Steel pole ends smuggling attempt
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Dec 29, 2005

An attempt to smuggle 20 illegal immigrants came to an abrupt halt near Yuma early Thursday morning when the vehicle carrying them got hung up on the end of a steel post sticking out of the ground.

The Chevrolet Suburban struck the pole near County 21st Street and Avenue B as it was trying to elude the U.S. Border Patrol by driving at high speed in the dark with the headlights off, said Michael Gramley, spokesman for the Yuma Sector Border Patrol.

The aliens, all from Mexico, fled the vehicle but were later found and detained in a nearby field by Border Patrol agents, Gramley said.

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3 arrested in Mexico rape, killing of teen

Associated Press
Dec. 30, 2005 12:00 AM

JUAREZ, Mexico - Three men have been arrested in the Christmas Eve rape and slaying of a 17-year-old girl in this violent city on Mexico's northern border, authorities said Thursday.

According to statements from two of the suspects, the three men were drinking with Claudia Flores Javier in her home in the early hours of Dec. 24 when one of them proposed having sex with her. She refused before the three raped her, said Claudia Elena Banuelos, spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office.

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Hunter argues for border fencing

Addition may cost about $2.1 billion

By Leslie Berestein
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 30, 2005

A local Republican congressman who is calling for additional fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border took his cause to the border fence near Otay Mesa yesterday.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, added an amendment calling for nearly 700 miles of additional fencing in four states to a sweeping immigration bill that passed 239-182 in the House of Representatives on Dec. 16. Last month, he introduced his own legislation calling for a 2,000-mile fence from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

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Minutemen to heighten post-holiday patrolling

Louie Gilot
El Paso Times
Friday, December 30, 2005

A local Minuteman group that has been patrolling the Fabens area off and on since October is getting ready for a "push in the next couple of weeks," said Minuteman volunteer Ken Muise, an El Pasoan.

Muise said the increased activity of the group, the Texas Minutemen, will coincide with a traditional increase in crossings of undocumented immigrants returning from Mexico after the holidays.

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Increase in Migrants Test Stamina of CGC Vigilant

U.S. Coast Guard | December 27, 2005

CARIBBEAN SEA - The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant, homeported in Cape Canaveral, Fla., has experienced first-hand the increase in the number of migrants attempting to reach the United States. Coast Guard data shows that as of Dec. 16, 2005, 2,683 Cubans had been intercepted at sea. That amount is nearly double the number for all of 2004 and the highest level since the 1994 exodus sanctioned by Fidel Castro.

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A first for Santa Cruz County: Mexican bank opens in downtown Watsonville

By TOM RAGAN
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

WATSONVILLE — Bancomer, the only Mexican bank between here and San Jose, is open for business downtown.

Located at 428-430 Main St., the bank opened last month hoping to serve the city's 80 percent Latino population.

In Watsonville, there are several banks that cater to the unique services that Mexican nationals demand — whether offering special deals and debit cards that effectively wire money to Mexico in a matter of minutes or accommodating undocumented immigrants by opening up checking accounts with national ID cards issued by the Mexican consulate.

Here is a Mexican company opening up in the USA specifically to cater to the illegals! Amazing! -mm

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TWO MEN FACE CHARGES AFTER ICE AGENTS UNCOVER HUMAN SMUGGLING “DROP HOUSE” IN RIVERSIDE
Migrants report being held for more than a month, fed only once a day

LOS ANGELES - Two Guatemalan men, who served as “enforcers” in an Inland Empire human smuggling “drop house” where aliens were reportedly held against their will for weeks and fed only once a day, are expected to make their initial appearance in federal court here this afternoon to face human smuggling and hostage taking charges.

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ICE-LED INVESTIGATION DISMANTLES DRUG TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION OPERATING IN THE CARIBBEAN

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico— ...announced the criminal indictment and arrests of nine alleged members of a drug trafficking organization in a complex international drug trafficking scheme that spanned from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic to the United States.

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Illegal immigration is all about money

By Louis G. Dominguez, Greenwich
12/30/2005

The nation's newspapers and magazines are full of it and TV networks can't let a day go by without reporting about new proposals from the federal government to deal with what has become a national emergency: what to do about the illegal invasion of America.

With more than 20 million illegal entrants in the U.S., the solution seems to elude everyone and every new proposal gets immediately shut down by critics because it does not go far enough or because it does not solve the problem.

What most politicians will not admit is that special interest is what keeps fueling the invasion of America: unscrupulous businesses making money are the magnets that keep the illegals coming.

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Sex Offender Arrested Re-Entering U.S.

Man In Vehicle Allegedly Carrying Cocaine

SAN ANTONIO -- A convicted sex offender was arrested in San Antonio Wednesday after he illegally sneaked back into the country, police said.

Angel Ruiz Bernal, 35, was taken into custody following a routine traffic stop in the 1600 block of Harness Lane.

He was arrested eight years ago and served a five-year sentence for rape. After being released from prison, Bernal was deported to Mexico.

This is one they caught. How many have returned and not been caught? - mm

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Mexico promises new, more humanistic policy for migrants on its southern border

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico has drawn up a new, more "humanistic, democratic and realistic" plan for handling migrants _ mainly Central Americans _ on its southern border, including legal changes, the Interior Department said on Thursday.

The announcement comes a week after human rights officials criticized Mexico's treatment of migrants and noted that Mexico uses some of the same methods to combat undocumented migration that it criticizes in the United States.

Believe this and I've got a bridge in NYC that I can sell you at a bargain! -mm

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U.S. pays Mexico to secure border

Chris Hawley
Republic Mexico City Bureau

MEXICO CITY - It was a sunny day in Texas, and the mood was upbeat at George W. Bush's ranch as the U.S. president shook the hand of his Mexican counterpart and thanked him for helping keep America safe.

"In this age of terror, the security of our borders is more important than ever, and the cooperation between Mexico and American border and law enforcement is stronger than ever," Bush said during the March 2004 summit.

Like Bush, U.S. officials have repeatedly praised Mexico's efforts to bolster security on its side of the border as the countries try to present a united face against criminals and terrorists in the wake of Sept. 11. But the reality is that U.S. taxpayers have bankrolled much of Mexico's increased border vigilance. From X-ray scanners and helicopters to intelligence training, the United States has been quietly pouring millions of dollars into Mexico in the hopes of bolstering U.S. national security.