AZMEX POLICY 28 FEB 2017
Note: The word among some locals is that Douglas is a town without any visible means of support.
thx
Agents detail 'daily' border fence battle, seek post-Obama 'restart'
By Tori Richards
Published February 27, 2017
FoxNews.com
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/27/agents-detail-daily-border-fence-battle-seek-post-obama-
Border agents seek restart with Trump after Obama years
In the tiny Arizona city of Douglas, a Border Patrol surveillance camera is trained on a 10-foot-high fence with Mexico. After a few seconds, footage shows a figure appearing out of nowhere and the fence suddenly opens to allow a pickup truck through. A car follows, and they speed off into adjoining neighborhoods while the makeshift gate slams shut.
The Wild West still has a foothold here, more than 100 years after gunslingers Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday called Douglas home. Only the outlaws are cartels and traffickers.
And while President Trump is vowing to step up enforcement and seal off the southern border, agents in Border Patrol say they are still grappling with fallout from the Obama years – which they contend allowed security problems like this to fester.
"We weren't allowed to do our job," Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the border agents' union, told Fox News.
Judd said the agency is now seeking a "restart" after years of neglect.
In his last term, President Obama's so-called 'catch and release' policies often allowed illegal immigrants to go free awaiting court dates, while most asylum seekers were accepted. The border itself continued to suffer as it has for years from gaps exploited by drug and human traffickers – like the breach seen in the exclusive November 2016 footage from Douglas, Ariz. That 'gate' was created by perpetrators on the Mexican side using a blowtorch to cut a metal panel and then affixing hinges and latches. Putty and paint are used to touch up the American side, making the gate almost indiscernible.
WATCH EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE OF THE BORDER BREACH BELOW
Further, agents have grappled with a shift of resources from the field to the office. According to Judd, only 20 percent of the workforce was actually patrolling the border toward the end of the last administration due to extensive paperwork required to process asylum seekers and high attrition tied to low morale.
"We just cannot continue with the same management that we've had, which created our problems," Judd said. "We expect the president to drain the swamp – ours should be the first one drained. We have to hit the restart button."
Since taking office, Trump has ordered an end to "catch and release," and the promise of reinforcements generally has boosted spirits inside the agency.
But even as the new president moves to empower agents, it takes a year to hire and fully train personnel -- so a ramped-up border force is still in the distant future, Judd said.
The Border Patrol currently has 19,700 agents, far below the allotted number of 21,370. Trump wants to hire another 5,000, which is what Judd said is needed.
"We were definitely lacking resources [under Obama]," said a second agent who has worked the Arizona border for more than a decade and did not want to be identified. "Anything that could be done to tie our hands behind our backs was done, no doubt about that."
The Obama Years
While the video showing unfettered access across the Mexican border was shot during the Obama years, agents still encounter this dangerous scenario today: Ingenious border crossers using blowtorches to create gates big enough to allow trucks to pass through.
In areas where the fence is composed of steel mesh, border crossers have cut smaller holes so people can crawl across. Even areas with heavy metal bars (called bollard fencing) prove no match for a torch. Scoping out fence holes and repairing them is a full-time job for agents and welders.
This scenario is the main reason why many border agents support building a wall, not a fence.
"People were cutting through there on a daily basis and it was getting to the point where they were even doing it during the day," the second agent said.
If not carving through the fence, others would climb over with the help of ladders or grappling hooks – or in some cases, drive over using a ramp.
Illegal immigrants caught by Border Patrol also would create a mountain of paperwork, taking agents off the streets for processing. Those seeking asylum each required three hours of paperwork, Judd said, as agents also made a host of notifications to consulates, the Department of Health and Human Services and legal representation. Whether seeking asylum or not, those in custody were then given court dates and a bus ticket to wherever they wanted.
No one was held in custody unless a warrant showed up on the Department of Justice database. It didn't take long for smugglers to realize that sending across mules to invoke asylum would create a vacuum of agents at the border so drugs could flow freely – whether carried over, thrown over or flown over, Judd said.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said immigrants generally need permission to cross from the cartels, which have divvied up the sections. "I've been there when they were detained and asked how much it cost and they paid anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000," he said. "Those who didn't have all the money worked it off. Women in sex trafficking and kids and men as drug traffickers."
Gohmert said Obama-era policies effectively allowed taxpayer dollars to fund their transportation to the doorsteps of kingpins.
Border Patrol's processing centers also played a role in gang recruitment, Judd said, as members would try to enlist teenagers in the facilities and line up gang housing post-release. When agents witnessing recruitment informed superiors to request suspected members be held for deportation proceedings, Judd said, the chain of command typically denied the request.
"We now have thousands of new gang members thanks to catch and release," he said.
Gohmert said "demoralized" agents felt like they were "spinning their wheels" these last few years: "They could stay up all night and not stop the people from entering the U.S. The agents knew if they had a big group of people come across, the drugs were going to follow. But they couldn't watch for the drugs because they had to process all those people – sometimes groups big enough to fill a Greyhound bus."
Obama staunchly defended his immigration policies during his two terms, including his push to shield from deportation roughly 4 million illegal immigrants living in the United States including parents of legal residents.
When the Supreme Court deadlocked last year, leaving a ruling against the policy in place, Obama called the decision "heartbreaking for millions of immigrants who made their lives here who raised families here" and want to work and pay taxes. He called on Congress to act – but for now, Trump is doing what Obama did, and handling the issue through the Executive Branch.
end
Note: The jag is not a legal immigrant. Could also block copper mining jobs.
Jaguar from Mexico may pose roadblock to Trump's border wall
Posted: Feb 23, 2017 5:20 PM MST
Updated: Feb 23, 2017 7:06 PM MST
By Morgan Loew
El Jefe hasn't been photographed in a year. (Source: Conservation CATalyst)
Patagonia, AZ (CBS 5) -
http://www.cbs5az.com/story/34589825/jaguar-from-mexico-may-pose-roadblock-to-trumps-border-wall
A full-grown male jaguar named "El Jefe," and at least one other cat like it, may provide opponents of President Trump's border wall with a unique legal challenge. That is that cutting off these cats from their larger population in Mexico would doom them to re-extinction in the United States.
But there are real challenges ahead before any environmental lawyer can make that argument.
El Jefe was first spotted from a U.S. Border Patrol helicopter in 2011. It's been photographed and videotaped more than 100 times since then, but only by remote "wildlife" cameras. Jaguars used to roam the mountains of southern Arizona but were hunted to extinction in the state in the early 1900s in an effort to protect cattle. In the past 20 years, as many as six males have been spotted just north of the Mexican border.
[READ MORE: Officials confirm wild jaguar shown in photo is new]
"The jaguar is the only cat in North America that roars," said Randy Serraglio, who works for the Center for Biological Diversity, which advocates for environmental causes and endangered species.
The Center has filed court action on behalf of jaguars in the past. Serraglio argues that the border wall would block the great cats from going to and from Mexico, where they breed with females.
"Trump's wall would end any chance of recovery for the jaguar in the United States," said Serraglio.
[RELATED: Video shows only known US jaguar roaming Arizona mountains]
In order to prevail in a legal argument on behalf of the jaguar, lawyers would need to show that Section 102 of the Real ID Act is unconstitutional. That section grants the Homeland Security Secretary the ability to waive environmental laws when building a border barrier. Environmental attorneys argue that placing such broad discretion in the hands of an unelected official is unprecedented.
If environmental groups are able to accomplish a court challenge to The Real ID Act, they could argue that the Endangered Species Act protects the jaguar.
Meantime, El Jefe hasn't been photographed in a year. Serraglio believes he may be in Mexico, breeding, and could return to the Santa Rita Mountains any time. A second male jaguar was photographed in the Huachuca Mountains in December.
end
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
AZMEX POLICY 27-2-17
AZMEX POLICY 27 FEB 2017
Comment: Tancredo nails it. Mexico, by almost any world standard is a rich country. Yet due to decades of pervasive corruption millions have fled the country. Both legally and illegally. Add to that the very poor treatment the Mexican worker receives from the managerial / ruling class. Yes, it is a "safety valve" to prevent another revolution. Don't forget the profits from the drug trade. "Taxed" but otherwise mostly unhindered until the Calderon regime. The recent rise in violence combination of the PRI trying to regain control and infighting in the cartels.
Thx
Tancredo: Illegal Immigration Props Up Mexico's Dysfunctional State
MISSION, TX - APRIL 11: A U.S. Border Patrol agent detains undocumented immigrants who had crossed from Mexico into the United States on April 11, 2013 in Mission, Texas. In the last month the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector has seen a spike in the number of immigrants crossing the river from Mexico into Texas. With more apprehensions, they have struggled to deal with overcrowding while undocumented immigrants are processed for deportation. According to the Border Patrol, undocumented immigrant crossings have increased more than 50 percent in Texas' Rio Grande Valley sector in the last year. Border Patrol agents say they have also seen an additional surge in immigrant traffic since immigration reform negotiations began this year in Washington D.C. Proposed reforms could provide a path to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million undocumented workers living in the United States. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)File Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
by TOM TANCREDO
26 Feb 20173,060
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/02/26/tancredo-mexico-feels-no-shame-exporting-people-fruits-corrupt-socialist-economy-full-display/
The big news this week seems to be that the Mexican government is not happy with President Trump's border control plans. That headline comes on the heels of the news that the sun is hot. Imagine that!
Mexico is not happy that President Trump appears to be serious about building a border wall and halting the cross-border human traffic. The improvements in border security promised in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 as a trade-off for the general amnesty never happened, and illegal border crossings have trended upwards again after a brief decline connected to the 2008-10 recession. Apprehensions of illegal border jumpers on the southwest border have increased every year but one since 2010, and increased 23 percent from 2015 to 2016.
Because of the relative ease of crossing the border and Mexico's liberal definition of Mexican citizenship, we have the situation recently described by author Ann Coulter, who discovered that persons of Mexican origin now residing in the United States — legal and illegal– are equal in number to over 25 percent of the 130 million population of Mexico.
The Pew Hispanic Center says there were 33.7 million Americans of Mexican descent in the United States in 2012, and that figure is based in part on the official Census figure of 11.3 million illegal aliens, over 60 percent of whom are from Mexico. If you believe as I do that the illegal alien population of the U.S. is over 25 million, not 11.3 million, then the percentage of Mexican nationals now residing in the U.S. — persons recognized as Mexican citizens under the Mexican Constitution — is considerably above 25 percent.
Few Americans are aware that in 2005, in recognition of the growing importance of remittances to the Mexican economy and thus the growing importance of maintaining a close connection with the millions of Mexicans who have moved north, the Mexican constitution was amended to bestow voting rights in presidential elections for Mexicans living abroad. In 2012, over eleven million Mexicans living in the United States voted in the Mexican presidential election.
Let me put this in stark economic terms: Mexico's national income grows in direct proportion to the size of the illegal Mexican population inside the United States. Does that help explain the Mexican fixation on U.S. politics? Mexico's most profitable export to the U.S. is not oil or avocados or automobile parts, it is people.
Mexicans living and working in the U.S. send home over $20 billion annually in cash remittances — more than Mexico earns in foreign currency from tourism or any export commodity.
In 1979, Mexico received only $177,000 (U.S. Dollars) in remittances; in 2016 it was $26.1 BILLION — over 90 percent of it from persons living in the United States. (See here for a GAO report on remittances to Mexico from the U.S. and here for the World Bank reports for total remittances received by Mexico.)
You don't believe government data? Even the Clinton News Network confirms it: this recent CNN report says Mexico relies more on remittance income than the sale of oil or tourism.
To guarantee those remittance dollars keep flowing north to south, Mexico must keep exporting its citizens south to north. Does anyone think Mexico will give up that lucrative income graciously? Do you think Mexican politicians will welcome an interruption of either of those two flows — either people going north or dollars coming south?
As a Congressman, back in 2001, I visited Mexico along with two of my colleagues and met with several high government officials in the Mexican capital. One of those officials was Juan Hernandez, a dual citizen with a home in Texas, who at that time was the head of a cabinet department. That department had the name, Ministry for Mexicans Living Abroad, but it has since been reorganized and given a lower public profile as the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, a government-funded division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
I asked Señor Hernandez, what exactly do you do here? He was quite candid and informative and not the least bit apologetic. Hernandez's job was to direct and coordinate a large collection of enterprises of transport and educational activities aimed at assisting and encouraging Mexicans in physically moving north across Mexico and entering the United States.
I was struck by both the grandiosity and bravura of that official Mexican government operation—directed by a cabinet official. Somewhat shocked by his candid admissions, I asked Hernandez, hey, aren't you embarrassed by violating the sovereignty of a neighboring country? His reply was delivered calmly and with a smile. I remember his words clearly: "Really, congressman, we don't have two countries here, it's just a region."
I also asked Hernandez, why does the Mexican government work so hard to maintain contact with Mexicans even after they become naturalized citizens of the United States? He told me, it's because they tend to stop sending money home after they assimilate. Assimilation, he believed, was a problem: if Mexicans stopped being Mexicans first, and Americans second, that is very bad for Mexico.
Juan Hernandez, as I said, is a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States, and he has been very involved in U.S. politics. In 2008, working from his Texas home, he was named as presidential candidate John McCain's chief of Outreach to Hispanic Americans.
You can make of that connection with John McCain what you will; maybe the guy just needed a job. But as for myself, I would worry if my candidate were endorsed by the Juan Hernandez characters of the world, and I am delighted that Señor Juan Hernandez is apoplectic over the plans announced by President Trump.
What lies ahead for U.S.-Mexican relations? Your guess is as good as mine, but if Trump persists in his plans, Mexican bluster and outrage will be replaced by a more pragmatic accommodation. The border will continue to be a point of conflict, but Mexico may come to realize that the end of the remittance cornucopia was inevitable.
Mexico can grow its own economy and create millions of jobs for its people by abandoning its socialist dogmas and state-owned enterprises. If that happens, someday soon Mexican politicians will see the bitter medicine administered by Trump as a blessing in disguise.
Polls of newly-arrived Mexicans who entered our country illegally reveal that the large majority of them do not intend to stay forever. Typically, upon arrival, they plan to get a job, send money home, and then return home to Mexico and enjoy a better life than what they left.
Mexicans naturally retain a love of the country of their birth—and that love of country is certainly not a bad thing if you think of it as your true home. If ten million Mexicans now in the United States became optimistic about Mexico's future and returned home to fight corruption, build a better educational system and a stronger economy, that, too, would not be a bad thing.
end
Comment: Tancredo nails it. Mexico, by almost any world standard is a rich country. Yet due to decades of pervasive corruption millions have fled the country. Both legally and illegally. Add to that the very poor treatment the Mexican worker receives from the managerial / ruling class. Yes, it is a "safety valve" to prevent another revolution. Don't forget the profits from the drug trade. "Taxed" but otherwise mostly unhindered until the Calderon regime. The recent rise in violence combination of the PRI trying to regain control and infighting in the cartels.
Thx
Tancredo: Illegal Immigration Props Up Mexico's Dysfunctional State
MISSION, TX - APRIL 11: A U.S. Border Patrol agent detains undocumented immigrants who had crossed from Mexico into the United States on April 11, 2013 in Mission, Texas. In the last month the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector has seen a spike in the number of immigrants crossing the river from Mexico into Texas. With more apprehensions, they have struggled to deal with overcrowding while undocumented immigrants are processed for deportation. According to the Border Patrol, undocumented immigrant crossings have increased more than 50 percent in Texas' Rio Grande Valley sector in the last year. Border Patrol agents say they have also seen an additional surge in immigrant traffic since immigration reform negotiations began this year in Washington D.C. Proposed reforms could provide a path to citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million undocumented workers living in the United States. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)File Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
by TOM TANCREDO
26 Feb 20173,060
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/02/26/tancredo-mexico-feels-no-shame-exporting-people-fruits-corrupt-socialist-economy-full-display/
The big news this week seems to be that the Mexican government is not happy with President Trump's border control plans. That headline comes on the heels of the news that the sun is hot. Imagine that!
Mexico is not happy that President Trump appears to be serious about building a border wall and halting the cross-border human traffic. The improvements in border security promised in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 as a trade-off for the general amnesty never happened, and illegal border crossings have trended upwards again after a brief decline connected to the 2008-10 recession. Apprehensions of illegal border jumpers on the southwest border have increased every year but one since 2010, and increased 23 percent from 2015 to 2016.
Because of the relative ease of crossing the border and Mexico's liberal definition of Mexican citizenship, we have the situation recently described by author Ann Coulter, who discovered that persons of Mexican origin now residing in the United States — legal and illegal– are equal in number to over 25 percent of the 130 million population of Mexico.
The Pew Hispanic Center says there were 33.7 million Americans of Mexican descent in the United States in 2012, and that figure is based in part on the official Census figure of 11.3 million illegal aliens, over 60 percent of whom are from Mexico. If you believe as I do that the illegal alien population of the U.S. is over 25 million, not 11.3 million, then the percentage of Mexican nationals now residing in the U.S. — persons recognized as Mexican citizens under the Mexican Constitution — is considerably above 25 percent.
Few Americans are aware that in 2005, in recognition of the growing importance of remittances to the Mexican economy and thus the growing importance of maintaining a close connection with the millions of Mexicans who have moved north, the Mexican constitution was amended to bestow voting rights in presidential elections for Mexicans living abroad. In 2012, over eleven million Mexicans living in the United States voted in the Mexican presidential election.
Let me put this in stark economic terms: Mexico's national income grows in direct proportion to the size of the illegal Mexican population inside the United States. Does that help explain the Mexican fixation on U.S. politics? Mexico's most profitable export to the U.S. is not oil or avocados or automobile parts, it is people.
Mexicans living and working in the U.S. send home over $20 billion annually in cash remittances — more than Mexico earns in foreign currency from tourism or any export commodity.
In 1979, Mexico received only $177,000 (U.S. Dollars) in remittances; in 2016 it was $26.1 BILLION — over 90 percent of it from persons living in the United States. (See here for a GAO report on remittances to Mexico from the U.S. and here for the World Bank reports for total remittances received by Mexico.)
You don't believe government data? Even the Clinton News Network confirms it: this recent CNN report says Mexico relies more on remittance income than the sale of oil or tourism.
To guarantee those remittance dollars keep flowing north to south, Mexico must keep exporting its citizens south to north. Does anyone think Mexico will give up that lucrative income graciously? Do you think Mexican politicians will welcome an interruption of either of those two flows — either people going north or dollars coming south?
As a Congressman, back in 2001, I visited Mexico along with two of my colleagues and met with several high government officials in the Mexican capital. One of those officials was Juan Hernandez, a dual citizen with a home in Texas, who at that time was the head of a cabinet department. That department had the name, Ministry for Mexicans Living Abroad, but it has since been reorganized and given a lower public profile as the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, a government-funded division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
I asked Señor Hernandez, what exactly do you do here? He was quite candid and informative and not the least bit apologetic. Hernandez's job was to direct and coordinate a large collection of enterprises of transport and educational activities aimed at assisting and encouraging Mexicans in physically moving north across Mexico and entering the United States.
I was struck by both the grandiosity and bravura of that official Mexican government operation—directed by a cabinet official. Somewhat shocked by his candid admissions, I asked Hernandez, hey, aren't you embarrassed by violating the sovereignty of a neighboring country? His reply was delivered calmly and with a smile. I remember his words clearly: "Really, congressman, we don't have two countries here, it's just a region."
I also asked Hernandez, why does the Mexican government work so hard to maintain contact with Mexicans even after they become naturalized citizens of the United States? He told me, it's because they tend to stop sending money home after they assimilate. Assimilation, he believed, was a problem: if Mexicans stopped being Mexicans first, and Americans second, that is very bad for Mexico.
Juan Hernandez, as I said, is a dual citizen of Mexico and the United States, and he has been very involved in U.S. politics. In 2008, working from his Texas home, he was named as presidential candidate John McCain's chief of Outreach to Hispanic Americans.
You can make of that connection with John McCain what you will; maybe the guy just needed a job. But as for myself, I would worry if my candidate were endorsed by the Juan Hernandez characters of the world, and I am delighted that Señor Juan Hernandez is apoplectic over the plans announced by President Trump.
What lies ahead for U.S.-Mexican relations? Your guess is as good as mine, but if Trump persists in his plans, Mexican bluster and outrage will be replaced by a more pragmatic accommodation. The border will continue to be a point of conflict, but Mexico may come to realize that the end of the remittance cornucopia was inevitable.
Mexico can grow its own economy and create millions of jobs for its people by abandoning its socialist dogmas and state-owned enterprises. If that happens, someday soon Mexican politicians will see the bitter medicine administered by Trump as a blessing in disguise.
Polls of newly-arrived Mexicans who entered our country illegally reveal that the large majority of them do not intend to stay forever. Typically, upon arrival, they plan to get a job, send money home, and then return home to Mexico and enjoy a better life than what they left.
Mexicans naturally retain a love of the country of their birth—and that love of country is certainly not a bad thing if you think of it as your true home. If ten million Mexicans now in the United States became optimistic about Mexico's future and returned home to fight corruption, build a better educational system and a stronger economy, that, too, would not be a bad thing.
end
AZMEX UPDATE 24-2-17
AZMEX UPDATE 24 FEB 2017
Border Patrol agent struck by SUV later found to contain pot
http://www.kvoa.com/story/34605085/border-patrol-agent-struck-by-suv-later-found-to-contain-pot
PALOMINAS, Ariz. (AP) -
Border Patrol agents arrested two Mexican citizens and seized 93 pounds of marijuana found in an SUV which earlier struck an agent who was approaching the vehicle on a highway south of Sierra Vista.
The Border Patrol said an agent was struck on a leg by the SUV after the woman driving it accelerated Thursday as agents approached on foot on Highway 92 near Palominas close to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Border Patrol says the driver and a male passenger were apprehended separately several hours later and that the SUV was located Friday near Hereford, which is about five miles from Palominas.
The Boder Patrol says the SUV contained four bundles of marijuana.
The injured agent was released after treatment at a hospital for unspecified injuries.
Identities weren't released.
end
Man arrested for two homicides two hours apart
Mac Colson
6:18 PM, Feb 23, 2017
4:50 AM, Feb 24, 2017
http://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/man-arrested-for-two-homcides-two-hours-apart
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - A man has been arrested in connection with two homicides that happened within two and a half hours of each other on February 20.
Authorities arrested 30-year-old Roque Gutierrez for the murder of 37-year-old Saul Saucedo-Zavala in the Pima County Sheriffs Department jurisdiction.
That homicide happened around 12p.m. in the 10400 block of South Epperson Lane.
Two and half hours later, Tucson Police Department officers responded to a homicide in the 5200 block of South Fletcher just after 2:30 p.m.
The victim in the TPD case was 35-year-old Eulises Echevarria.
Gutierrez is being held on a $1,000,000 cash bond.
END
Note: traffic backed up for miles.
2 die in NM wreck of vehicle fleeing Border Patrol
The Associated Press 9:22 a.m. MT Feb. 24, 2017
http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2017/02/24/2-die-nm-wreck-vehicle-fleeing-border-patrol/98351402/
LORDSBURG - New Mexico authorities say two people died after being ejected from a car that struck a road sign, entered a highway median and overturned several times while fleeing from U.S. Border Patrol agents.
State Police said the wreck occurred Thursday on Interstate 10 between Lordsburg and Deming in southwestern New Mexico.
The eastbound car's third occupant was injured and airlifted to a hospital in El Paso.
No information was released on the injured person's condition, and the State Police said identities of those involved were being withheld and that no additional information was immediately available.
end
Rumors swirl about searches, harassment at border
By Kendal Blust
Nogales International 15 hrs ago (1)
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/rumors-swirl-about-searches-harassment-at-border/article_03f08b10-fa4c-11e6-94fd-5f965d636553.html
Phones searched, social media reviewed, passwords requested, electronic devices seized, visas revoked: Rumors and reports of intensified revisions at U.S. ports of entry under the Trump administration are spreading among people living in the border region.
Those rumors have caused not only fear, but also behavior changes for some border-crossers, according to Miguel Leyva, a shuttle driver who walks through the port of entry from Nogales, Sonora to Arizona daily.
"Trump has caused a lot of uncertainty. I know people who won't cross the border any more," he said. "I have friends with permanent residency who are afraid their paperwork will be taken away if they go back and forth."
Leyva, on the other hand, doesn't believe what he's heard about increased searches, he said, because he hasn't seen it.
Despite rumors in the community and recent reports of customs officers asking for access to people's phones and even social media at some U.S. airports and border crossings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection representatives say there has been no change in existing policy and civil rights lawyers say they haven't seen evidence of a recent uptick in invasions of privacy at local ports.
But while the American Civil Liberties Union has not received any reports of incidents involving passwords being requested or social media being searched at Arizona border-crossings, that doesn't mean they haven't occurred, said Steve Kilar, communications director for the ACLU of Arizona.
The NI has heard stories of people having their phones searched and taken away at local ports, but attempts to validate those claims have led to poorly sourced internet stories or third- and fourth-hand accounts. Still, the rumors persist and appear to affect people's behavior.
Speaking after a recent immigration forum at the Mexican Consulate, Blanca Hayden, a permanent resident living in Nogales, said she won't cross the border now because she heard that people who criticize Trump online are having their phones taken away and their visas revoked.
"There's a lot of fear, but I don't think the rumors are true," said Leyva, the shuttle driver. "I've seen that (customs officers) are asking more questions and the lines are slower, though."
Broad powers
Elsewhere, credible complaints have surfaced from people such as a U.S. citizen who was detained for more than three hours at the airport in Los Angeles and asked to unlock his phone so customs officers could scroll through his contacts, photos and social media before a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Such reports of searches and seizures of personal electronic devises are causing concern among some that CBP is increasing its already broad powers at the border.
"The situation essentially is that, if you are coming into the country, citizen or otherwise, they can look through your electronic devices without any kind of suspicion at all, which is obviously very concerning," Kilar said.
In Nogales, even people who have not personally seen or experienced anything out of the ordinary find these reports – along with apparently unfounded rumors that people who post negative comments about President Donald Trump on social media have their visas taken away – a cause for concern, said Carmen Mason of Nogales, Sonora, who was visiting her son in Nogales, Ariz. on Wednesday.
"I've crossed both ways without trouble," she said. "But people who cross daily because they work on this side, I think they fear that something could happen. There's this uncertainty that their passport might be taken or they might be sent back."
Maritza Fuentes, a Nogales, Sonora resident who crosses the border at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry a couple times a week, also said she hasn't noticed any changes. But she has heard stories from other parts of the border, including from her cousin in Tijuana who said her phone was searched. While she doesn't think increased searches are being conducted in Nogales, Fuentes does believe they are happening elsewhere, she said.
The number of electronic media searches in fiscal year 2016, which ended on Sept. 30, increased five-fold to 23,877 compared to 4,764 in 2015, the Associated Press reported. However, asked for numbers for the Tucson Sector, CBP spokeswoman Teresa Small said they do not usually track that information, adding that these searches are not new, but a continuation of a long-standing policy.
According to a CBP statement provided in response to NI inquires: "All international travelers arriving to the U.S. are subject to CBP inspection. This inspection may include electronic devices such as computers, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones and other communication devices, cameras, music and other media players and any other electronic or digital devices."
"I can tell you that whenever we are inspecting a cell phone it's because there is an investigation going on. We don't do that just to do it," said Marcia Armendariz, a CBP public affairs officer for the Nogales ports of entry.
Rights and reporting
It is true that port officers can search any person and their luggage at the border, said the ACLU's Kilar. "The new thing is the proposal that they take passwords and look at people's accounts," he said.
And while U.S. citizens cannot be denied entry into the United States for refusing to turn over a password or unlock a phone, he said, they could face other repercussions including prolonged detention, intense questioning and having the phone or other device temporarily confiscated.
The rights for non-citizens are less clear.
"That's the question of the hour. The law on this is really murky," Kilar said, noting that there have already been cases of people being denied entry for refusing requests to search their personal electronics. "I think that there will certainly be new challenges if that is something that starts happening more regularly."
According to the ACLU, even lawful permanent residents are advised to comply with searches, and those with visas can be denied entry to the United States if they refuse to answer questions. However, questioning cannot be based on race, religion, national origin, gender, ethnicity or political beliefs, and all people must be permitted to ask for asylum if they fear being persecuted or tortured if they are sent back to the county from which they traveled.
Kilar encouraged people to keep records about any searches that take place at the border.
"Get the officer's name and badge number if it seems like (the search) is going to escalate. Make a record of everything the CBP official is doing," he said, including how long you are detained, how long the officer had your phone or device, what they looked at and what was asked.
"All of these things are of interest to organizations like us. We would be interested in hearing about any of these incidents for record keeping and to see if there are any legal claims that can be made," he said.
At the recent immigration forum at the Mexican Consulate, immigration lawyer Ruben Reyes told those in attendance that everyone needs to be prepared for the changes that are happening.
"It appears that customs officers are becoming more aggressive in searching telephones, searching messages and going to social media – Facebook, Twitter," he said. "They are looking to see what you have and don't have in your phone. So you have to be careful."
The ACLU believes federal law should protect people's rights, Kilar said, and allowing CBP officers to search phones and other devices that contain large amounts of personal data without a warrant is "one of those areas where the law hasn't kept up with technology."
Kilar emphasized, however, that currently it is hard to know what is really happening as opposed to what are rumors fueled by fears about Trump administration policies, such as the effort to temporarily ban people entering the country from seven Muslim-majority countries.
"We hope it's nothing more than rumors," said Mason, from Nogales, Sonora. "Trump has us all alarmed with what he's been doing."
end
Note: interesting slide show. Security actions taken after a park ranger was murdered.
http://www.kgun9.com/news/news-photo-gallery/gallery-border-security-at-the-organ-pipe-cactus-national-monument
ALSO: http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Sonora/26022017/1186635-Aseguran-914-kilos-de-droga-en-Sonoyta.html
end
Border Patrol agent struck by SUV later found to contain pot
http://www.kvoa.com/story/34605085/border-patrol-agent-struck-by-suv-later-found-to-contain-pot
PALOMINAS, Ariz. (AP) -
Border Patrol agents arrested two Mexican citizens and seized 93 pounds of marijuana found in an SUV which earlier struck an agent who was approaching the vehicle on a highway south of Sierra Vista.
The Border Patrol said an agent was struck on a leg by the SUV after the woman driving it accelerated Thursday as agents approached on foot on Highway 92 near Palominas close to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Border Patrol says the driver and a male passenger were apprehended separately several hours later and that the SUV was located Friday near Hereford, which is about five miles from Palominas.
The Boder Patrol says the SUV contained four bundles of marijuana.
The injured agent was released after treatment at a hospital for unspecified injuries.
Identities weren't released.
end
Man arrested for two homicides two hours apart
Mac Colson
6:18 PM, Feb 23, 2017
4:50 AM, Feb 24, 2017
http://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/man-arrested-for-two-homcides-two-hours-apart
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - A man has been arrested in connection with two homicides that happened within two and a half hours of each other on February 20.
Authorities arrested 30-year-old Roque Gutierrez for the murder of 37-year-old Saul Saucedo-Zavala in the Pima County Sheriffs Department jurisdiction.
That homicide happened around 12p.m. in the 10400 block of South Epperson Lane.
Two and half hours later, Tucson Police Department officers responded to a homicide in the 5200 block of South Fletcher just after 2:30 p.m.
The victim in the TPD case was 35-year-old Eulises Echevarria.
Gutierrez is being held on a $1,000,000 cash bond.
END
Note: traffic backed up for miles.
2 die in NM wreck of vehicle fleeing Border Patrol
The Associated Press 9:22 a.m. MT Feb. 24, 2017
http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2017/02/24/2-die-nm-wreck-vehicle-fleeing-border-patrol/98351402/
LORDSBURG - New Mexico authorities say two people died after being ejected from a car that struck a road sign, entered a highway median and overturned several times while fleeing from U.S. Border Patrol agents.
State Police said the wreck occurred Thursday on Interstate 10 between Lordsburg and Deming in southwestern New Mexico.
The eastbound car's third occupant was injured and airlifted to a hospital in El Paso.
No information was released on the injured person's condition, and the State Police said identities of those involved were being withheld and that no additional information was immediately available.
end
Rumors swirl about searches, harassment at border
By Kendal Blust
Nogales International 15 hrs ago (1)
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/rumors-swirl-about-searches-harassment-at-border/article_03f08b10-fa4c-11e6-94fd-5f965d636553.html
Phones searched, social media reviewed, passwords requested, electronic devices seized, visas revoked: Rumors and reports of intensified revisions at U.S. ports of entry under the Trump administration are spreading among people living in the border region.
Those rumors have caused not only fear, but also behavior changes for some border-crossers, according to Miguel Leyva, a shuttle driver who walks through the port of entry from Nogales, Sonora to Arizona daily.
"Trump has caused a lot of uncertainty. I know people who won't cross the border any more," he said. "I have friends with permanent residency who are afraid their paperwork will be taken away if they go back and forth."
Leyva, on the other hand, doesn't believe what he's heard about increased searches, he said, because he hasn't seen it.
Despite rumors in the community and recent reports of customs officers asking for access to people's phones and even social media at some U.S. airports and border crossings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection representatives say there has been no change in existing policy and civil rights lawyers say they haven't seen evidence of a recent uptick in invasions of privacy at local ports.
But while the American Civil Liberties Union has not received any reports of incidents involving passwords being requested or social media being searched at Arizona border-crossings, that doesn't mean they haven't occurred, said Steve Kilar, communications director for the ACLU of Arizona.
The NI has heard stories of people having their phones searched and taken away at local ports, but attempts to validate those claims have led to poorly sourced internet stories or third- and fourth-hand accounts. Still, the rumors persist and appear to affect people's behavior.
Speaking after a recent immigration forum at the Mexican Consulate, Blanca Hayden, a permanent resident living in Nogales, said she won't cross the border now because she heard that people who criticize Trump online are having their phones taken away and their visas revoked.
"There's a lot of fear, but I don't think the rumors are true," said Leyva, the shuttle driver. "I've seen that (customs officers) are asking more questions and the lines are slower, though."
Broad powers
Elsewhere, credible complaints have surfaced from people such as a U.S. citizen who was detained for more than three hours at the airport in Los Angeles and asked to unlock his phone so customs officers could scroll through his contacts, photos and social media before a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Such reports of searches and seizures of personal electronic devises are causing concern among some that CBP is increasing its already broad powers at the border.
"The situation essentially is that, if you are coming into the country, citizen or otherwise, they can look through your electronic devices without any kind of suspicion at all, which is obviously very concerning," Kilar said.
In Nogales, even people who have not personally seen or experienced anything out of the ordinary find these reports – along with apparently unfounded rumors that people who post negative comments about President Donald Trump on social media have their visas taken away – a cause for concern, said Carmen Mason of Nogales, Sonora, who was visiting her son in Nogales, Ariz. on Wednesday.
"I've crossed both ways without trouble," she said. "But people who cross daily because they work on this side, I think they fear that something could happen. There's this uncertainty that their passport might be taken or they might be sent back."
Maritza Fuentes, a Nogales, Sonora resident who crosses the border at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry a couple times a week, also said she hasn't noticed any changes. But she has heard stories from other parts of the border, including from her cousin in Tijuana who said her phone was searched. While she doesn't think increased searches are being conducted in Nogales, Fuentes does believe they are happening elsewhere, she said.
The number of electronic media searches in fiscal year 2016, which ended on Sept. 30, increased five-fold to 23,877 compared to 4,764 in 2015, the Associated Press reported. However, asked for numbers for the Tucson Sector, CBP spokeswoman Teresa Small said they do not usually track that information, adding that these searches are not new, but a continuation of a long-standing policy.
According to a CBP statement provided in response to NI inquires: "All international travelers arriving to the U.S. are subject to CBP inspection. This inspection may include electronic devices such as computers, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones and other communication devices, cameras, music and other media players and any other electronic or digital devices."
"I can tell you that whenever we are inspecting a cell phone it's because there is an investigation going on. We don't do that just to do it," said Marcia Armendariz, a CBP public affairs officer for the Nogales ports of entry.
Rights and reporting
It is true that port officers can search any person and their luggage at the border, said the ACLU's Kilar. "The new thing is the proposal that they take passwords and look at people's accounts," he said.
And while U.S. citizens cannot be denied entry into the United States for refusing to turn over a password or unlock a phone, he said, they could face other repercussions including prolonged detention, intense questioning and having the phone or other device temporarily confiscated.
The rights for non-citizens are less clear.
"That's the question of the hour. The law on this is really murky," Kilar said, noting that there have already been cases of people being denied entry for refusing requests to search their personal electronics. "I think that there will certainly be new challenges if that is something that starts happening more regularly."
According to the ACLU, even lawful permanent residents are advised to comply with searches, and those with visas can be denied entry to the United States if they refuse to answer questions. However, questioning cannot be based on race, religion, national origin, gender, ethnicity or political beliefs, and all people must be permitted to ask for asylum if they fear being persecuted or tortured if they are sent back to the county from which they traveled.
Kilar encouraged people to keep records about any searches that take place at the border.
"Get the officer's name and badge number if it seems like (the search) is going to escalate. Make a record of everything the CBP official is doing," he said, including how long you are detained, how long the officer had your phone or device, what they looked at and what was asked.
"All of these things are of interest to organizations like us. We would be interested in hearing about any of these incidents for record keeping and to see if there are any legal claims that can be made," he said.
At the recent immigration forum at the Mexican Consulate, immigration lawyer Ruben Reyes told those in attendance that everyone needs to be prepared for the changes that are happening.
"It appears that customs officers are becoming more aggressive in searching telephones, searching messages and going to social media – Facebook, Twitter," he said. "They are looking to see what you have and don't have in your phone. So you have to be careful."
The ACLU believes federal law should protect people's rights, Kilar said, and allowing CBP officers to search phones and other devices that contain large amounts of personal data without a warrant is "one of those areas where the law hasn't kept up with technology."
Kilar emphasized, however, that currently it is hard to know what is really happening as opposed to what are rumors fueled by fears about Trump administration policies, such as the effort to temporarily ban people entering the country from seven Muslim-majority countries.
"We hope it's nothing more than rumors," said Mason, from Nogales, Sonora. "Trump has us all alarmed with what he's been doing."
end
Note: interesting slide show. Security actions taken after a park ranger was murdered.
http://www.kgun9.com/news/news-photo-gallery/gallery-border-security-at-the-organ-pipe-cactus-national-monument
ALSO: http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Sonora/26022017/1186635-Aseguran-914-kilos-de-droga-en-Sonoyta.html
end
Friday, February 24, 2017
AZMEX I3 24-2-17
AZMEX I3 24 FEB 2017
LATEST: MCSO has now released 58 undocumented immigrants since ICE hold policy ended
abc15.com staff , Associated Press
4:00 PM, Feb 24, 2017
2 hours ago
central phoenix | phoenix metro
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/latest-mcso-has-now-released-58-undocumented-immigrants-since-ice-hold-policy-ended
PHOENIX - The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says they've now released 58 undocumented immigrants since ending an Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy to hold immigrants for transfer.
For years, immigrants being released from jails in Phoenix would routinely be kept locked up an extra couple days to give federal authorities time to check their immigration status and launch deportation proceedings.
It was a policy put in place by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and widely denounced by critics who cited it as a pattern of unfair treatment toward immigrants. Jail systems in other cities have also faced legal challenges contending it's unconstitutional to keep a person in jail after they're released on bail or complete their sentence.
Newly elected Sheriff Paul Penzone said the Maricopa County Attorney's Office informed him of the legal issues surrounding policy, and he responded by doing away with the practice.
Since the policy was changed on Feb. 17, MCSO says 58 undocumented immigrants have been released from custody. Charges against those people included DUI, aggravated assault on an officer, drug possession and burglary among others.
Included in the charges for the 58 people were the following:
7 assault charges
25 drug charges
26 DUI cases
4 leaving the scene of an accident or hit and run
Sheriff Paul Penzone announced Friday that his office will now be able to transfer custody of inmates who are deemed in violation of immigration laws to ICE, but said it's the responsibility of ICE to track the inmates and make the request:
"Following the consistent practice of notification, ICE will be responsible to respond to the appropriate MCSO detention center prior to the completion of the release process. Upon transfer of custody at the conclusion of release detention, the detainee will become the responsibility of ICE and will be immediately transferred from Maricopa County Jails to a detention center under ICE's authority. MCSO will not detain individuals beyond the legal limit and conclusion of their release process. Should ICE fail to respond prior to completion of the process, we will be legally obligated to release them consistent with the court's order." - Sheriff Penzone.
ICE still now has the opportunity to detain these individuals after their release as well, but data on how many of them have been recovered has not been released.
end
Also:
http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/237990714-story
Be advised the article from the az republic,
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/02/24/maricopa-county-sheriffs-office-reverses-course-allows-ice-agents-pick-up-migrants-inside-jails-paul-penzone/98380350/
end
LATEST: MCSO has now released 58 undocumented immigrants since ICE hold policy ended
abc15.com staff , Associated Press
4:00 PM, Feb 24, 2017
2 hours ago
central phoenix | phoenix metro
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/latest-mcso-has-now-released-58-undocumented-immigrants-since-ice-hold-policy-ended
PHOENIX - The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says they've now released 58 undocumented immigrants since ending an Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy to hold immigrants for transfer.
For years, immigrants being released from jails in Phoenix would routinely be kept locked up an extra couple days to give federal authorities time to check their immigration status and launch deportation proceedings.
It was a policy put in place by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and widely denounced by critics who cited it as a pattern of unfair treatment toward immigrants. Jail systems in other cities have also faced legal challenges contending it's unconstitutional to keep a person in jail after they're released on bail or complete their sentence.
Newly elected Sheriff Paul Penzone said the Maricopa County Attorney's Office informed him of the legal issues surrounding policy, and he responded by doing away with the practice.
Since the policy was changed on Feb. 17, MCSO says 58 undocumented immigrants have been released from custody. Charges against those people included DUI, aggravated assault on an officer, drug possession and burglary among others.
Included in the charges for the 58 people were the following:
7 assault charges
25 drug charges
26 DUI cases
4 leaving the scene of an accident or hit and run
Sheriff Paul Penzone announced Friday that his office will now be able to transfer custody of inmates who are deemed in violation of immigration laws to ICE, but said it's the responsibility of ICE to track the inmates and make the request:
"Following the consistent practice of notification, ICE will be responsible to respond to the appropriate MCSO detention center prior to the completion of the release process. Upon transfer of custody at the conclusion of release detention, the detainee will become the responsibility of ICE and will be immediately transferred from Maricopa County Jails to a detention center under ICE's authority. MCSO will not detain individuals beyond the legal limit and conclusion of their release process. Should ICE fail to respond prior to completion of the process, we will be legally obligated to release them consistent with the court's order." - Sheriff Penzone.
ICE still now has the opportunity to detain these individuals after their release as well, but data on how many of them have been recovered has not been released.
end
Also:
http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/237990714-story
Be advised the article from the az republic,
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/02/24/maricopa-county-sheriffs-office-reverses-course-allows-ice-agents-pick-up-migrants-inside-jails-paul-penzone/98380350/
end
Thursday, February 23, 2017
AZMEX EXTRA 20-2-17
AZMEX EXTRA 20 FEB 2017
Note: this one more interesting than usual.
Needs a better translation than your correspondent can provide.
thx
Getting weapons is easy, at a difficult age
By: Jorge López and Tanya Vázquez | 02/20/2017 7:47
HERMOSILLO, Sonora (GH)
Http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/20022017/1184880-Conseguir-armas-es-facil-en-a-edad-dificil.html
Access to firearms at a particularly difficult age and sometimes in a risky environment leads some minors to obtain firearms and commit illicit acts with them.
Whether they feel the need to belong to a group or because their addiction to drugs makes them require more resources is that young people are looking for guns, something that experts say is not difficult.
Of a total of 221 inmates that exist in the six Itama centers, 91% committed the crime under the influence of the drug and it is assumed that they exercised some type of violence, explained its director general.
Ana Dolores Quijada Chacón explained that to exert violence in an illegal act implies from making use of physical force, the use of objects and weapons, which today are easy to acquire.
She stated that there are three mechanisms that minors use to acquire a weapon. "Number one: I take orders from my group and I achieve a level, and by the degree of confidence I have, he says, 'I'm going to assign you A weapon because I have a goal of going to hurt a third person, 'and then seeing that my order was effective, I acquire the weapon, "she said.
The second way the young man gets a weapon, she added, is that the teenager simply comments among his group of friends that he needs the weapon, and that is how someone comes out and sells it at surprisingly low prices, according to what Which Itama's inmates have commented on.
"Another way of acquiring them is with the same family of children," says a young man, "that his grandfather had left his father some weapons as an inheritance, then he searched the whole house until he found the weapon, His girlfriend was unfaithful and he went and killed her, "he said.
The general director of Itama in Sonorades noted that the youngsters in high school and high school are the ones who are most at risk, as they are exposed to social networks without parental supervision, and many of them are led by predators.
"So young people want to take on a recognition, care that they never had from their parents, their families, their social environment, takes it through social networks and are involved at that price of violence: "She added.
EVERYTHING IS EASIER
And it is that the facility that young people have to interact with strangers, access to various contents and normalization of violence, could be the causes for teenagers to carry weapons, said sociologist Jesús Durán Pinzón.
The Unison professor said that in a society where everything can be accessed through technologies, including weapons, normalize violence and thereby increase crime.
"They have access to more information, to have social relationships through virtual networks where you can find everything that is sought, relationships do not have the control they had before," he said.
"The images that are seen everywhere are loaded in addition to violence, a species where there is no guilt, good kill the bad guys and that does not deserve to feel guilty, there is a lack of responsibility," she said.
The violent behavior shown by young people is due to injuries in the brain that started from childhood, due to the abuse they suffered in their family environment, whether physical, sexual or emotional, by omission of care, and come to have patterns that They imitate, explained Ana Dolores Quijada Chacón, director of the centers of the Institute for Treatment and Application of Measures for Adolescents (Itama).
"A child when he lives that in his childhood begins to feel emotional pain, when he begins to realize the reality, begin to feel anger, behind the anger there is a need for affection, a need to have been cared for, to have been wanted And approached. "
Dr. Chacon Quijano noted that studies have shown that excessive violence in adolescents is due to an imbalance in the temporal lobe, which is a part of the brain located behind the temple, to the side of the ear.
She mentioned that the injuries in the brain that bring many of the young people who enter Itama are aggravated by the abuse of substances such as tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and drugs, mainly crystal and marijuana.
The head of Itama reported that the young inmates receive a comprehensive treatment "Bio-Sico-Social", where in addition to investigating possible psychological trauma that the child could bring ingrained, a solution is sought to reintegrate them into society and also Study if it causes affectations in the brain.
END
FAST & FURIOUS - Mexican Lives didn't Matter
Note: this one more interesting than usual.
Needs a better translation than your correspondent can provide.
thx
Getting weapons is easy, at a difficult age
By: Jorge López and Tanya Vázquez | 02/20/2017 7:47
HERMOSILLO, Sonora (GH)
Http://www.elimparcial.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/20022017/1184880-Conseguir-armas-es-facil-en-a-edad-dificil.html
Access to firearms at a particularly difficult age and sometimes in a risky environment leads some minors to obtain firearms and commit illicit acts with them.
Whether they feel the need to belong to a group or because their addiction to drugs makes them require more resources is that young people are looking for guns, something that experts say is not difficult.
Of a total of 221 inmates that exist in the six Itama centers, 91% committed the crime under the influence of the drug and it is assumed that they exercised some type of violence, explained its director general.
Ana Dolores Quijada Chacón explained that to exert violence in an illegal act implies from making use of physical force, the use of objects and weapons, which today are easy to acquire.
She stated that there are three mechanisms that minors use to acquire a weapon. "Number one: I take orders from my group and I achieve a level, and by the degree of confidence I have, he says, 'I'm going to assign you A weapon because I have a goal of going to hurt a third person, 'and then seeing that my order was effective, I acquire the weapon, "she said.
The second way the young man gets a weapon, she added, is that the teenager simply comments among his group of friends that he needs the weapon, and that is how someone comes out and sells it at surprisingly low prices, according to what Which Itama's inmates have commented on.
"Another way of acquiring them is with the same family of children," says a young man, "that his grandfather had left his father some weapons as an inheritance, then he searched the whole house until he found the weapon, His girlfriend was unfaithful and he went and killed her, "he said.
The general director of Itama in Sonorades noted that the youngsters in high school and high school are the ones who are most at risk, as they are exposed to social networks without parental supervision, and many of them are led by predators.
"So young people want to take on a recognition, care that they never had from their parents, their families, their social environment, takes it through social networks and are involved at that price of violence: "She added.
EVERYTHING IS EASIER
And it is that the facility that young people have to interact with strangers, access to various contents and normalization of violence, could be the causes for teenagers to carry weapons, said sociologist Jesús Durán Pinzón.
The Unison professor said that in a society where everything can be accessed through technologies, including weapons, normalize violence and thereby increase crime.
"They have access to more information, to have social relationships through virtual networks where you can find everything that is sought, relationships do not have the control they had before," he said.
"The images that are seen everywhere are loaded in addition to violence, a species where there is no guilt, good kill the bad guys and that does not deserve to feel guilty, there is a lack of responsibility," she said.
The violent behavior shown by young people is due to injuries in the brain that started from childhood, due to the abuse they suffered in their family environment, whether physical, sexual or emotional, by omission of care, and come to have patterns that They imitate, explained Ana Dolores Quijada Chacón, director of the centers of the Institute for Treatment and Application of Measures for Adolescents (Itama).
"A child when he lives that in his childhood begins to feel emotional pain, when he begins to realize the reality, begin to feel anger, behind the anger there is a need for affection, a need to have been cared for, to have been wanted And approached. "
Dr. Chacon Quijano noted that studies have shown that excessive violence in adolescents is due to an imbalance in the temporal lobe, which is a part of the brain located behind the temple, to the side of the ear.
She mentioned that the injuries in the brain that bring many of the young people who enter Itama are aggravated by the abuse of substances such as tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and drugs, mainly crystal and marijuana.
The head of Itama reported that the young inmates receive a comprehensive treatment "Bio-Sico-Social", where in addition to investigating possible psychological trauma that the child could bring ingrained, a solution is sought to reintegrate them into society and also Study if it causes affectations in the brain.
END
FAST & FURIOUS - Mexican Lives didn't Matter
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
AZMEX UPDATE 22-2-17
AZMEX UPDATE 22 FEB 2017
Note: Penzone is a democrat.
Arizona Sheriff Releasing 400 "Criminal Illegal Immigrants" Every 10 Days
FEBRUARY 22, 2017
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2017/02/arizona-sheriff-releasing-400-criminal-illegal-immigrants-every-10-days/
An average of 400 "criminal illegal immigrants" are being released every 10 days by the newly elected sheriff in Arizona's most populous county, federal law enforcement sources tell Judicial Watch, many of them violent offenders. It's part of Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone's new policy to protect illegal aliens, even those who have committed serious state crimes, from deportation. Under a longtime partnership between the county and the feds, the Phoenix field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was notified when "aliens unlawfully present with additional Arizona charges" were released from the Maricopa County Jail, which is one of the nation's largest with a population of about 8,000. That ended when Penzone, who refers to illegal immigrants as "guests," took office this year and, though he formally announced the change last week, it was put into practice much earlier.
During a recent 10-day period, more than 400 criminal illegal immigrants were released from the Maricopa County Jail, according to federal law enforcement officials directly involved in the process in Phoenix. Weekdays are the busiest, with an average of about 40 criminal illegal aliens getting released from Maricopa County Jail facilities, the sources said. On weekends the number drops to about ten each day. The illegal aliens have state criminal charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, driving under the influence and drug offenses. "There's no telling how many criminals he's (Sheriff Penzone) putting on the streets," said a high-ranking federal law enforcement official stationed in Arizona. Judicial Watch's calls to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were not returned.
Before the new sheriff changed the system, ICE would send a wagon every 12 hours to pick up criminal illegal aliens scheduled to be released from the main jail in Maricopa County. Under the new policy, Maricopa County officials are not giving ICE "any notification at all of the release of criminal illegals," according to an agency official in Phoenix who's not authorized to talk and can't be identified. Without cooperation from county authorities, federal agents would have to stand at the door to the jail 24 hours a day and guess which prisoner should be deported, sources said. "We can't stand out there and question everyone that walks out of that jail," said a federal agent directly involved in the matter. "Even if we did, we would have to make arrests on the street, in the middle of protestors, families and picketers and that will only heighten the danger to agents."
When Penzone announced the new policy at a press conference last week, ICE issued a statement calling it an "immediate, dangerous change." The agency's Phoenix director for enforcement and removal operations, Enrique Lucero, was quoted in local media saying: "Immigration detainers have been a successful enforcement tool to prevent the release of dangerous criminals to our streets and mitigate the possibility of future crimes being committed against the residents of our communities." Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain specific figures and pertinent information related to the Maricopa County Sheriff's policies involving criminal illegal aliens. "This is as bad as it gets," said one federal officer.
Just this month an illegal immigrant released from the Denver County Jail in Colorado was arrested for murder. The Mexican national, Ever Valles, was released into the community in December even though he was a "known gang member" with a lengthy and violent criminal history. The 19-year-old gangbanger was arrested in October on multiple charges, including possession of a weapon and vehicle theft, and was flagged by ICE for removal. Instead, Denver County officials released Valles without notifying ICE and this month he was arrested and charged with shooting a man to death during a robbery at a rail station in Denver.
END
Note: The is much speculation on tribal members being involve in smuggling activities. As several routes have the reservation in-between Son. and AZ. Crossing at a POE would split the tribe?
thx
Arizona tribe's video opposes border wall proposed by Trump
Screenshot via YouTube
POSTED:FEB 22 2017 03:01AM MST
UPDATED:FEB 22 2017 04:53AM MST
http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/237320610-story
SELLS, Ariz. (AP) - A southern Arizona tribe has released a video detailing its opposition to the fortified border wall proposed by President Donald Trump.
Tribal officials say the video also reiterates the Tohono O'odham Nation's commitment to continue working with federal, state and local agencies on border security measures with a proven record of success.
The current international border was drawn through the tribe's traditional lands in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.
The Tohono O'odham Nation's reservation includes 75 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, with tribal members residing on both sides of the border.
Officials say the video highlights how the proposed wall would further split the tribe in half and have dramatic cultural and environmental impacts, among other things.
Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Edward D. Manuel released the following statement on the video:
"This video provides insight on the many reasons why the Tohono O'odham Nation can not and will not support a fortified border wall. The Nation remains committed to working together to protect the border using proven and successful techniques. We invite the President and his Administration to visit the Nation, see these challenges firsthand, and begin a productive dialogue for moving forward."
end
Note: Penzone is a democrat.
Arizona Sheriff Releasing 400 "Criminal Illegal Immigrants" Every 10 Days
FEBRUARY 22, 2017
http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2017/02/arizona-sheriff-releasing-400-criminal-illegal-immigrants-every-10-days/
An average of 400 "criminal illegal immigrants" are being released every 10 days by the newly elected sheriff in Arizona's most populous county, federal law enforcement sources tell Judicial Watch, many of them violent offenders. It's part of Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone's new policy to protect illegal aliens, even those who have committed serious state crimes, from deportation. Under a longtime partnership between the county and the feds, the Phoenix field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was notified when "aliens unlawfully present with additional Arizona charges" were released from the Maricopa County Jail, which is one of the nation's largest with a population of about 8,000. That ended when Penzone, who refers to illegal immigrants as "guests," took office this year and, though he formally announced the change last week, it was put into practice much earlier.
During a recent 10-day period, more than 400 criminal illegal immigrants were released from the Maricopa County Jail, according to federal law enforcement officials directly involved in the process in Phoenix. Weekdays are the busiest, with an average of about 40 criminal illegal aliens getting released from Maricopa County Jail facilities, the sources said. On weekends the number drops to about ten each day. The illegal aliens have state criminal charges ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, driving under the influence and drug offenses. "There's no telling how many criminals he's (Sheriff Penzone) putting on the streets," said a high-ranking federal law enforcement official stationed in Arizona. Judicial Watch's calls to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were not returned.
Before the new sheriff changed the system, ICE would send a wagon every 12 hours to pick up criminal illegal aliens scheduled to be released from the main jail in Maricopa County. Under the new policy, Maricopa County officials are not giving ICE "any notification at all of the release of criminal illegals," according to an agency official in Phoenix who's not authorized to talk and can't be identified. Without cooperation from county authorities, federal agents would have to stand at the door to the jail 24 hours a day and guess which prisoner should be deported, sources said. "We can't stand out there and question everyone that walks out of that jail," said a federal agent directly involved in the matter. "Even if we did, we would have to make arrests on the street, in the middle of protestors, families and picketers and that will only heighten the danger to agents."
When Penzone announced the new policy at a press conference last week, ICE issued a statement calling it an "immediate, dangerous change." The agency's Phoenix director for enforcement and removal operations, Enrique Lucero, was quoted in local media saying: "Immigration detainers have been a successful enforcement tool to prevent the release of dangerous criminals to our streets and mitigate the possibility of future crimes being committed against the residents of our communities." Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain specific figures and pertinent information related to the Maricopa County Sheriff's policies involving criminal illegal aliens. "This is as bad as it gets," said one federal officer.
Just this month an illegal immigrant released from the Denver County Jail in Colorado was arrested for murder. The Mexican national, Ever Valles, was released into the community in December even though he was a "known gang member" with a lengthy and violent criminal history. The 19-year-old gangbanger was arrested in October on multiple charges, including possession of a weapon and vehicle theft, and was flagged by ICE for removal. Instead, Denver County officials released Valles without notifying ICE and this month he was arrested and charged with shooting a man to death during a robbery at a rail station in Denver.
END
Note: The is much speculation on tribal members being involve in smuggling activities. As several routes have the reservation in-between Son. and AZ. Crossing at a POE would split the tribe?
thx
Arizona tribe's video opposes border wall proposed by Trump
Screenshot via YouTube
POSTED:FEB 22 2017 03:01AM MST
UPDATED:FEB 22 2017 04:53AM MST
http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/237320610-story
SELLS, Ariz. (AP) - A southern Arizona tribe has released a video detailing its opposition to the fortified border wall proposed by President Donald Trump.
Tribal officials say the video also reiterates the Tohono O'odham Nation's commitment to continue working with federal, state and local agencies on border security measures with a proven record of success.
The current international border was drawn through the tribe's traditional lands in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.
The Tohono O'odham Nation's reservation includes 75 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, with tribal members residing on both sides of the border.
Officials say the video highlights how the proposed wall would further split the tribe in half and have dramatic cultural and environmental impacts, among other things.
Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Edward D. Manuel released the following statement on the video:
"This video provides insight on the many reasons why the Tohono O'odham Nation can not and will not support a fortified border wall. The Nation remains committed to working together to protect the border using proven and successful techniques. We invite the President and his Administration to visit the Nation, see these challenges firsthand, and begin a productive dialogue for moving forward."
end
AZMEX EXTRA 17-2-17 UPDATE
AZMEX EXTRA 17 FEB 2017 UPDATE
Gun-runners sentenced in federal court
Nogales International Feb 17, 2017 (1)
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/gun-runners-sentenced-in-federal-court/article_e4de03f4-f4a8-11e6-afbc-afc5424d439f.html
Guns and ammo CBP photo
The second of two defendants convicted of trying to smuggle assault rifles and ammunition into Mexico through Nogales was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in federal prison.
Ariana Alexa Ramirez, 26, of Phoenix, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson after her co-defendant, Andrian Alvarez-Valdez, 23, of Mexico, was previously sentenced to 46 months in prison. Both defendants had pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle firearms and ammunition into Mexico from the United States.
"The lengthy sentences in this case should serve as a warning to those who would consider smuggling firearms into Mexico," Acting U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange said in a news release.
Prosecutors said that on March 26, 2016, the defendants purchased bulk ammunition at a store in Phoenix. The next day, they were stopped by agents at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry while attempting to drive into Mexico.
Hidden inside their vehicle were two AK-47 style assault rifles, six 30-round 7.62x39 magazines, one 10-round 7.62x39 magazine, nearly 3,000 rounds of ammunition, and a disassembled tripod mount for a .50-caliber machine gun.
Ramirez's two young children were also in the vehicle.
Additional investigation showed the defendants had smuggled weapons and ammunition into Mexico on multiple prior occasions, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
"This case is a prime example of the cooperative efforts among law enforcement to stem the illegal trafficking of guns and ammunition into Mexico," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry.
end
Gun-runners sentenced in federal court
Nogales International Feb 17, 2017 (1)
http://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/gun-runners-sentenced-in-federal-court/article_e4de03f4-f4a8-11e6-afbc-afc5424d439f.html
Guns and ammo CBP photo
The second of two defendants convicted of trying to smuggle assault rifles and ammunition into Mexico through Nogales was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in federal prison.
Ariana Alexa Ramirez, 26, of Phoenix, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson after her co-defendant, Andrian Alvarez-Valdez, 23, of Mexico, was previously sentenced to 46 months in prison. Both defendants had pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle firearms and ammunition into Mexico from the United States.
"The lengthy sentences in this case should serve as a warning to those who would consider smuggling firearms into Mexico," Acting U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange said in a news release.
Prosecutors said that on March 26, 2016, the defendants purchased bulk ammunition at a store in Phoenix. The next day, they were stopped by agents at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry while attempting to drive into Mexico.
Hidden inside their vehicle were two AK-47 style assault rifles, six 30-round 7.62x39 magazines, one 10-round 7.62x39 magazine, nearly 3,000 rounds of ammunition, and a disassembled tripod mount for a .50-caliber machine gun.
Ramirez's two young children were also in the vehicle.
Additional investigation showed the defendants had smuggled weapons and ammunition into Mexico on multiple prior occasions, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The investigation in this case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
"This case is a prime example of the cooperative efforts among law enforcement to stem the illegal trafficking of guns and ammunition into Mexico," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry.
end
AZMEX I3 22-2-17
AZMEX I3 22 FEB 2017
Note: The correct bill number is SB 1021.
Arizona Senate rejects ban on city photo-identification cards for second time
ASSOCIATED PRESS | February 22, 2017 @ 4:24 am
http://ktar.com/story/1467483/arizona-senate-rejects-ban-on-city-photo-identification-cards/
PHOENIX — The Arizona Senate has rejected legislation for the second year in a row that would bar cities like Phoenix from issuing photo-identification cards to people who are in the country illegally.
Republican Sen. Sonny Borrelli's proposal failed on a 13-17 vote Tuesday, with three Republicans joining all Democrats in opposing Senate Bill 1142.
Borrelli changed his vote to no in a procedural move that allows him to ask for a reconsideration vote.
The Phoenix City Council in August approved a city photo-identification card.
It can be issued to people without proof of legal presence in the U.S. and those having trouble getting a valid government ID. The city expects to begin issuing them in mid-2017.
The city ID would not be recognized as a primary ID like a driver's license.
END
Note: party line vote except for the three rinos; Brophy Mcgee, Pratt, and Worsley
Borrelli changed his vote to no in a procedural move that allows him to ask for a reconsideration vote.
02/21/2017 failed to pass 13-17-0-0-0 Amended
Amended
ALLEN S Y
BARTO Y
BORRELLI N
BOWIE N
BRADLEY N
BROPHY MCGEE N
BURGES Y
CAJERO BEDFORD N
CONTRERAS N
DALESSANDRO N
FANN Y
FARLEY N
FARNSWORTH D Y
GRIFFIN Y
HOBBS N
KAVANAGH Y
LESKO Y
MENDEZ N
MEZA N
MIRANDA N
MONTENEGRO Y
OTONDO N
PESHLAKAI N
PETERSEN Y
PRATT N
QUEZADA N
SMITH Y
WORSLEY N
YEE Y
YARBROUGH Y
end
Note: The correct bill number is SB 1021.
Arizona Senate rejects ban on city photo-identification cards for second time
ASSOCIATED PRESS | February 22, 2017 @ 4:24 am
http://ktar.com/story/1467483/arizona-senate-rejects-ban-on-city-photo-identification-cards/
PHOENIX — The Arizona Senate has rejected legislation for the second year in a row that would bar cities like Phoenix from issuing photo-identification cards to people who are in the country illegally.
Republican Sen. Sonny Borrelli's proposal failed on a 13-17 vote Tuesday, with three Republicans joining all Democrats in opposing Senate Bill 1142.
Borrelli changed his vote to no in a procedural move that allows him to ask for a reconsideration vote.
The Phoenix City Council in August approved a city photo-identification card.
It can be issued to people without proof of legal presence in the U.S. and those having trouble getting a valid government ID. The city expects to begin issuing them in mid-2017.
The city ID would not be recognized as a primary ID like a driver's license.
END
Note: party line vote except for the three rinos; Brophy Mcgee, Pratt, and Worsley
Borrelli changed his vote to no in a procedural move that allows him to ask for a reconsideration vote.
02/21/2017 failed to pass 13-17-0-0-0 Amended
Amended
ALLEN S Y
BARTO Y
BORRELLI N
BOWIE N
BRADLEY N
BROPHY MCGEE N
BURGES Y
CAJERO BEDFORD N
CONTRERAS N
DALESSANDRO N
FANN Y
FARLEY N
FARNSWORTH D Y
GRIFFIN Y
HOBBS N
KAVANAGH Y
LESKO Y
MENDEZ N
MEZA N
MIRANDA N
MONTENEGRO Y
OTONDO N
PESHLAKAI N
PETERSEN Y
PRATT N
QUEZADA N
SMITH Y
WORSLEY N
YEE Y
YARBROUGH Y
end
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
AZMEX POLICY 18-2-17
AZMEX POLICY 18 FEB 2017
CPA Proposes Strengthening Binational Relationship Between Border Governors
Details Posted on Saturday February 18, 2017,
Written by Editor / El Diario
Http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=86467
MONTERREY, NL
Claudia Pavlovich Arellano participates in third session of Border Governors in Monterrey
The governor of Sonora, Claudia Pavlovich Arellano, proposed strengthening the bilateral agenda of each entity with its North American counterparts, reorienting the fund to support migrants and allocate more resources to care for unaccompanied children and youths who are deported to our country.
In her participation in the third workgroup of border governors of the Conago, held in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, to present strategies to the immigration policy of the President of the United States, Governor Pavlovich, ratified the agreement to install a high level table Between federal states of the north and the government of the Republic to attend and follow up on migration issues.
"We have to strengthen ties with local governments of the border strip of the two countries, do our part and build bridges," she said.
It was also agreed, at the proposal of the Governor of Sonora, to reorient the program of funds to support migrants to meet the needs of border states in the event of massive deportations.
"What we want is to reorient the funds to the problems we have at the moment to the north," he said.
In front of her counterparts from Nuevo Leon, and host of the meeting, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, the President of the Conago and governor of Morelos, Graco Ramírez, the governor of Tamaulipas, Francisco Javier Cabeza de Vaca, and the governor of Baja California, Francisco Vega de La Madrid, Governor Pavlovich asked to specifically address the issue of unaccompanied children and adolescents deported without any support.
"I have put a lot of emphasis on the returnees, we have to take special care of them, since it is not the same if they deport an adult person who knows where to go, there we have to allocate many more resources," she said.
She cited the issue of the Migrant Child Houses that Sonora has in the borders of San Luis Rio Colorado, Nogales and Agua Prieta, where they care for and guide their families to their home states.
Governor Pavlovich also proposed strengthening a communication strategy through consulates, social networks and television channels with a Hispanic presence so that nationals are aware of their rights and obligations as well as support from Mexican authorities.
Javier Corral de Chihuahua was represented by Gustavo Madero Muñoz, as well as the Undersecretary of Population and Religious Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, Humberto Roque Villanueva.
Agreements of the Third Meeting of Border Governors:
Set high - level working table between northern border states and the federal government to address issues of.
.- No reduction of security funds
.- Reorient support to the migrant fund
.- The inclusion by the federal government of the development of special economic zones in various economic zones of the border
END
CPA Proposes Strengthening Binational Relationship Between Border Governors
Details Posted on Saturday February 18, 2017,
Written by Editor / El Diario
Http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=86467
MONTERREY, NL
Claudia Pavlovich Arellano participates in third session of Border Governors in Monterrey
The governor of Sonora, Claudia Pavlovich Arellano, proposed strengthening the bilateral agenda of each entity with its North American counterparts, reorienting the fund to support migrants and allocate more resources to care for unaccompanied children and youths who are deported to our country.
In her participation in the third workgroup of border governors of the Conago, held in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, to present strategies to the immigration policy of the President of the United States, Governor Pavlovich, ratified the agreement to install a high level table Between federal states of the north and the government of the Republic to attend and follow up on migration issues.
"We have to strengthen ties with local governments of the border strip of the two countries, do our part and build bridges," she said.
It was also agreed, at the proposal of the Governor of Sonora, to reorient the program of funds to support migrants to meet the needs of border states in the event of massive deportations.
"What we want is to reorient the funds to the problems we have at the moment to the north," he said.
In front of her counterparts from Nuevo Leon, and host of the meeting, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, the President of the Conago and governor of Morelos, Graco Ramírez, the governor of Tamaulipas, Francisco Javier Cabeza de Vaca, and the governor of Baja California, Francisco Vega de La Madrid, Governor Pavlovich asked to specifically address the issue of unaccompanied children and adolescents deported without any support.
"I have put a lot of emphasis on the returnees, we have to take special care of them, since it is not the same if they deport an adult person who knows where to go, there we have to allocate many more resources," she said.
She cited the issue of the Migrant Child Houses that Sonora has in the borders of San Luis Rio Colorado, Nogales and Agua Prieta, where they care for and guide their families to their home states.
Governor Pavlovich also proposed strengthening a communication strategy through consulates, social networks and television channels with a Hispanic presence so that nationals are aware of their rights and obligations as well as support from Mexican authorities.
Javier Corral de Chihuahua was represented by Gustavo Madero Muñoz, as well as the Undersecretary of Population and Religious Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, Humberto Roque Villanueva.
Agreements of the Third Meeting of Border Governors:
Set high - level working table between northern border states and the federal government to address issues of.
.- No reduction of security funds
.- Reorient support to the migrant fund
.- The inclusion by the federal government of the development of special economic zones in various economic zones of the border
END
Monday, February 20, 2017
AZMEX I3-2 20-2-17
AZMEX I3/2 20 FEB 2017
Note: photos, etc. at link.
Local law enforcement seeks cooperation from undocumented immigrants
Max Lancaster Feb 19, 2017 Updated 19 hrs ago
http://azdailysun.com/news/local-law-enforcement-seeks-cooperation-from-undocumented-immigrants/article_de4e03a8-10c2-5e83-bde1-9e3275aa16ad.html
Protesters march at Pulliam airport Sunday afternoon against President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim countries.
Despite recent deportations of unauthorized immigrants in Phoenix and Tucson, law enforcement officials in Flagstaff and greater Coconino County are reminding undocumented individuals that immigration enforcement is not a priority here.
Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll urged any undocumented immigrant living in the county not to fear contacting local police officers and sheriff's deputies if they are in distress or have a tip regarding criminal activity. "I want to make it clear that our department does not ask about papers and immigration status when we are contacted," Driscoll said. "We don't enforce federal immigration and we have no intention of doing that."
Officials at the Flagstaff Police Department could not be reached for comment, but the department does "strongly encourage" officers to refrain from making immigration status inquiries during consensual contacts with juveniles, victims and witnesses of crime. The department's policy also adds protections for juveniles suspected of criminal activity. However, the decision to ask about a juvenile, victim or witness's immigration status is left to the discretion of the police officer.
The Sheriff's department said ignoring the immigration status of witnesses and victims is a matter of keeping public trust within the undocumented community.
"Our mindset has always been that this is a public trust issue," Driscoll said. "When people are exploited by a domestic violence issue or have a tip about a situation of human trafficking we don't want them to worry about getting someone deported."
Individuals reporting a crime may not have to worry about being reported to U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but those arrested by Flagstaff Police or the Sheriff's Department will automatically have their immigration status checked when they are booked into Coconino County Jail.
If someone is found during the booking process to be an unauthorized immigrant, local law enforcement will refer the individual to ICE.
According to the Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Erika Wiltenmuth, 48 hours is the typical time frame for local law enforcement to hold an individual for ICE.
"A person can be held 48 hours after the completion of local charges," Wiltenmuth wrote in an email. "If there are no local charges it is 48 hours from the time of booking. ICE can then submit a form to hold the person for an extended time."
Detention Commander for the Coconino County Detention Facility Matt Figueroa said that while ICE is notified of any undocumented person arrested, it is up to ICE to deal with anyone in the country illegally.
"When we see that someone is undocumented we notify ICE and it is their responsibility to enforce any immigration issues," Figueroa said. "ICE may choose to set up an interview with the individual or they may not do anything. We are required to inform ICE not enforce immigration law."
The detention center does not deal with unauthorized immigrant arrest very often. Last year the sheriff's department informed ICE of 84 undocumented individuals who were booked and detained locally. (No figures were available at presstime on how many were picked up by ICE.) By comparison the ICE detention center in Eloy holds close to 1,250 immigrants from all over the country, according to center reports.
Finding Sanctuary
Fear of deportation has caused some undocumented immigrants to seek churches for shelter from deportation, but no such movement has started in northern Arizona.
In 2014 South Presbyterian Church in Tucson gave sanctuary to Daniel Neyoy Ruiz who was ordered to be deported by ICE. He stayed in the church for over a month before he was given a stay of deportation.
Since then undocumented immigrants have sought church shelter in Tempe, Phoenix, Portland, Chicago and most recently Denver.
Church leaders believe immigrants are shielded from deportation because a 2011 ICE memo advises immigration officers to avoid taking action in "sensitive locations" such as hospitals, churches and schools.
Father Patrick Mowrer, a priest for San Francisco de Asis Catholic Church in Flagstaff, said that his church has considered giving refuge to those facing imminent deportation, but the situation has never come up.
"We could do that, but I don't know how much we could do to help them," Mowrer said referring to church sanctuary. "I have a very strong belief in the gospel message that we protect the immigrant and care for them."
Mowrer said that around 50 percent of his Spanish congregation is undocumented and that members have come to him with their worries. "People come and talk to me and they are scared," Mowrer said. " Many of the undocumented people I talk to are just kind of living without any idea what will happen to them in the future."
When it comes to working with undocumented immigrants Mowrer said he spends most of his time preaching compassion to English-speaking members of the church. "I want to remind our English speaking service about the gospel and showing solidarity with immigrants in our Spanish-speaking service," Mowrer said.
Worry among undocumented church members is not any greater during the Trump administration according to Mowrer because Arizona's immigration bill SB1070 created a standard of fear in the community when it was passed in 2012.
"SB1070 built up a fear of deportation so the fear of deportation was here before President Trump," Mowrer said. "People haven't really felt like Arizona was their home for a long time, but I know they would like to."
END
Note: photos, etc. at link.
Local law enforcement seeks cooperation from undocumented immigrants
Max Lancaster Feb 19, 2017 Updated 19 hrs ago
http://azdailysun.com/news/local-law-enforcement-seeks-cooperation-from-undocumented-immigrants/article_de4e03a8-10c2-5e83-bde1-9e3275aa16ad.html
Protesters march at Pulliam airport Sunday afternoon against President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim countries.
Despite recent deportations of unauthorized immigrants in Phoenix and Tucson, law enforcement officials in Flagstaff and greater Coconino County are reminding undocumented individuals that immigration enforcement is not a priority here.
Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll urged any undocumented immigrant living in the county not to fear contacting local police officers and sheriff's deputies if they are in distress or have a tip regarding criminal activity. "I want to make it clear that our department does not ask about papers and immigration status when we are contacted," Driscoll said. "We don't enforce federal immigration and we have no intention of doing that."
Officials at the Flagstaff Police Department could not be reached for comment, but the department does "strongly encourage" officers to refrain from making immigration status inquiries during consensual contacts with juveniles, victims and witnesses of crime. The department's policy also adds protections for juveniles suspected of criminal activity. However, the decision to ask about a juvenile, victim or witness's immigration status is left to the discretion of the police officer.
The Sheriff's department said ignoring the immigration status of witnesses and victims is a matter of keeping public trust within the undocumented community.
"Our mindset has always been that this is a public trust issue," Driscoll said. "When people are exploited by a domestic violence issue or have a tip about a situation of human trafficking we don't want them to worry about getting someone deported."
Individuals reporting a crime may not have to worry about being reported to U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but those arrested by Flagstaff Police or the Sheriff's Department will automatically have their immigration status checked when they are booked into Coconino County Jail.
If someone is found during the booking process to be an unauthorized immigrant, local law enforcement will refer the individual to ICE.
According to the Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Erika Wiltenmuth, 48 hours is the typical time frame for local law enforcement to hold an individual for ICE.
"A person can be held 48 hours after the completion of local charges," Wiltenmuth wrote in an email. "If there are no local charges it is 48 hours from the time of booking. ICE can then submit a form to hold the person for an extended time."
Detention Commander for the Coconino County Detention Facility Matt Figueroa said that while ICE is notified of any undocumented person arrested, it is up to ICE to deal with anyone in the country illegally.
"When we see that someone is undocumented we notify ICE and it is their responsibility to enforce any immigration issues," Figueroa said. "ICE may choose to set up an interview with the individual or they may not do anything. We are required to inform ICE not enforce immigration law."
The detention center does not deal with unauthorized immigrant arrest very often. Last year the sheriff's department informed ICE of 84 undocumented individuals who were booked and detained locally. (No figures were available at presstime on how many were picked up by ICE.) By comparison the ICE detention center in Eloy holds close to 1,250 immigrants from all over the country, according to center reports.
Finding Sanctuary
Fear of deportation has caused some undocumented immigrants to seek churches for shelter from deportation, but no such movement has started in northern Arizona.
In 2014 South Presbyterian Church in Tucson gave sanctuary to Daniel Neyoy Ruiz who was ordered to be deported by ICE. He stayed in the church for over a month before he was given a stay of deportation.
Since then undocumented immigrants have sought church shelter in Tempe, Phoenix, Portland, Chicago and most recently Denver.
Church leaders believe immigrants are shielded from deportation because a 2011 ICE memo advises immigration officers to avoid taking action in "sensitive locations" such as hospitals, churches and schools.
Father Patrick Mowrer, a priest for San Francisco de Asis Catholic Church in Flagstaff, said that his church has considered giving refuge to those facing imminent deportation, but the situation has never come up.
"We could do that, but I don't know how much we could do to help them," Mowrer said referring to church sanctuary. "I have a very strong belief in the gospel message that we protect the immigrant and care for them."
Mowrer said that around 50 percent of his Spanish congregation is undocumented and that members have come to him with their worries. "People come and talk to me and they are scared," Mowrer said. " Many of the undocumented people I talk to are just kind of living without any idea what will happen to them in the future."
When it comes to working with undocumented immigrants Mowrer said he spends most of his time preaching compassion to English-speaking members of the church. "I want to remind our English speaking service about the gospel and showing solidarity with immigrants in our Spanish-speaking service," Mowrer said.
Worry among undocumented church members is not any greater during the Trump administration according to Mowrer because Arizona's immigration bill SB1070 created a standard of fear in the community when it was passed in 2012.
"SB1070 built up a fear of deportation so the fear of deportation was here before President Trump," Mowrer said. "People haven't really felt like Arizona was their home for a long time, but I know they would like to."
END
AZMEX I3 20-2-17
AZMEX I3 20 FEB 2017
Note: Penzone is a democrat.
Did Sheriff Paul Penzone declare Maricopa County as a sanctuary county?
BY DARIN DAMME |
February 20, 2017 @ 8:40 am
Updated Feb 20, 2017 - 11:24 am
http://ktar.com/story/1465756/paul-penzone-declare-maricopa-county-sanctuary/
Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone called an unexpected press conference late Friday night, where he announced he is "ending a policy that keeps immigrants locked up in his jails past their release date to give federal authorities extra time to launch deportation proceedings."
In other words, the sheriff's office will no longer conduct courtesy holds for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement so they can detain flagged immigration suspects. This is the same policy that sanctuary cities, including Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, follow.
So did Penzone declare Maricopa County a sanctuary county?
Penzone said Friday that legal action prompted the change, but wouldn't mention any specific case. Instead, he referred reporters to the County Attorney's Office.
But we know some facts that Penzone is not telling us.
A woman named Jacinta Gonzalez Goodman filed a lawsuit against the sheriff's office in December for detaining her for a longer period of time due to an ICE hold. She was originally arrested in March for tying herself to a car in order to block access to a Donald Trump rally in Fountain Hills.
Her attorney, Ray Ybarra Maldonaldo, also represents a Mesa woman who was deported in early February after undergoing a routine check-in with ICE.
The deportation was viewed as a negative thing, with ICE rounding up mothers and separating families. But in reality, the department stated there have been no more immigration raids and deportations than usual.
The deportation is also just one example that Phoenix citizens pointed to as the Phoenix City Council voted not to become a sanctuary city last week.
Did Penzone enact this new policy in order to appease one of his biggest supporters: Investor George Soros?
In September, Penzone only had $326,000 on hand, compared to former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's $2.9 million, when a group linked to Soros mounted an anti-Arpaio attack to weaken the incumbent sheriff's bid.
But that's not all. Gonzales Goodman was a 2011 recipient of the George Soros Justice Fellowship, according to the Soros Open Society Foundations page.
Since Penzone has been elected, he has taken a soft stance on illegal immigration. He has referred to undocumented immigrants as "guests," stated the sheriff's office will no longer raid businesses accused of hiring illegal workers and announced MCSO will no longer work with ICE to turn over suspected undocumented criminals.
I've given Penzone the benefit of the doubt that he had nothing to do with the Soros money and is a fair and impartial person since he has been elected.
But until further questions are answered, I am not convinced this is simply a legally-protective measure to shield the sheriff's office from further lawsuits. I think this latest action, including its timing and players involved, has Soros influence written all over it.
Even though the Valley was buzzing last week over Phoenix becoming a sanctuary city, none of that matters anymore because on Friday, while nobody was paying attention, Maricopa County became a defacto sanctuary county.
END
Note: Penzone is a democrat.
Did Sheriff Paul Penzone declare Maricopa County as a sanctuary county?
BY DARIN DAMME |
February 20, 2017 @ 8:40 am
Updated Feb 20, 2017 - 11:24 am
http://ktar.com/story/1465756/paul-penzone-declare-maricopa-county-sanctuary/
Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone called an unexpected press conference late Friday night, where he announced he is "ending a policy that keeps immigrants locked up in his jails past their release date to give federal authorities extra time to launch deportation proceedings."
In other words, the sheriff's office will no longer conduct courtesy holds for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement so they can detain flagged immigration suspects. This is the same policy that sanctuary cities, including Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, follow.
So did Penzone declare Maricopa County a sanctuary county?
Penzone said Friday that legal action prompted the change, but wouldn't mention any specific case. Instead, he referred reporters to the County Attorney's Office.
But we know some facts that Penzone is not telling us.
A woman named Jacinta Gonzalez Goodman filed a lawsuit against the sheriff's office in December for detaining her for a longer period of time due to an ICE hold. She was originally arrested in March for tying herself to a car in order to block access to a Donald Trump rally in Fountain Hills.
Her attorney, Ray Ybarra Maldonaldo, also represents a Mesa woman who was deported in early February after undergoing a routine check-in with ICE.
The deportation was viewed as a negative thing, with ICE rounding up mothers and separating families. But in reality, the department stated there have been no more immigration raids and deportations than usual.
The deportation is also just one example that Phoenix citizens pointed to as the Phoenix City Council voted not to become a sanctuary city last week.
Did Penzone enact this new policy in order to appease one of his biggest supporters: Investor George Soros?
In September, Penzone only had $326,000 on hand, compared to former Sheriff Joe Arpaio's $2.9 million, when a group linked to Soros mounted an anti-Arpaio attack to weaken the incumbent sheriff's bid.
But that's not all. Gonzales Goodman was a 2011 recipient of the George Soros Justice Fellowship, according to the Soros Open Society Foundations page.
Since Penzone has been elected, he has taken a soft stance on illegal immigration. He has referred to undocumented immigrants as "guests," stated the sheriff's office will no longer raid businesses accused of hiring illegal workers and announced MCSO will no longer work with ICE to turn over suspected undocumented criminals.
I've given Penzone the benefit of the doubt that he had nothing to do with the Soros money and is a fair and impartial person since he has been elected.
But until further questions are answered, I am not convinced this is simply a legally-protective measure to shield the sheriff's office from further lawsuits. I think this latest action, including its timing and players involved, has Soros influence written all over it.
Even though the Valley was buzzing last week over Phoenix becoming a sanctuary city, none of that matters anymore because on Friday, while nobody was paying attention, Maricopa County became a defacto sanctuary county.
END
AZMEX POLICY2 18-2-17
AZMEX POLICY2 18 FEB 2017
Comment: Suggestion: "extreme vetting" of voter registration rolls, voter photo ID card, in-person voting only, fingerprint at polling place, mandatory jail time, triple jail time for organizers.
Thx
Nearly 2 million non-citizen Hispanics illegally registered to vote
Survey bolsters analysis by professors
A sign in Spanish which translates, "Don't Lose Your Voice, Vote!" is displayed near a polling place in a Cardenas supermarket in Las Vegas on June 10, 2016. (Associated Press) **FILE** more >
View Comments Print
By Rowan Scarborough - The Washington Times - Wednesday, February 15, 2017
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/15/nearly-2-million-non-citizen-hispanics-illegally-r/
A large number of non-citizen Hispanics, as many as 2 million, were illegally registered to vote in the U.S., according to a nationwide poll.
The National Hispanic Survey provides additional evidence for use by anti-voter fraud conservatives and bolsters an analysis by professors at Old Dominion University who say non-citizens registered and voted in potentially large numbers.
President Trump has announced he will appoint a task force on voter fraud headed by Vice President Mike Pence. He says he wants the investigation to focus on inaccurate voter registration rolls, which are maintained by the states and the District of Columbia.
SEE ALSO: Trump argument bolstered: Clinton could have received 800,000 votes from noncitizens
"It is a fact and you will not deny it, that there are massive numbers of non-citizens in this country who are registered to vote," White House adviser Stephen Miller told ABC News. "That is a scandal. We should stop the presses.
The little-noticed Hispanic survey was conducted in June 2013 by McLaughlin and Associates to gauge the opinions of U.S. resident Latinos on a wide range of issues.
Inside the poll is a page devoted to voter profiles. Of the randomly selected sample of 800 Hispanics, 56 percent, or 448, said they were non-citizens, and of those, 13 percent said they were registered to vote. The 448 would presumedly be a mix of illegal immigrants and noncitizens who are in the U.S. legally, such as visa holders or permanent residents.
A 1996 federal law, and other statues, makes it a felony for non-citizens to register. The poll did not ask if they voted.
But James Agresti, who directs the research nonprofit "Just Facts," applied the 13 percent figure to 2013 U.S. Census numbers for non-citizen Hispanic adults. In 2013, the Census reported that 11.8 million non-citizen Hispanic adults lived here, which would amount to 1.5 million illegally registered Latinos.
Accounting for the margin of error based on the sample size of non-citizens, Mr. Agresti calculated that the number of illegally registered Hispanics could range from 1.0 million to 2.1 million.
"Contrary to the claims of many media outlets and so-called fact-checkers, this nationally representative scientific poll confirms that a sizable number of non-citizens in the U.S. are registered to vote," Mr. Agresti said.
Another 8.3 million non-Hispanic non-citizen adults were living in the U.S. in 2013, according to the Census.
As the nation's immigrant population, both legal and illegal, grows, the question of non-citizens voting illegally has caught the attention of more grass-roots conservative groups. Aliens tend to vote Democratic and have the ability to sway a close election.
The focus intensified in 2014 when two professors at Old Dominion University and one at George Mason University collaborated to produce perhaps the first data-driven analysis of non-citizen voting, relying on the biennial Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), headquartered at Harvard University, with polling by YouGov.
Relying on the CCES responses to citizenship questions, ODU team estimated that 6.4 percent of non-citizens voted in the 2008 election. They presented a range as low as 38,000 and as high at 2.8 million.
The CCES authors at Harvard, Amherst and YouGov reacted with outrage. They said the small number of respondents among a sample of 38,000 people made the answers meaningless. They picked at their numbers, declared them unreliable and concluded that zero noncitizens voted.
Their rebuttal prompted the liberal media to proclaim the ODU study "debunked" even though those professors stick by their work and have filed counter-rebuttals.
The 2013 Hispanic Survey tends to confirm the ODU work and chief defender, professor Jesse Richman. The Hispanic Survey's 13 percent registration rate is right in line with what the CCES data indicates in multiple elections.
Mr. Agresti said the ODU paper found that in 2008, 2010 and 2012 between 14.5 percent and 15.6 percent of self-declared non-citizen adults were registered to vote.
In other words, the CCES and National Hispanic Survey, done with different sample sizes, align.
Still, the liberal media declares the ODU work "debunked."
McLaughlin and Associates conducted the Hispanic poll for John Jordan, a winery owner and Republican activist. California vineyards rely on Latino farm workers.
The media's dismissal of voter fraud has not chased the White House from the issue. Mr. Miller, the senior While House adviser, made the case Sunday on "ABC's This Week," angering host George Stephanopoulos.
"An issue of voter fraud is something we're going to be looking at very seriously and very hard," Mr. Miller said. "But the reality is, is that we know for a fact, you have massive numbers of non-citizens registered to vote in this country. Nobody disputes that."
He added, "The White House has provided enormous evidence with respect to voter fraud, with respect to people being registered in more than one state, dead people voting, non-citizens being registered to vote And as a country, we should be aghast about the fact that you have people who have no right to vote in this country, registered to vote, canceling out the franchise of lawful citizens of this country."
Instead of focusing on the registration issue, an agitated Mr. Stephanopoulos lashed out at Mr. Trump for claiming there were 3 million to 5 million illegals voting Nov. 8 and that voters were bused in from Massachusetts to vote in New Hampshire.
"You have provided zero evidence that the president's claim that he would have won the general — the popular vote if 3 million to 5 million illegal immigrants hadn't voted, zero evidence for either one of those claims," the host said.
In his Super Bowl interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, Mr. Trump veered away from the 5 million prediction and instead said he wants his task force to focus on cleaning up registration.
"It has to do with the registration," he said "And when you look at the registration and you see dead people that have voted, when you see people that are registered in two states, that have voted in two states, when you see other things, when you see illegals, people that are not citizens and they are on the registration rolls."
"Look, Bill we can be babies, but you take a look at the registration, you have illegals, you have dead people, you have this, it's really a bad situation, it's really bad."
When Mr. O'Reilly reminded the president he has not presented data to show that 3 million illegals voted, Mr. Trump said, "Forget that. Forget all that. Just take a look at the registration and we're going to do it."
end
Comment: Suggestion: "extreme vetting" of voter registration rolls, voter photo ID card, in-person voting only, fingerprint at polling place, mandatory jail time, triple jail time for organizers.
Thx
Nearly 2 million non-citizen Hispanics illegally registered to vote
Survey bolsters analysis by professors
A sign in Spanish which translates, "Don't Lose Your Voice, Vote!" is displayed near a polling place in a Cardenas supermarket in Las Vegas on June 10, 2016. (Associated Press) **FILE** more >
View Comments Print
By Rowan Scarborough - The Washington Times - Wednesday, February 15, 2017
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/15/nearly-2-million-non-citizen-hispanics-illegally-r/
A large number of non-citizen Hispanics, as many as 2 million, were illegally registered to vote in the U.S., according to a nationwide poll.
The National Hispanic Survey provides additional evidence for use by anti-voter fraud conservatives and bolsters an analysis by professors at Old Dominion University who say non-citizens registered and voted in potentially large numbers.
President Trump has announced he will appoint a task force on voter fraud headed by Vice President Mike Pence. He says he wants the investigation to focus on inaccurate voter registration rolls, which are maintained by the states and the District of Columbia.
SEE ALSO: Trump argument bolstered: Clinton could have received 800,000 votes from noncitizens
"It is a fact and you will not deny it, that there are massive numbers of non-citizens in this country who are registered to vote," White House adviser Stephen Miller told ABC News. "That is a scandal. We should stop the presses.
The little-noticed Hispanic survey was conducted in June 2013 by McLaughlin and Associates to gauge the opinions of U.S. resident Latinos on a wide range of issues.
Inside the poll is a page devoted to voter profiles. Of the randomly selected sample of 800 Hispanics, 56 percent, or 448, said they were non-citizens, and of those, 13 percent said they were registered to vote. The 448 would presumedly be a mix of illegal immigrants and noncitizens who are in the U.S. legally, such as visa holders or permanent residents.
A 1996 federal law, and other statues, makes it a felony for non-citizens to register. The poll did not ask if they voted.
But James Agresti, who directs the research nonprofit "Just Facts," applied the 13 percent figure to 2013 U.S. Census numbers for non-citizen Hispanic adults. In 2013, the Census reported that 11.8 million non-citizen Hispanic adults lived here, which would amount to 1.5 million illegally registered Latinos.
Accounting for the margin of error based on the sample size of non-citizens, Mr. Agresti calculated that the number of illegally registered Hispanics could range from 1.0 million to 2.1 million.
"Contrary to the claims of many media outlets and so-called fact-checkers, this nationally representative scientific poll confirms that a sizable number of non-citizens in the U.S. are registered to vote," Mr. Agresti said.
Another 8.3 million non-Hispanic non-citizen adults were living in the U.S. in 2013, according to the Census.
As the nation's immigrant population, both legal and illegal, grows, the question of non-citizens voting illegally has caught the attention of more grass-roots conservative groups. Aliens tend to vote Democratic and have the ability to sway a close election.
The focus intensified in 2014 when two professors at Old Dominion University and one at George Mason University collaborated to produce perhaps the first data-driven analysis of non-citizen voting, relying on the biennial Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), headquartered at Harvard University, with polling by YouGov.
Relying on the CCES responses to citizenship questions, ODU team estimated that 6.4 percent of non-citizens voted in the 2008 election. They presented a range as low as 38,000 and as high at 2.8 million.
The CCES authors at Harvard, Amherst and YouGov reacted with outrage. They said the small number of respondents among a sample of 38,000 people made the answers meaningless. They picked at their numbers, declared them unreliable and concluded that zero noncitizens voted.
Their rebuttal prompted the liberal media to proclaim the ODU study "debunked" even though those professors stick by their work and have filed counter-rebuttals.
The 2013 Hispanic Survey tends to confirm the ODU work and chief defender, professor Jesse Richman. The Hispanic Survey's 13 percent registration rate is right in line with what the CCES data indicates in multiple elections.
Mr. Agresti said the ODU paper found that in 2008, 2010 and 2012 between 14.5 percent and 15.6 percent of self-declared non-citizen adults were registered to vote.
In other words, the CCES and National Hispanic Survey, done with different sample sizes, align.
Still, the liberal media declares the ODU work "debunked."
McLaughlin and Associates conducted the Hispanic poll for John Jordan, a winery owner and Republican activist. California vineyards rely on Latino farm workers.
The media's dismissal of voter fraud has not chased the White House from the issue. Mr. Miller, the senior While House adviser, made the case Sunday on "ABC's This Week," angering host George Stephanopoulos.
"An issue of voter fraud is something we're going to be looking at very seriously and very hard," Mr. Miller said. "But the reality is, is that we know for a fact, you have massive numbers of non-citizens registered to vote in this country. Nobody disputes that."
He added, "The White House has provided enormous evidence with respect to voter fraud, with respect to people being registered in more than one state, dead people voting, non-citizens being registered to vote And as a country, we should be aghast about the fact that you have people who have no right to vote in this country, registered to vote, canceling out the franchise of lawful citizens of this country."
Instead of focusing on the registration issue, an agitated Mr. Stephanopoulos lashed out at Mr. Trump for claiming there were 3 million to 5 million illegals voting Nov. 8 and that voters were bused in from Massachusetts to vote in New Hampshire.
"You have provided zero evidence that the president's claim that he would have won the general — the popular vote if 3 million to 5 million illegal immigrants hadn't voted, zero evidence for either one of those claims," the host said.
In his Super Bowl interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, Mr. Trump veered away from the 5 million prediction and instead said he wants his task force to focus on cleaning up registration.
"It has to do with the registration," he said "And when you look at the registration and you see dead people that have voted, when you see people that are registered in two states, that have voted in two states, when you see other things, when you see illegals, people that are not citizens and they are on the registration rolls."
"Look, Bill we can be babies, but you take a look at the registration, you have illegals, you have dead people, you have this, it's really a bad situation, it's really bad."
When Mr. O'Reilly reminded the president he has not presented data to show that 3 million illegals voted, Mr. Trump said, "Forget that. Forget all that. Just take a look at the registration and we're going to do it."
end
Saturday, February 18, 2017
AZMEX UPDATE 18-2-17
AZMEX UPDATE 18 FEB 2017
Note: Be advised the article is from cronkite "news".
(The gate problem would seem to be more of a city boy thing?)
Thx
Arizona ranchers want border wall, worry about Border Patrol agents on their land
BY GARRISON MURPHY/CRONKITE NEWS | February 18, 2017 @ 6:21 am
http://ktar.com/story/1464002/arizona-ranchers-want-border-wall-worry-border-patrol-agents-land/
(Photo by Garrison Murphy/Cronkite News)
DOUGLAS — John Ladd stepped out of his rusted, red pickup truck to lead a herd of cattle through a gate on his 16,000-acre ranch on the Arizona-Mexico border, chain and padlock swinging from his hand.
"There's an open gate right there; that's what I was talking about," Ladd said. "Border Patrol doesn't like closing gates."
The gate Ladd referred to is designed to keep cattle separated. Leaving a gate open can have dire consequences for a rancher. The gate also borders a ravine he said is commonly used by undocumented immigrants and smugglers who cross through his ranch.
"It used to take five days to get the ranch rounded up; it takes me seven weeks now and it's because anybody coming through illegally cuts through fences and border patrol doesn't know how to shut a gate," Ladd said.
A cow grazing on the Ladd Ranch in Arizona which borders Mexico. The ranch has been owned by the Ladd family since 1896. (Photo by Garrison Murphy/Cronkite News)
Both Border Patrol and Ladd have keys to locks on his gates, but he said agents often leave the gates open. Despite Ladd's disagreements with Border Patrol, he supports President Donald Trump's executive order to build a wall and authorize Border Patrol to hire 5,000 more agents.
"It used to be a lot of immigrants coming over and now it's mostly drug mules they catch here," Ladd said. "They just go right over (the fence)." Ladd said he and agents have found 14 bodies on his ranch since the Border Patrol started patrolling back in the 1980s.
He said people who cross the border illegally cut through his land daily to reach Highway 92.
Ladd said although his relationship is better than that it has been in past, he still has disagreements over how the agents do their jobs.
"They've torn up my property more than the illegals," said Ladd. "They have no respect for land and they have no respect for landowners … I was here first."
Ladd said the quick turnover rate of agents puts a strain on his relationship with Border Patrol because he has to get to know new agents and teach them about ranch life.
He also said his biggest frustration is with Congress "not allowing Border Patrol to do their job" and that he hopes this new executive order will change that. He supports locking up illegal border crossers rather than sending them back to Mexico.
Ladd's family has owned the ranch since 1896. He said before the 1980s he rarely had issues with people crossing the border illegally. In the past he helped immigrants who worked his land, including Mexican cowboys become U.S. citizens.
However, others living near the border don't share the the ranchers concerns.
"It reminds me of buying a house next to an airport and complaining about the noise," said Ronald Oertle, mayor of neighboring Bisbee.
Tom Wheeler, a former Bisbee mayor and resident for 35 years said most immigrants crossing the border are not malicious and that it is an issue that is oversold by politicians and border ranchers.
The federal government is upgrading the border fence on the Ladd Ranch to make it 18 feet tall. (Photo by Garrison Murphy/Cronkite News)
"The immigration problem is a big smoke screen, most of the people coming here overstay their visa or green card," Wheeler said. "Most of the people coming across here are coming from Central America and it's all poverty."
Fred Davis, a rancher whose property is 17 miles north of the border, said he has encountered problems with border crossers on his land. He said townspeople don't understand the difficulties he faces.
"You go into Sierra Vista and ask them how many problems we have and they won't have a clue, they will say they have no problems," Davis said. "It's all relative till it's your relative."
He said although he has not had as many encounters with Border Patrol agents, he is still critical of their strategies and that "John Ladd's ranch is the greatest example of the Border Patrol failure."
The death of fellow rancher in 2010 changed how Davis and Ladd they feel about dealing with migrants.
Robert Krentz and his dog were shot and killed on his ranch while checking on someone who appeared to be injured. Investigators found footprints leading to Mexico but have not arrested any suspects for the crime.
"Sure, it is frightening," Davis said. "He was a good friend of mine since high school … Rob was a very careful man and a very compassionate guy."
Since Krentz's death Davis said he is "not going to get in gunshot range of any [border crossers]."
Ladd, bought his first cell phone after Krentz's death.
John Ladd talks on the phone with a fellow rancher as he walks on his property near construction material that is being used to upgrade the current border fence.
John Ladd talks on the phone with a fellow rancher as he walks on his property near construction material that is being used to upgrade the current border fence. (Photo by Garrison Murphy/Cronkite News)
"That's how it is down here, if you leave your house for a day you're going to get robbed," Ladd said. "They've been in my house, they steal trucks, steal tools. It was a daily event. We still can't leave without somebody being here."
Ladd and Davis said they have had multiple break-ins on their ranches.
Ladd said Border Patrol catches about 30-50 people a week on his property, which is a sharp decline from a decade ago when they apprehended approximately 200 border crossers a week.
"I'm sure there are some (border crossers) here right now" Ladd said. "They're watching me all the time."
end
Note: the new Maricopa county sheriff is a democrat.
Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone changes jail rule for immigrants
ASSOCIATED PRESS | February 17, 2017 @ 9:13 pm
http://ktar.com/story/1463960/maricopa-county-sheriff-paul-penzone-changes-jail-rule-for-immigrants/
PHOENIX — The new sheriff in metropolitan Phoenix is ending a policy that keeps immigrants locked up in his jails past their release date to give federal authorities extra time to launch deportation proceedings.
Sheriff Paul Penzone announced the new rules at a Friday evening news conference, ending a policy by his controversial predecessor, Joe Arpaio. Penzone said legal issues surrounding the policy left him no choice but to change the rules.
Arpaio became a lightning rod for criticism over his harsh immigration tactics that included his well-publicized sweeps and raids but also his jail policies. Penzone toppled Arpaio in the November election after voters became frustrated over huge legal bills surrounding the longtime lawman.
Penzone says Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officers will remain in his jail, but he will no longer detain inmates past their release dates to accommodate the agency.
end
Note: Be advised the article is from cronkite "news".
(The gate problem would seem to be more of a city boy thing?)
Thx
Arizona ranchers want border wall, worry about Border Patrol agents on their land
BY GARRISON MURPHY/CRONKITE NEWS | February 18, 2017 @ 6:21 am
http://ktar.com/story/1464002/arizona-ranchers-want-border-wall-worry-border-patrol-agents-land/
(Photo by Garrison Murphy/Cronkite News)
DOUGLAS — John Ladd stepped out of his rusted, red pickup truck to lead a herd of cattle through a gate on his 16,000-acre ranch on the Arizona-Mexico border, chain and padlock swinging from his hand.
"There's an open gate right there; that's what I was talking about," Ladd said. "Border Patrol doesn't like closing gates."
The gate Ladd referred to is designed to keep cattle separated. Leaving a gate open can have dire consequences for a rancher. The gate also borders a ravine he said is commonly used by undocumented immigrants and smugglers who cross through his ranch.
"It used to take five days to get the ranch rounded up; it takes me seven weeks now and it's because anybody coming through illegally cuts through fences and border patrol doesn't know how to shut a gate," Ladd said.
A cow grazing on the Ladd Ranch in Arizona which borders Mexico. The ranch has been owned by the Ladd family since 1896. (Photo by Garrison Murphy/Cronkite News)
Both Border Patrol and Ladd have keys to locks on his gates, but he said agents often leave the gates open. Despite Ladd's disagreements with Border Patrol, he supports President Donald Trump's executive order to build a wall and authorize Border Patrol to hire 5,000 more agents.
"It used to be a lot of immigrants coming over and now it's mostly drug mules they catch here," Ladd said. "They just go right over (the fence)." Ladd said he and agents have found 14 bodies on his ranch since the Border Patrol started patrolling back in the 1980s.
He said people who cross the border illegally cut through his land daily to reach Highway 92.
Ladd said although his relationship is better than that it has been in past, he still has disagreements over how the agents do their jobs.
"They've torn up my property more than the illegals," said Ladd. "They have no respect for land and they have no respect for landowners … I was here first."
Ladd said the quick turnover rate of agents puts a strain on his relationship with Border Patrol because he has to get to know new agents and teach them about ranch life.
He also said his biggest frustration is with Congress "not allowing Border Patrol to do their job" and that he hopes this new executive order will change that. He supports locking up illegal border crossers rather than sending them back to Mexico.
Ladd's family has owned the ranch since 1896. He said before the 1980s he rarely had issues with people crossing the border illegally. In the past he helped immigrants who worked his land, including Mexican cowboys become U.S. citizens.
However, others living near the border don't share the the ranchers concerns.
"It reminds me of buying a house next to an airport and complaining about the noise," said Ronald Oertle, mayor of neighboring Bisbee.
Tom Wheeler, a former Bisbee mayor and resident for 35 years said most immigrants crossing the border are not malicious and that it is an issue that is oversold by politicians and border ranchers.
The federal government is upgrading the border fence on the Ladd Ranch to make it 18 feet tall. (Photo by Garrison Murphy/Cronkite News)
"The immigration problem is a big smoke screen, most of the people coming here overstay their visa or green card," Wheeler said. "Most of the people coming across here are coming from Central America and it's all poverty."
Fred Davis, a rancher whose property is 17 miles north of the border, said he has encountered problems with border crossers on his land. He said townspeople don't understand the difficulties he faces.
"You go into Sierra Vista and ask them how many problems we have and they won't have a clue, they will say they have no problems," Davis said. "It's all relative till it's your relative."
He said although he has not had as many encounters with Border Patrol agents, he is still critical of their strategies and that "John Ladd's ranch is the greatest example of the Border Patrol failure."
The death of fellow rancher in 2010 changed how Davis and Ladd they feel about dealing with migrants.
Robert Krentz and his dog were shot and killed on his ranch while checking on someone who appeared to be injured. Investigators found footprints leading to Mexico but have not arrested any suspects for the crime.
"Sure, it is frightening," Davis said. "He was a good friend of mine since high school … Rob was a very careful man and a very compassionate guy."
Since Krentz's death Davis said he is "not going to get in gunshot range of any [border crossers]."
Ladd, bought his first cell phone after Krentz's death.
John Ladd talks on the phone with a fellow rancher as he walks on his property near construction material that is being used to upgrade the current border fence.
John Ladd talks on the phone with a fellow rancher as he walks on his property near construction material that is being used to upgrade the current border fence. (Photo by Garrison Murphy/Cronkite News)
"That's how it is down here, if you leave your house for a day you're going to get robbed," Ladd said. "They've been in my house, they steal trucks, steal tools. It was a daily event. We still can't leave without somebody being here."
Ladd and Davis said they have had multiple break-ins on their ranches.
Ladd said Border Patrol catches about 30-50 people a week on his property, which is a sharp decline from a decade ago when they apprehended approximately 200 border crossers a week.
"I'm sure there are some (border crossers) here right now" Ladd said. "They're watching me all the time."
end
Note: the new Maricopa county sheriff is a democrat.
Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone changes jail rule for immigrants
ASSOCIATED PRESS | February 17, 2017 @ 9:13 pm
http://ktar.com/story/1463960/maricopa-county-sheriff-paul-penzone-changes-jail-rule-for-immigrants/
PHOENIX — The new sheriff in metropolitan Phoenix is ending a policy that keeps immigrants locked up in his jails past their release date to give federal authorities extra time to launch deportation proceedings.
Sheriff Paul Penzone announced the new rules at a Friday evening news conference, ending a policy by his controversial predecessor, Joe Arpaio. Penzone said legal issues surrounding the policy left him no choice but to change the rules.
Arpaio became a lightning rod for criticism over his harsh immigration tactics that included his well-publicized sweeps and raids but also his jail policies. Penzone toppled Arpaio in the November election after voters became frustrated over huge legal bills surrounding the longtime lawman.
Penzone says Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officers will remain in his jail, but he will no longer detain inmates past their release dates to accommodate the agency.
end
Friday, February 17, 2017
AZMEX EXTRA 17-2-17
AZMEX EXTRA 17 FEB 2017
Note: Interesting article and slide show from San Antonio Express-News via Huston Chronicle on cartels. Mostly AK's, AR's and a couple or more belt fed Brownings. Also, many, many radios.
thx
Report: Photos appear to show cartel members readying for war in post-'El Chapo' power struggle
By Kelsey Bradshaw,
San Antonio Express-News
Updated 8:09 am, Friday, February 17, 2017
http://www.chron.com/news/us-world/border-mexico/article/Report-Leaked-photos-cartel-readying-for-war-10935251.php#photo-8559325
El Blog Del Narco published more than 30 photos on Monday of purported Gulf Cartel members showing their faces and guns. Photo: Courtesy El Blog Del Narco
Photo: Courtesy El Blog Del Narco
IMAGE 28 OF 103 El Blog Del Narco published more than 30 photos on Monday of purported Gulf Cartel members showing their faces and guns.
New photos out of Mexico purportedly show cartel members gearing up for war now that Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been extradited to the U.S. and is fully out of the picture.
Groups are readying for an all-out fight for turf and power with Guzman's sons and brother, Blog del Narco, a Mexican publication, reported Tuesday.
RELATED: Report: 'El Chapo' Guzman's sons wounded in cartel attack
Earlier this month, Guzman's sons were injured in an attack from a rival cartel.
The Associated Press reported that a "bloody turf war could break out to fill the power vacuum" left by Guzman, and the leaked photos above appear to show the beginnings of one.
Click through the slideshow to see how sicarios in Mexico are readying themselves for a war.
Damaso Lopez, an alleged Sinaloa figure vying for control of the group, is thought to be behind the attack on Guzman's children, the Associated Press reported.
Blog del Narco reported the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel is also targeting Guzman's family.
kbradshaw@express-news.net
end
Note: Interesting article and slide show from San Antonio Express-News via Huston Chronicle on cartels. Mostly AK's, AR's and a couple or more belt fed Brownings. Also, many, many radios.
thx
Report: Photos appear to show cartel members readying for war in post-'El Chapo' power struggle
By Kelsey Bradshaw,
San Antonio Express-News
Updated 8:09 am, Friday, February 17, 2017
http://www.chron.com/news/us-world/border-mexico/article/Report-Leaked-photos-cartel-readying-for-war-10935251.php#photo-8559325
El Blog Del Narco published more than 30 photos on Monday of purported Gulf Cartel members showing their faces and guns. Photo: Courtesy El Blog Del Narco
Photo: Courtesy El Blog Del Narco
IMAGE 28 OF 103 El Blog Del Narco published more than 30 photos on Monday of purported Gulf Cartel members showing their faces and guns.
New photos out of Mexico purportedly show cartel members gearing up for war now that Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been extradited to the U.S. and is fully out of the picture.
Groups are readying for an all-out fight for turf and power with Guzman's sons and brother, Blog del Narco, a Mexican publication, reported Tuesday.
RELATED: Report: 'El Chapo' Guzman's sons wounded in cartel attack
Earlier this month, Guzman's sons were injured in an attack from a rival cartel.
The Associated Press reported that a "bloody turf war could break out to fill the power vacuum" left by Guzman, and the leaked photos above appear to show the beginnings of one.
Click through the slideshow to see how sicarios in Mexico are readying themselves for a war.
Damaso Lopez, an alleged Sinaloa figure vying for control of the group, is thought to be behind the attack on Guzman's children, the Associated Press reported.
Blog del Narco reported the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel is also targeting Guzman's family.
kbradshaw@express-news.net
end
AZMEX I3 17-2-17
AZMEX I3 17 FEB 2017
Note: Aside from Flagstaff and Tempe, Tucson is the most progressive city in AZ. Unknown why legal immigrants would need to have support from the protesters. Video at link: BTW, some time spent yesterday in a immigrant rich area of Phx. showed no signs of a "day without immigrants".
Thx
Protesters clash with police in downtown Tucson
Multiple people detained
Whitney Clark, Mac Colson
6:30 PM, Feb 16, 2017
4 hours ago
http://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/protesters-clash-with-police-downtown
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Protestors and police clashed in downtown Tucson Thursday night after dozens of people showed up to for a rally to support immigrants and undocumented immigrants.
This comes after nationwide protests over recent ICE actions and President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.
According to the Tucson Police Department, three men and one woman were arrested. TPD says the three men are facing felony charges for aggravated assault on a peace officer, and the woman is facing misdemeanor charges including obstruction and failing to provide identification.
TPD says three officers were assaulted and had minor injuries, but couldn't elaborate on those injuries. Sgt. Pete Dugan tells KGUN 9 that one of the officers was kicked in the face, the other was hit in the back, and he didn't know the specifics of the third officer involved. None of them were taken to the hospital, Dugan said.
The event was planned by the group L.U.P.E. who says it has had protests before in Tucson. Stteffanny Cott, an organizer with the group, says they have never had issues with police. She says the event was intended to be peaceful.
Cott says the group of about 150 originally met in front of the Federal building on Congress Street. Cott says they decided to start marching and that's when a Tucson Police Department vehicle pulled up and blocked them.
Cott claims that one officer was revving his engine, and nudged one of the demonstrators. Cott believes police provoked the protestors and they were met with "indifference."
"We've worked in the past with the Tucson Police Department, we don't really understand why today was any different," Cott said. "No one in their rightful mind would think this is a correct response to what was happening."
"We take the safety of our rallies and of our protests very seriously, and we stress the importance of it being safe," Cott said. "No one was in any type of danger or in jeopardy."
Sgt. Dugan says officers had been monitoring the protestors and had been in contact with organizers before the event. He says around 6 p.m. when protestors moved onto the street, officers wanted to move them onto the sidewalk for safety reasons.
At some point Dugan says someone in the crowd hit an officer in the back. As police attempted to take that person into custody, Dugan says a crowd started surrounding the officers. One of the officers deployed pepper spray, Dugan says, in order to disperse the crowd.
Once the suspect was taken into a vehicle, Dugan says the protestors began blocking the TPD car and locking arms around it. At that point Dugan says two people were taken into custody.
"From what I understand is that it was very peaceful at the beginning, then you have individuals, you have one that assaults an officer, you have individuals blocking a police car and hindering our investigation," Dugan said. "At that point those people are no longer peacefully protesting they are actually committing criminal offenses."
"There have been a lot of protests here in Tucson and around the nation," Dugan said. "I'd like to think that most of them are very peaceful here. We like to let people exercise their First Amendment rights. The only time we get involved is if they start to block streets and that hasn't been arranged beforehand."
Dugan says the investigation is still ongoing, and he did not know if the officers involved were wearing body cameras.
Cott says there were children at the rally, and there were elderly people that were pepper sprayed. Sgt. Dugan said he did not have any information on the ages of the people involved.
The four people arrested have not been identified yet.
END
Also: http://www.kvoa.com/story/34526695/a-day-without-immigrants-protest-in-tucson
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/34527160/protest-downtown-escalates-quickly
http://www.1041kqth.com/news/local-news/protesters-clash-with-police-downtown
end
Note: Aside from Flagstaff and Tempe, Tucson is the most progressive city in AZ. Unknown why legal immigrants would need to have support from the protesters. Video at link: BTW, some time spent yesterday in a immigrant rich area of Phx. showed no signs of a "day without immigrants".
Thx
Protesters clash with police in downtown Tucson
Multiple people detained
Whitney Clark, Mac Colson
6:30 PM, Feb 16, 2017
4 hours ago
http://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/protesters-clash-with-police-downtown
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Protestors and police clashed in downtown Tucson Thursday night after dozens of people showed up to for a rally to support immigrants and undocumented immigrants.
This comes after nationwide protests over recent ICE actions and President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.
According to the Tucson Police Department, three men and one woman were arrested. TPD says the three men are facing felony charges for aggravated assault on a peace officer, and the woman is facing misdemeanor charges including obstruction and failing to provide identification.
TPD says three officers were assaulted and had minor injuries, but couldn't elaborate on those injuries. Sgt. Pete Dugan tells KGUN 9 that one of the officers was kicked in the face, the other was hit in the back, and he didn't know the specifics of the third officer involved. None of them were taken to the hospital, Dugan said.
The event was planned by the group L.U.P.E. who says it has had protests before in Tucson. Stteffanny Cott, an organizer with the group, says they have never had issues with police. She says the event was intended to be peaceful.
Cott says the group of about 150 originally met in front of the Federal building on Congress Street. Cott says they decided to start marching and that's when a Tucson Police Department vehicle pulled up and blocked them.
Cott claims that one officer was revving his engine, and nudged one of the demonstrators. Cott believes police provoked the protestors and they were met with "indifference."
"We've worked in the past with the Tucson Police Department, we don't really understand why today was any different," Cott said. "No one in their rightful mind would think this is a correct response to what was happening."
"We take the safety of our rallies and of our protests very seriously, and we stress the importance of it being safe," Cott said. "No one was in any type of danger or in jeopardy."
Sgt. Dugan says officers had been monitoring the protestors and had been in contact with organizers before the event. He says around 6 p.m. when protestors moved onto the street, officers wanted to move them onto the sidewalk for safety reasons.
At some point Dugan says someone in the crowd hit an officer in the back. As police attempted to take that person into custody, Dugan says a crowd started surrounding the officers. One of the officers deployed pepper spray, Dugan says, in order to disperse the crowd.
Once the suspect was taken into a vehicle, Dugan says the protestors began blocking the TPD car and locking arms around it. At that point Dugan says two people were taken into custody.
"From what I understand is that it was very peaceful at the beginning, then you have individuals, you have one that assaults an officer, you have individuals blocking a police car and hindering our investigation," Dugan said. "At that point those people are no longer peacefully protesting they are actually committing criminal offenses."
"There have been a lot of protests here in Tucson and around the nation," Dugan said. "I'd like to think that most of them are very peaceful here. We like to let people exercise their First Amendment rights. The only time we get involved is if they start to block streets and that hasn't been arranged beforehand."
Dugan says the investigation is still ongoing, and he did not know if the officers involved were wearing body cameras.
Cott says there were children at the rally, and there were elderly people that were pepper sprayed. Sgt. Dugan said he did not have any information on the ages of the people involved.
The four people arrested have not been identified yet.
END
Also: http://www.kvoa.com/story/34526695/a-day-without-immigrants-protest-in-tucson
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/34527160/protest-downtown-escalates-quickly
http://www.1041kqth.com/news/local-news/protesters-clash-with-police-downtown
end
AZMEX SPECIAL 14-2-17
AZMEX SPECIAL 14 FEB 2017
Note: more on the series from the Albuquerque Journal photos, charts, etc. at link.
The Cartels Next Door: 'Mayor of Mexico' ran a slick operation
By Mike Gallagher / Journal Investigative Reporter
Tuesday, February 14th, 2017 at 12:02am
The Cartels Next Door: 'Mayor of Mexico' ran a slick operation
https://www.abqjournal.com/949253/plea-bargain-nets-valuable-info.html
A tunnel built by the Sinaloa Cartel between Tijuana and San Diego, discovered by law enforcement in December 2016. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)
THIRD IN A SERIES: Drugs come across the U.S.-Mexican border in many ways – from Mexican couriers carrying backpacks across the desert to sophisticated trucking operations designed to thwart U.S. border and customs officials to elaborate tunnels. A lot gets seized, but the amount that gets through generates billions of dollars in profits for the cartels and fuels a host of problems here, from addiction to crimes committed to finance the "habit."
The pallets marked as frozen sea cucumbers, a delicacy in some Asian restaurants, crossed easily from Mexico into the U.S. by truck at a border crossing between Tijuana and San Diego.
After all, frozen seafood moves relatively quickly through U.S. Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry along the Southwestern border. Each port has a limited budget to pay for "spoilage" during unsuccessful drug searches, so without specific information or indicators of drugs in the load of seafood, the loads get processed rapidly.
Once in San Diego, the seafood was flown to Buffalo, in upstate New York, where the pallets – which were actually loaded with heroin, cocaine and fentanyl – were broken open and distributed to drug dealers in western New York.
Frozen sea cucumbers were used to conceal drugs smuggled from Tijuana, Mexico, to Buffalo, N.Y. Loads of frozen seafood are generally processed quickly at ports of entry because of the risk of spoilage. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)
The money from the drug sales was then laundered through a series of companies, sent to bank accounts in California and then south of the border.
It was a classic Sinaloa Cartel operation, hiding the drugs in plain sight, pushing them out to consumers willing to pay hard cash, and then using legal fronts and banks to cover the money trail.
It was run by Jose Ruben Gil, known within the organization as the "Mayor of Mexico."
The operation involved people throughout the drug trafficking organization who were tightly aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, not only in smuggling the drugs, but also in arranging for the money to get back to Mexico. The volume and value of the drugs involved is considered to be too high to "front" to independent operators.
How lucrative?
Investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies claim that in one year, Gil's operation sent $20 million from corporate bank accounts in the Buffalo area to banks in California. The money was then sent into Mexico.
The "Mayor of Mexico" eventually was taken down.
During the Drug Enforcement Administration investigation, agents across the country seized 52 kilograms of cocaine, 17 kilograms of heroin and 8 kilograms of fentanyl – worth millions of dollars on the street – but Gil's operation continued right up until his arrest in August in Buffalo, N.Y. He and others are now awaiting trial.
Gil ran the type of drug operation that traces back to the highest echelons of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to federal law enforcement officials involved in the case.
His was a sophisticated model from start to finish.
Law enforcement officials in the U.S. say the six major Mexican cartels are reaping billions in profits every year.
Sinaloa Cartel thrives
The arrest of a player like Gil isn't much more than a hiccup to an operation like the Sinaloa Cartel.
The most recent arrest and extradition to the United States of one of the world's best-known drug lords, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, was a much bigger threat to the cartel's drug operations. In fact, there were expectations of a major fight for control of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Although a few members have turned up dead, there hasn't been a major bloodletting, yet.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration believes the cartel, which actually is a federation of several groups, has always been run by a board of directors with a first among equals or chairman like Guzmán.
The two players with the most influence in the cartel today are Ismael "Mayo" Zambada Garcia, 68, and Dámaso "El Licenciado" López Nuñez, 50.
Zambada has been around since the 1970s, when the Guadalajara Cartel was formed. For a long time, he and his sons ran operations in the Mexican state of Sonora and controlled the "Plaza" in Nogales and other towns south of the border with Arizona. (Note: "Plaza" is a term used to refer to a border drug corridor.)
He became an important figure in a group called The Federation, formed by Amado Carrillo Fuentes in the 1990s, and since 2000 has been a capo in the Sinaloa Cartel.
He has a reputation for being a savvy infighter, not afraid of shedding blood, but someone who picks his fights carefully. Zambada played a significant role in eliminating the Tijuana Cartel as a major player on the border.
López Nuñez came onto the scene in 2001.
He studied law at the Universidad de Occidente and became a police officer at the Sinaloa Attorney General's Office, according to El Universal newspaper.
López Nuñez eventually got a job at the federal prison in Puente Grande where El Chapo was serving time after his 1993 arrest and allegedly helped him escape in 2001.
He resigned and was not jailed in connection with the escape.
He was indicted in U.S. District Court in Virginia on drug trafficking and money laundering charges with other members of the Sinaloa Cartel but has never been arrested in Mexico.
Reports suggest Zambada is ready to name his sons as his successors.
But the most capable son is in a U.S. federal prison, and the others, according to DEA observers, don't have the capacity to maintain power the way their father has over the course of decades.
The same assessment is made of Guzmán's sons. All of them will have some role in the cartel, but how large remains to be seen.
Guzmán is godfather to López's son, and López is close to another imprisoned Sinaloa capo, Inés Coronel Barreras, who is the father of Guzmán's third wife.
While those signs point to López taking over a larger role in the cartel, nothing in the Mexican drug world is guaranteed.
Cartels resilient
Even the biggest criminal organization takes some hits – but the cartels have been amazingly resilient.
Longtime Sinaloa Cartel boss Guzmán was arrested in 2014, 13 years after he first escaped from Mexico's maximum security prison in a laundry cart.
He escaped a second time in July 2015 through a tunnel and was rearrested in January 2016 after months of international publicity that drug organizations usually like to avoid.
Unlike that of some of his competitors who are locked up in Mexico, Guzmán's extradition to the United States was not derailed and was completed last month.
His longtime No. 2, Ismael Zambada, also took a hit.
mayor_flowIn 2015, the guilty plea in a Chicago federal court signed by Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, now 40, was unsealed. It showed that Zambada Niebla, Zambada's most competent son, was cooperating with U.S. authorities.
The son had helped run the cartel's smuggling operations from South America into Mexico and then into the United States. He also was responsible for making payments to Mexican government and police officials.
He was arrested in 2008 by Mexican law enforcement and extradited to the United States in 2009.
His defense team claimed that Zambada Niebla believed he and the rest of the Sinaloa Cartel had a deal with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to provide information about other cartels in exchange for some sort of immunity from prosecution. The government denied the allegations, but apparently Zambada Niebla did meet with U.S. federal agents before he was arrested in Mexico.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum of 10 years.
He described in the plea agreement the distribution of multiple tons of cocaine, often involving hundreds of kilograms at a time, on a monthly, if not weekly, basis from 2005 to 2008.
Zambada Niebla admitted that he coordinated the importation of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Colombia and Panama into the interior of Mexico, where he arranged transportation and storage of the shipments ultimately headed for the United States.
The cartel used various means of transportation, including private aircraft, submarines, and other submersible and semisubmersible vessels, container ships, fast boats, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, tractor-trailers and automobiles. He coordinated the delivery of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to wholesale distributors in Mexico, who would then arrange to smuggle the drugs into the United States.
On most occasions, the Sinaloa Cartel supplied the cocaine to these wholesalers on a consignment basis because of the wholesalers' long-standing relationships with key cartel figures.
Zambada Niebla in his plea deal also agreed not to contest a forfeiture judgment of more than $1.37 billion.
Video
As an extra bonus to our readers, Mike Gallagher provides additional background and insights about the Juárez and Sinaloa cartels in video interviews.
end
Note: more on the series from the Albuquerque Journal photos, charts, etc. at link.
The Cartels Next Door: 'Mayor of Mexico' ran a slick operation
By Mike Gallagher / Journal Investigative Reporter
Tuesday, February 14th, 2017 at 12:02am
The Cartels Next Door: 'Mayor of Mexico' ran a slick operation
https://www.abqjournal.com/949253/plea-bargain-nets-valuable-info.html
A tunnel built by the Sinaloa Cartel between Tijuana and San Diego, discovered by law enforcement in December 2016. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)
THIRD IN A SERIES: Drugs come across the U.S.-Mexican border in many ways – from Mexican couriers carrying backpacks across the desert to sophisticated trucking operations designed to thwart U.S. border and customs officials to elaborate tunnels. A lot gets seized, but the amount that gets through generates billions of dollars in profits for the cartels and fuels a host of problems here, from addiction to crimes committed to finance the "habit."
The pallets marked as frozen sea cucumbers, a delicacy in some Asian restaurants, crossed easily from Mexico into the U.S. by truck at a border crossing between Tijuana and San Diego.
After all, frozen seafood moves relatively quickly through U.S. Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry along the Southwestern border. Each port has a limited budget to pay for "spoilage" during unsuccessful drug searches, so without specific information or indicators of drugs in the load of seafood, the loads get processed rapidly.
Once in San Diego, the seafood was flown to Buffalo, in upstate New York, where the pallets – which were actually loaded with heroin, cocaine and fentanyl – were broken open and distributed to drug dealers in western New York.
Frozen sea cucumbers were used to conceal drugs smuggled from Tijuana, Mexico, to Buffalo, N.Y. Loads of frozen seafood are generally processed quickly at ports of entry because of the risk of spoilage. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)
The money from the drug sales was then laundered through a series of companies, sent to bank accounts in California and then south of the border.
It was a classic Sinaloa Cartel operation, hiding the drugs in plain sight, pushing them out to consumers willing to pay hard cash, and then using legal fronts and banks to cover the money trail.
It was run by Jose Ruben Gil, known within the organization as the "Mayor of Mexico."
The operation involved people throughout the drug trafficking organization who were tightly aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, not only in smuggling the drugs, but also in arranging for the money to get back to Mexico. The volume and value of the drugs involved is considered to be too high to "front" to independent operators.
How lucrative?
Investigators from the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies claim that in one year, Gil's operation sent $20 million from corporate bank accounts in the Buffalo area to banks in California. The money was then sent into Mexico.
The "Mayor of Mexico" eventually was taken down.
During the Drug Enforcement Administration investigation, agents across the country seized 52 kilograms of cocaine, 17 kilograms of heroin and 8 kilograms of fentanyl – worth millions of dollars on the street – but Gil's operation continued right up until his arrest in August in Buffalo, N.Y. He and others are now awaiting trial.
Gil ran the type of drug operation that traces back to the highest echelons of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to federal law enforcement officials involved in the case.
His was a sophisticated model from start to finish.
Law enforcement officials in the U.S. say the six major Mexican cartels are reaping billions in profits every year.
Sinaloa Cartel thrives
The arrest of a player like Gil isn't much more than a hiccup to an operation like the Sinaloa Cartel.
The most recent arrest and extradition to the United States of one of the world's best-known drug lords, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, was a much bigger threat to the cartel's drug operations. In fact, there were expectations of a major fight for control of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Although a few members have turned up dead, there hasn't been a major bloodletting, yet.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration believes the cartel, which actually is a federation of several groups, has always been run by a board of directors with a first among equals or chairman like Guzmán.
The two players with the most influence in the cartel today are Ismael "Mayo" Zambada Garcia, 68, and Dámaso "El Licenciado" López Nuñez, 50.
Zambada has been around since the 1970s, when the Guadalajara Cartel was formed. For a long time, he and his sons ran operations in the Mexican state of Sonora and controlled the "Plaza" in Nogales and other towns south of the border with Arizona. (Note: "Plaza" is a term used to refer to a border drug corridor.)
He became an important figure in a group called The Federation, formed by Amado Carrillo Fuentes in the 1990s, and since 2000 has been a capo in the Sinaloa Cartel.
He has a reputation for being a savvy infighter, not afraid of shedding blood, but someone who picks his fights carefully. Zambada played a significant role in eliminating the Tijuana Cartel as a major player on the border.
López Nuñez came onto the scene in 2001.
He studied law at the Universidad de Occidente and became a police officer at the Sinaloa Attorney General's Office, according to El Universal newspaper.
López Nuñez eventually got a job at the federal prison in Puente Grande where El Chapo was serving time after his 1993 arrest and allegedly helped him escape in 2001.
He resigned and was not jailed in connection with the escape.
He was indicted in U.S. District Court in Virginia on drug trafficking and money laundering charges with other members of the Sinaloa Cartel but has never been arrested in Mexico.
Reports suggest Zambada is ready to name his sons as his successors.
But the most capable son is in a U.S. federal prison, and the others, according to DEA observers, don't have the capacity to maintain power the way their father has over the course of decades.
The same assessment is made of Guzmán's sons. All of them will have some role in the cartel, but how large remains to be seen.
Guzmán is godfather to López's son, and López is close to another imprisoned Sinaloa capo, Inés Coronel Barreras, who is the father of Guzmán's third wife.
While those signs point to López taking over a larger role in the cartel, nothing in the Mexican drug world is guaranteed.
Cartels resilient
Even the biggest criminal organization takes some hits – but the cartels have been amazingly resilient.
Longtime Sinaloa Cartel boss Guzmán was arrested in 2014, 13 years after he first escaped from Mexico's maximum security prison in a laundry cart.
He escaped a second time in July 2015 through a tunnel and was rearrested in January 2016 after months of international publicity that drug organizations usually like to avoid.
Unlike that of some of his competitors who are locked up in Mexico, Guzmán's extradition to the United States was not derailed and was completed last month.
His longtime No. 2, Ismael Zambada, also took a hit.
mayor_flowIn 2015, the guilty plea in a Chicago federal court signed by Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, now 40, was unsealed. It showed that Zambada Niebla, Zambada's most competent son, was cooperating with U.S. authorities.
The son had helped run the cartel's smuggling operations from South America into Mexico and then into the United States. He also was responsible for making payments to Mexican government and police officials.
He was arrested in 2008 by Mexican law enforcement and extradited to the United States in 2009.
His defense team claimed that Zambada Niebla believed he and the rest of the Sinaloa Cartel had a deal with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to provide information about other cartels in exchange for some sort of immunity from prosecution. The government denied the allegations, but apparently Zambada Niebla did meet with U.S. federal agents before he was arrested in Mexico.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum of 10 years.
He described in the plea agreement the distribution of multiple tons of cocaine, often involving hundreds of kilograms at a time, on a monthly, if not weekly, basis from 2005 to 2008.
Zambada Niebla admitted that he coordinated the importation of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Colombia and Panama into the interior of Mexico, where he arranged transportation and storage of the shipments ultimately headed for the United States.
The cartel used various means of transportation, including private aircraft, submarines, and other submersible and semisubmersible vessels, container ships, fast boats, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, tractor-trailers and automobiles. He coordinated the delivery of hundreds of kilograms of cocaine to wholesale distributors in Mexico, who would then arrange to smuggle the drugs into the United States.
On most occasions, the Sinaloa Cartel supplied the cocaine to these wholesalers on a consignment basis because of the wholesalers' long-standing relationships with key cartel figures.
Zambada Niebla in his plea deal also agreed not to contest a forfeiture judgment of more than $1.37 billion.
Video
As an extra bonus to our readers, Mike Gallagher provides additional background and insights about the Juárez and Sinaloa cartels in video interviews.
end
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