly encouraged to wear ballistic armor, utilize long arms and work in groups when responding to illicit activity along the immediate border.”
“Something must have gone wrong internally for these persons to have been released by Mexican authorities. If you can move narcotics and other contraband through the porous border, you can’t tell me they don’t have the ability to move terrorists as well,” said a former U.S. government official who worked closely with Mexican authorities on border issues.
Nothing went wrong and members of al-Shabaab were not released by mistake.
The CIA has facilitated the movement of terrorists — or more accurately, patsies and dupes — across international borders for decades.
Michael Springmann, a former head U.S. consular official in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was ordered to issue more than 100 visas to unqualified applicants who later turned out to be associated with al-Qaeda. The CIA told Springmann to expedite the visas.
Recall radical Muslim leader and useful idiot Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman who was convicted of plotting to blow up the the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the George Washington Bridge and a federal building housing the FBI. He was issued a visa to enter the United States by the CIA — in fact, he was a spiritual leader of the CIA-backed mujaheddin in Afghanistan. He entered and exited the U.S. at will, never mind he was on a terror watch list.
Osama bin Laden’s brother-in-law was fortunate enough to get a visa from the CIA through the U.S. consulate in Jeddah. Mohammed Jamal Khalifa was kicked out of the Philippines because he was a suspected terrorist. He had no problem, thanks to the CIA, entering the United States.
The 19 cave-dwelling 9/11 hijackers applied for and received a total of 23 visas at five different posts from November 1997 through June 2001. Hani Hanjour, Khalid Almihdhar, Saeed Alghamdi and Ahmed Alnami, all Saudi citizens, applied twice at the CIA’s Jeddah visa mill. Only Hanjour applied for a student visa, the others received tourist and business visas. Fayez Ahmed Banihammad and Marwan Alshehhi received their visas in Abu Dhabi and Mohamed Atta and Ziad Jarrah applied for visas at the U.S. embassy in Berlin.
In short, there is no reason for Muslim evil-doers who hate our freedoms to enter the country illegally when the CIA can get them in with few questions asked.
The terror look-out on the Texas-Mexico border is simply another propaganda effort designed to frighten the American people. It will not be used as an argument to close the border. It will be used to attack the Constitution and the Bill of Rights like past fake terror events and would-be underwear and fizzle non-bombings are now being used as an excuse to chip away at our liberty and construct a high-tech surveillance and control grid.
