Agents nab 74 illegals in 4 busts
BY BLAKE SCHMIDT, SUN STAFF WRITER

Yuma sector Border Patrol agents seized a pickup truck with a shell trailer, two vans, a Chevrolet Suburban and a Blazer all crammed with illegal aliens in four different busts Monday night, according to a Border Patrol news release.

The grand tally of the four busts was 74 illegal aliens, though dozens got away after they fled into Mexico on foot, according to the release.

"That's a high number of smuggling loads to be apprehended in one evening," Yuma sector spokesman Michael Gramley said.

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Fewer Arizona families going to Mexico during Christmas break

PHOENIX (AP) -- Fewer families seem willing to take their annual Christmas trek to Mexico if they aren't in the U.S. legally and that means fewer children are missing school when classes resume in January.

Every year at this time, principals launch campaigns to get all children back to school after the holidays, sending out reminders about when classes end and start again for winter break.

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Feds: Smugglers get violent with illegal immigrants in Xmas season

PHOENIX (AP) -- As the flow of illegal immigration across the Arizona border slows during the Christmas season, federal authorities fear an increase in violence toward undocumented immigrants by smuggling gangs trying to make up for a decrease in profits.

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Hiring enforcement likely to get tougher
Louie Gilot
El Paso Times

Raids of employers of undocumented immigrants are often high profile, but have become so infrequent that most undocumented workers work for years without a problem.

In September, authorities stopped 12 undocumented immigrants on their way to work at a construction site inside White Sands Missile Range. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle allegations that its cleaning contractors hired undocumented immigrants. None of the El Paso Wal-Marts were cited for hiring undocumented workers.

But these cases are exceptions.

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Examiner Editorial - The hidden costs of cheap labor

The ongoing political debate over whether it takes a village - or a family - to raise a child takes on new meaning when the whole village seems to be living in a house originally designed for one family.

Ordinances governing single-family neighborhoods in Fairfax County have been flagrantly violated for years. For example, a house located on a quiet residential street in Annandale was retrofitted with two additional front doors - for a total of three - in full public view. Despite numerous complaints from neighbors, nothing happened. It's not hard to spot expanded driveways built to accommodate up to 10 vehicles overnight or loads of debris left at the curb on trash day that even the most wasteful nuclear family would have a hard time generating in one week.

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Drug trade intertwined with illegal immigration
Mason Stockstill and Sara Carter, Staff Writers
San Bernardino County Sun

It's dangerous enough to enter the United States illegally through the Arizona desert. Temperatures can top 100 degrees Migrants often don't carry enough water to remain hydrated for the days-long hike. And unscrupulous smugglers have been known to abandon their charges if they've already paid the crossing fee.

Now, imagine doing it high on amphetamines.

Border Patrol agents say that's happening more and more, as hapless border crossers find themselves entangled with drug smugglers looking for a way to get their product into the country. In exchange for carrying drugs across the border, the smugglers called "narcotraficantes" or "polleros" cover some of what the immigrants pay to their guides. The crossers then take a pill typically speed so they'll have enough energy to make it to the drop site.

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Homeland Insecurity:
Porus border stokes terror fears
By Sara A. Carter & Mason Stockstill, Staff Writers

Juan Carlos is just another unsuspected face. He speaks English with only a slight accent. His fair complexion and light hazel eyes rarely garner him a second glance once he's crossed into the United States.

He's a gang member. He's an ex-convict. And he's here illegally.