Illegal aliens held hostage
FROM STAFF REPORTS

Three illegal aliens who were waiting to be picked up by smugglers ended up being held hostage in a Yuma orange grove this week, the Yuma County Sheriff's Office said.

The aliens were detained by Border Patrol agents after walking out of the grove on their own early Thursday morning, three days after they had initially been confronted by men armed with handguns, the sheriff's office said in a news release.

After entering the country illegally, the aliens told the sheriff's office they were taken to the grove near Avenue 3E and 24th Street early Tuesday morning and told to wait for smugglers who would take them to their destinations.

Shortly afterward, they were confronted by the four gunmen, who demanded their money, the release said.

The aliens told the gunmen they had no money because they had previously been robbed in Mexico, the release said.

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Day-long desert search leads to rescue of 34 illegal immigrants
FROM STAFF REPORTS

Thirty-four illegal immigrants were rescued earlier this week in the desert southwest of Tacna following a 23-hour search that involved Border Patrol helicopters and Border Patrol agents.

At about noon on Monday, illegal immigrants stranded in the desert activated a rescue beacon 25 miles south of Tacna, the patrol said in a news release.

Wellton Station agents and helicopters responded to the signal, and upon arriving, found 18 illegal immigrants near the beacon.

Those immigrants told agents they had left behind 16 others somewhere in the desert, and that one of them had been injured from a fall and another was diabetic.

Agents launched a "full-scale rescue effort" in attempt to locate the remainder of the group, the release said.

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Elder: Look how Mexico treats immigrants
By LARRY ELDER
Special to the Eagle

"We can't infringe upon the right of people to move freely within our territory," said Mexican President Vicente Fox during President George Bush's recent visit. Earlier, Fox said he stood by the statement he previously made to the BBC: "I dare say that in 10 years, the U.S. will be begging, will be pleading with Mexico to send it workers."

Does Mexico practice what it preaches?

First, Mexico put its military and police forces on its porous, zigzagged, mountainous, crime-ridden southern border with Guatemala. Chiapas - the South Carolina-sized southern Mexican state that shares the longest border with Guatemala - is Mexico's poorest, most illiterate state. About Chiapas, one United Nations human rights commissioner said, "Mexico is one of the countries where illegal immigrants are highly vulnerable to human rights violations and become victims of degrading sexual exploitation and slavery-like practices, and are denied access to education and health care."

Typically, when Mexican authorities catch illegal immigrants, they place them overnight in a detention center, then bus or fly them back to their country of origin. Despite the fact that Mexico militarized its border and deported 203,128 illegal immigrants in 2004, many illegals get through by bribing corrupt military and police.

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Senate wants end to aid for illegal immigrants
Senators ask governor to add more limits on who gets social services
SEANNA ADCOX
Associated Press

COLUMBIA - The S.C. Senate has approved a resolution asking Gov. Mark Sanford to stop illegal immigrants in South Carolina from getting social services.

"Giving people a constant supply of free meals and medicine is no way to discourage the growth of illegal aliens," said Sen. Dick Elliott, the measure's chief sponsor. "If it's illegal for these people to be here, what's legal about giving them goods and services intended for the down-and-out in our society?"

Elliott, D-Horry, wants Sanford to order the Department of Social Services to quit providing free services, including food stamps, to illegal immigrants. The Senate passed the resolution Thursday by voice vote immediately after Elliott introduced it. The one-chamber resolution carries no legal weight.

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Exec flees Tijuana abductors
Korean-American took gun while captors were dozing
By Anna Cearley and Diane Lindquist
Union-Tribune Staff Writers

Tijuana – A high-level U.S. executive who was kidnapped after crossing the border managed to escape yesterday after grabbing a revolver while two kidnappers were dozing.

Yong Hak Kim, a U.S. citizen who was born in South Korea, locked his abductors in a bathroom of the house where he was being held and ran outside for help, Mexican authorities said.

Kim was picked up by police after a resident called authorities to report a street disturbance. Hours later, as he was en route to the United States, Mexican authorities announced the detention of five suspects in connection with the Thursday morning kidnapping.

The conclusion to the 24-hour episode provided some relief for many here who worried that kidnappers were starting to target foreign businessmen. Kidnapping groups typically prey on Mexican or Mexican-American businessmen.