Sheriffs on border alarmed by Bush plan

Illegal immigration straining funds, staff
Susan Carroll
Arizona Republic Tucson Bureau
Phoyo by Jack Kurtz / The Arizona Republic
May. 18, 2006 12:00 AM

YUMA - Ralph E. Ogden is an old-school kind of sheriff, with a bushy white mustache and a needlepoint picture of the American flag on his office wall.

The red stitching underneath the flag reads: "These colors don't run."

But for all his patriotism, Ogden is really hoping that President Bush won't ask him and other border law enforcement agencies to turn into immigration agents and enforce federal immigration law. During a visit to Yuma today, Bush is expected to reiterate his core proposals for immigration reform, including asking state and local law enforcement to help fill the breach on the border while the federal government brings in the National Guard and hires more Border Patrol agents.

Ogden, Yuma sheriff for 14 years, says he understands that illegal immigration is a "hell of a problem" and he'd like to help. But, he said, Arizona border communities are already strapped and suffering from years of rampant illegal immigration and simply can't take much more. Yuma has grown into one of the hottest illegal-crossing corridors in the nation, with arrests at record levels and still climbing.

Ogden estimated that illegal immigration already eats up 15 to 30 percent of his budget, without having officers detain and arrest undocumented immigrants. Local law enforcement in the Arizona border counties of Santa Cruz and Cochise offered similar estimates, saying they spend significant amounts of time investigating border shootings and traffic accidents caused by smugglers in addition to waiting for the Border Patrol to pick up undocumented immigrants.