AZMEX UPDATE 9-3-18

AZMEX UPDATE 9 MAR 2018.

Arizona's Border Strike Force Getting Results
News ReleaseMarch 9, 2018
https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2018/03/arizonas-border-strike-force-getting-results

PHOENIX – The Arizona Border Strike Force continues to protect Arizona communities by stopping the flow of criminals, narcotics, weapons, and ammunition trafficked in the state.

At the direction of Governor Ducey, the Border Strike Force was created in September 2015 to target border crimes and take a collaborative approach to help secure Arizona's southern border.

In his 2018 State of the State address, Governor Ducey said:

"We made a decision: If Washington, D.C. wasn't going to secure our border, Arizona would. [The Border Strike Force] is without a doubt making Arizona – and America – a safer place, and it's worthy of our continued investment."

Housed within the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Border Strike Force focuses on identifying and dismantling border-related criminal activity through collaboration with local, state, tribal, federal, and Mexican authorities.

Notable Border Strike Force successes include Operation Sidewinder II & III, operations that led to the seizure of 5,084 pounds of marijuana and 52 felony arrests,
and Operation Organ Grinder, which resulted in the seizure of 4,038 pounds of marijuana and 73 felony arrests.

Through January 2018, the Border Strike Force has seized:

• 53,156 pounds of marijuana;
• 7,843 prescription drug pills/capsules;
• 12.4 million hits of heroin;
• 35 pounds of fentanyl;
• 258 firearms;
• 167,900 rounds of ammunition;
• And $10,000,000 in currency.
Border Strike Force operations have also resulted in over 2,480 arrests.

Due to its success, Governor Ducey's fiscal year 2019 Executive Budget includes $2.9 million to expand Border Strike Force operations in response to shifting cartel behavior.
The new funding aims to establish 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a week coverage in the critical areas of Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Yuma counties.

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Arizona border officer falsely claimed to be US citizen
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
MARCH 10, 2018 AT 12:05 PM

http://ktar.com/story/1984155/arizona-border-officer-falsely-claimed-us-citizen/

PHOENIX — A U.S. border officer who is a Mexican native claimed he was born in Texas and illegally obtained a job with the law enforcement agency charged with protecting America's borders, authorities said.

Marco Antonio De la Garza Jr., an officer in southern Arizona, faces criminal charges for allegedly telling U.S. Customs and Border Protection and others in the government that he was born in Texas.

Employment requirements for Customs and Border Protection include providing proof of U.S. citizenship. It's unclear how De la Garza was able to get his job despite not being an American citizen.

An indictment filed Wednesday in Tucson said De la Garza lied about his citizenship in October during a background check update tied to his job.

The 37-year-old officer also is accused of making false statements about his birth country last year when he sought a U.S. passport.

The agency hired him in April 2012, spokeswoman Teresa Small confirmed in an email Friday. She did not provide further comment.

Cosme Lopez, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, declined to comment on how the officer's true citizenship had been missed when he was hired.

Customs and Border Protection issued a statement saying De la Garza was arrested on Feb. 22 in Douglas, Arizona. The agency's statement, however, didn't reveal De la Garza's job status or explain how the agency came to hire a Mexican citizen as an officer.

Over the years, the federal government has been criticized for not performing adequate background checks on people seeking jobs as border agents. The criticism usually crops up when the government considers adding a large number of officers at the United States' southern border.

Matthew H. Green, a Tucson attorney who represents De la Garza, didn't immediately return a call and email Friday.

Authorities said in court records that De la Garza claimed he was born in Brownsville, Texas, when he was actually born across the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico.

Investigators said the midwife who claimed De la Garza was born in Texas had a conviction for conspiring to make false statements on birth certificates in 1984. They also said De la Garza's records from Mexico confirmed that he was registered for school using a Mexican birth record, according to court records.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 23.

end