As of early June, the sign says, U.S . Tucson Sector covers most of the State of Arizona from the New Mexico State line to the Yuma County line. Contact: info@gatestoneinstitute.org There were two other fellows with himI think they drove the bus. She has to cross a checkpoint and will have to defend what she will never be able to conceal: her Mexican roots. var today = new Date() Example, Biden would first have to admit that he made a horrible mistake and then take steps to reverse the process. I am a military officer, and I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States from foreign and domestic enemies. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. But its not backing off. An agent will signal to a colleague and call out something like, Hey guys, we are going to have an uncooperative motorist. Backup agents are always nearby and usually help defuse the situation. In January the ACLU submitted an administrative complaint on behalf of 15 individuals to the Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Inspector General and Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Lopez is one of the patients who took a chance and accepted a ride from family friends to Phoenix. agents, it will keep them out of the harsh environment of the sun, Personnel who staff the checkpoints including the ones on State Route 90 and State Route 80 in Tombstone have been sent to the border because of a spike in the number of undocumented individuals crossing into Arizona from Mexico, officials said. Knowing that smugglers will try to go 65-foot-long canopy covering two inspection lanes - a substantial April 29, 2021 at 5:00 am, https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17319/biden-border. and technology. Last year the Hollywood Reporter called it the checkpoint of no return. The Internet is full of dire warnings about the place, directions to back roads that avoid it, and videos showing the real-time experience of passing through the checkpoint successfully, which is best achieved by not having pot in the trunk of your car. They refolded my clothes and underwear neater than Ive ever done and even put most of my CDs back in their correct cases for the first time in years. What other nation on earth is willing to erase their borders, they are not that crazy but the people in the D.C. swamp truly are. Delivered right as the newspaper goes to print on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sunday. By Lyda Longa In places where the wall was constructed, the Biden administration has ordered floodgates to be left open along the San Pedro River valley in Cochise County, Arizona. My kind of criminal. state along the U.S.-Mexico border without permanent checkpoints. Gatestone Institute is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, Federal Tax ID #454724565. There are stacks and stacks of bags and sacks and big cartons and small white boxes, all full of marijuana and crammed to the ceiling of a cinder-block vault the size of a four-car garage. He approaches the checkpoint, easing off the gas and gliding toward a line of Border Patrol vehicles. One of the agents held up the plastic vial, and another made a gesture like a football referee signaling a personal foul. Wests brother, Wayne, the Precinct 1 county commissioner, rushed over with his guitar as soon as he heard. According to a release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Tucson Sector agents assigned to the checkpoint . Sector Headquarters Location: 2430 S. Swan Road, Tucson AZ 85711 Stations: Stations of the Tucson Sector are located in Why, Casa Grande, Douglas, Bisbee, Nogales, Sonoita, Tucson, Three Points, and Willcox, Arizona. For the past 20 years, he has served as the Director of Investigations & Research for Judicial Watch. Up near the top of one stack I noticed a box with case number 10-2034 stenciled on the side, next to which someone had scrawled Willy. I couldnt help wondering what the contents might weigh. Commenters' email addresses will not be displayed publicly. 2023 Gatestone Institute. The GAO had The county seat, Sierra Blanca, is a wan relic of better times, with two gas stations and no stoplights, and the last surviving adobe courthouse in Texas, a visible reminder that this was the frontier not so long ago. Arvin West grew up in that courthouse. thick steel beams and has low concrete walls on both sides of the Kolbe. I watched helplessly as Blackie jumped in and ferreted out my little stash faster than I could have gotten to it myself. According to Carry Huffman there are fifty K-9 unitsa dog and handlerassigned to the Big Bend sector, enough for several to be nosing around the checkpoint every day and night. Its just gotten ridiculous.. Western democracy and it's values are in decline and a majority of the population is perfectly happy to participate or simply allow that decline. Reportedly, the Biden administration even likes some of the proposed improvements -- but there is no way in hell they will ever agree to building that damn "wall." On my return visit to the checkpoint I asked to meet one of these canine heroes and was introduced to a seven-year-old Malinois named Spike and his supervisor, Jorge Limon. A handful of people have said, No, but we will get there, meaning they will just take a chance.. This paraphernalia ticket is offered to you by a smiling deputy who can get you out of those handcuffs and on your way again if you simply sign for it. The checkpoint is located on U.S. Highway 77 North, one of two major routes of egress from the Rio Grande Valley. Suggest Listing We are taught to respect the authorities and to respect men in uniform in Mexico, he says. "For the We currently have approximately 3,700 agents working the nine stations in Tucson Sector. Our mission is to keep bad people and bad things out of the country, Huffman told me. I had passed through it many times over the years without any problems, and that made me careless last summer. Employment Opportunities: To obtain information about employment opportunities with the Border Patrol, you may contact this Sector and ask to speak to a recruiter. improvement over the one lane, uncovered facility that has been in Adding another two thousand misdemeanor cases would bring the whole system crashing down. But Arizona is the only It also misquotedJames Duff Lyall as questioning what a reasonably prolonged checkpoint stop is. The agent beside me tapped my elbow and said, Come with me, sir., Willie Nelson put the Sierra Blanca checkpoint on the map when he was busted there in November 2010, and touring musicians have been following his lead ever since. Biden's Executive Order Nightmare: Government Will Track Every Dime You Spend, Turkey: Islamist Sex with Children Is Fine; Condemning It Is an Offense, Iran's Regime Days Away from Nuclear Weapons, The Abrahamic Family House of H. E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Promote Peace. The state is home to many aggressive immigration policies, like the controversial SB 1070 law, which gives Arizona police the right to demand citizenship papers from anyone they suspect is not in the U.S. legally. A curious visitor from a peaceful foreign country driving around the state who happened upon a checkpoint for the first time might well wonder, on the basis of the cursory questions and inspections, why, exactly, the checkpoints are present. var today = new Date() Then he offered to show me the evidence room. Willie Nelson put the Sierra Blanca checkpoint on the map when he was busted there in November 2010, and touring musicians have been following his lead ever since. Border Patrol Checkpoint in Sierra Vista, AZ About Search Results Sort: Default View all businesses that are OPEN 24 Hours 1. Tags: The Department of Homeland Security stopped releasing official numbers in 2008. The International border area of Arizona was originally patrolled by mounted guards from 1904 until July 1, 1924. They said Hijo, we are coming from Douglas and we are going to Tucson. He said OK and then we passed, she says, exhaling deeply. Yall got a lotta shit here. Good luck! Most of the increase comes from misdemeanor busts like mine, but felony arrests for pot possession have also risen dramatically, and that has resulted in a different problem for Hudspeth County. 105-by-115-foot. Each bag and sack and carton and box is stamped with a case number and sealed with evidence tape, but the skunky aroma of all that pot is irrepressible, overwhelming, positively intoxicating. They are federal workers, after all, a caste never known for its winsome nature. 90 is being upgraded in a $870,000 project that will make it the (He asked not to be named because of security concerns. Arizona 286, milepost 26, north of Sasabe. A Border Patrol agent questions motorists at the I-19 checkpoint in Arizona. Greetings From the Vortex of Unpredictability. Indeed, not doubt it is so. We expect to reopen these checkpoints as manpower and activity levels dictate, a Border Patrol spokesman said. Laura Lopez (her name has been changed to protect her identity) has lived in Douglas, Arizona, since 1988. Like most everyone in that position, including Snoop Dogg, who was found to be in possession of three containers of marijuana weighing just over two ounces, I signed my ticket and put Sierra Blanca behind me as fast as the speed limit allowed, mailing in the fine from someplace mellower later on. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. Presidio Station. No wall. All rights reserved. The agent beside me tapped my elbow and said, Come with me, sir.. My only hope is that the worst President in modern times can be kicked out in a bloodless manor before this great country resembles Venezuela. SIERRA VISTA Three people are in Border Patrol custody after Cochise County Sheriff's Office was advised of at least one vehicle possibly transporting undocumented migrants near State Route 92 and La Paloma Lane in Palominas Friday afternoon, according to CCSO spokeswoman Carol Capas. Meanwhile, my fingerprints were recorded on an inkless electronic touch pad such as Id never seen on a television cop show, and my picture was taken with one of those egg-shaped digital cameras that nobody would use but a government agency with no interest in flattering you. In Cochise County, Border Patrol agents can search, interrogate, and apprehend people attempting to cross a border or passing between ports of entry, including inbound air, marine, road, and rail traffic. Similar in some ways to the conflict btw Israel and Pal who want to get rid of the Jews! The Border Patrol's checkpoint north of Sierra Vista on Arizona 90 is being upgraded in a $870,000 project that will make it the second semi-permanent checkpoint in the state. bmccombs@azstarnet.com. Several agents surrounded my car and popped the trunk. Lyall says the ACLU will not limit its focus to interior checkpoints in Arizona but will examine those in other states as well. The station's primary responsibility is operation of the Border Patrol checkpoint at Sarita, Texas. Different sectors have different geography, different illegal alien populations seeking to cross, different drug loads moving through the ports of entry or the vast stretches of "nothing" in-between. They could find me. Two years later, when I asked West about this discrepancy between his scales and the feds, he shrugged. The rationale for all this effort was later explained to me by Carry Huffman, the deputy chief patrol agent of the Big Bend sector. The only things moving along the San Pedro are illegal aliens and drug smugglers. Biden's bad decisions to backfire bigtime sooner or later. Indeed, the 2022 elections will change nothing, perhaps even making things worse. There are more checkpoints along U.S. 191, near Elfrida, and east, heading toward New Mexico, on Route 80. County Office is not affiliated with any government agency. Getting busted at the infamous Sierra Blanca inspection station plunged me into a strange and twisted reality. Bad politics is like drinking poison. Such is the reality of operating a state-licensed cannabis business in the southernmost reaches of California . But with Kolbes departure from office in 2007, the House of Representatives adopted appropriations language that approved funding for fixed interior checkpoints. The Border Patrol's checkpoint north of Sierra Vista on Arizona The very same Congress that has hired more agents to make more arrests has reduced or eliminated the money necessary to keep the criminals in jail. Both reserve the right not to publish replies to articles should they so choose. was in place until the November 2006 retirement of Rep. Jim Fire Ants Have Unleashed Chaos in Texas for Decades. Hmm. But those buds had been so prettydense yet fluffy, with the tiny purple hairs that promise perfect ripeness. permanent checkpoints in Arizona, like the ones along highways in But the checkpoint on I-19, a five-minute drive from town, has harmed real estate prices, according to a February 2013 study. But what questions can they ask, really? Those facts are true, but they have absolutely nothing to do with why the gates are open now. Homeland security is a critical mission, and a certain zeal is apparently pressed into the troops like collar starch. Arizona 85 south of Gila Bend, Passement said. Josh is an American writer and former USMC machine gunner with eight years of experience in ground combat arms throughout the GWOT. As soon as the office first opened in 2012, people started coming by to say something terrible happened with Border Patrol at the checkpoint, recalls Sophie Smith, 27, one of the co-founders of the office. Locations of the 11 Border Patrol checkpoints in Tucson Sector: 2nd Border Patrol checkpoint to get canopy, lane upgrades. She and my granddaughter have become accustomed to it. Five miles West of Sierra Blanca, " reads one bulletin on the " Routes to Avoid - Border Patrol Checkpoints " Google map. You begin to feel trapped because you cannot go out much. The evidence room of the Hudspeth County jail is a potheads treasure trove. The "best" thing Mexico has going for it is the "efficiency" of the drug cartels. Perhaps Biden's border legacy will be another type of 9/11 attack, launched across his now virtually non-existent border with Mexico? ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) Border Patrol checkpoints that closed in New Mexico when personnel were reassigned to assist the processing of asylum-seekers earlier this year have reopened. Do you have to provide ID? Show up at my home, find my family.. Delivered right as the newspaper goes to print on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sunday. The canopy structure going up there will look like a smaller When Bressi travels home to Tucson, he must cross a federal immigration checkpoint on state Route 86, about 40 miles north of Mexico. The I-19 structure is attached to a series of The exact number of interior checkpoints across the southwest isnt easy to estimate. You have permission to edit this article. A frontier war is being waged in southern Arizona, but its many miles north of the Mexico border. This is the driest year in living memory in Cochise County. Undocumented Latinos organize their lives around the checkpoints, which now intercept every major road in southern Arizona. The number of drug-sniffing dogs has increased by 40 percent since 2006, when the George W. Bush administration began to pour resources into border security during the countrys last big push for immigration reform. Third party advertisements support hosting, listing verification, updates, and site maintenance. This includes people apprehended trying to cross the border illegally. said. lyda.longa@myheraldreview.com. When I took office in 2000, he told me, we had less than a thousand federally initiated cases a year to deal with, and most of them were felonies. Find 3 external resources related to Sierra Vista Arizona Border Patrol. You dont need mine, give it back.. There is no uniform protocol or agreed law about what Border Patrol agents may do when they stop a motorist at an interior checkpoint. The same case is cited in arguments that Border Patrol is exceeding its legal mandate. And recently Arizona residents have been protesting the arrival of undocumented children, some of the more than 52,000 unaccompanied minors who began to cross the border since October 2013, prompting President Barack Obama to declare a humanitarian crisis. But how about all those Americans who ignore, or chose to ignore the situation? When I am deployed I focus on foreign enemies, and when I am here, I focus on the domestic ones.*. Border Patrol checkpoint case law has provided the basis for numerous other checkpoints beneficial to the public, such as DUI checkpoints, driver's license/proof of registration checkpoints, etc. Going back to Mexico would mean abandoning her younger children and husband, who are American citizens, and could place her health in jeopardy. Sanderson Station. You want to see my documentation? 90 is being upgraded in a $870,000 project that will make it the The tiny community of Whetstone is a few miles south of California and Texas. While you are considering the human and dollar costs of Biden's "children in cages," consider the construction sites and equipment staged in remote areas, or the drug loads packed into Chevy Suburbans, stripped of everything in the interior but the driver's seat, and painted matte black for their 2AM runs north through the dry arroyo beds into the United States. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. The simpler option for drivers is to comply with all requests. Several agents surrounded, my car and popped the trunk. The Biden administration has ordered the termination of all work. Thats what they gave us last year, and we had to fight like hell to get it.. They referred all media inquiries to the sheriff, who was happy to field them. Yall got a lotta shit here. Wests solution is to write tickets for possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor that doesnt require a court appearance and imposes a fine of $500 (plus $27 in court costs). Family US Border Patrol Checkpoint talk at Sierra Vista, AZ Immigration Inspection GOPR0105 . This area covers a total of 262 border miles and we are one of the busiest sectors in the country in both illegal alien apprehensions and marijuana seizures. Thirty-eight of these drivers were questioned for at least 30 seconds and presented a form of identification. TAKE THE WILLIE Nelson case. She promptly squatted, the signal to her handler that the vehicle smelled suspicious. Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. "It will shorten down the wait time," Passement said. The letter details alleged violations of U.S. citizens constitutional rights at six interior federal immigration checkpoints in Arizona. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. I see that my friends, my family are questioned and judged without reason, just for being Latino. Each bag and sack and carton and box is stamped with a case number and sealed with evidence tape, but the skunky aroma of all that pot is irrepressible, overwhelming, positively intoxicating. strategy. will not be operating the checkpoint on Arizona 90. Bressi has driven through the Route 86 fixed checkpoint about 350 times over the past six years and has never once rolled down his window to answer U.S. Border Patrol agents. More information should be available about the efficacy of The Biden administration has ordered the termination of all work. Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Commodus have nothing on the Democrat and Republican parties in terms of abusing the government to enrich themselves and impoverish the population. Public Affairs Office: To receive information concerning community or media-related issues, contact the Tucson Sector Public Affairs Office at (520) 748-3000. Where are you from? var year = today.getFullYear() That is not totally clear to me.*. Which is how, one day last August, I ended up driving right into the most famous dope-busting trap in the whole United States, holding. Marfa Station. This is all a part of what locals call the checkpoint fanning out effect: Undocumented or possibly dangerous smugglers, rebuffed by checkpoints, filter out into surrounding communities. Because American citizens can be randomly detained and searched at interior checkpoints deep inside the United States, the checkpoints undermine the tenets of a free, democratic society. Texas Lege Watch: A House Republican Fights for Chicken Freedom, Texas Monthly Recognized by ASME in the 2023 National Magazine Awards, Running Into Fire: The Legacy of Jeff Blackburn. Wray now nears the checkpoint, for the second time today. Subsequently, the sector opened stations in Gila Bend and Bowie in 1925 with two assigned inspectors each. For me, this is very sad.. Gone. Between 2006 and 2011, the Border Patrols budget grew by 67 percent, and the number of agents in the field skyrocketed, from 12,000 to 21,000 (and the immigration bill recently passed by the Senate includes a plan to double the number of agents). We cannot afford to take the present disaster for granted anymore-than we can take for granted that another future Trumpesque effort can't choke off the criminal enterprises.Anybody claiming that Biden cares for anything humanitarian should ask all the women who cross the border illegally. document.write(year) Willies stash of excellent weed tipped the checkpoint scales at nearly seven ounces, felony weight, and that meant Willie was going to jail. Sign in Open. My guess is that, by definition, most readers of this Journal already know that and are keenly aware of the dangers that the Biden Administration represent. Its a situation that requires a sheriff to get a little creative. The last thing in this world I want to be is a pothead hero, he said. Contact Information: Phone Number - (520) 748-3000; Sector Headquarters Mailing Address: 2430 S. Swan Road, Tucson, AZ 85711. Agents later identified the teen as Harding and the man as Littlepage. Sector Headquarters Location: 2430 S. Swan Road, Tucson AZ 85711. Border Patrol agents check traffic coming through a checkpoint The upgrade will benefit both agents and commuters, including Later, on the way home, Wray muses in the quiet of the dark car. The ACLU also filed a lawsuit against DHS in April demanding immediate release of all records related to Border Patrols extensive but largely opaque interior enforcement operations in Tucson and Yuma patrol sectors. Yolanda has an attitude like, If you behave well, then they will treat you well, Wray says from the car. stationary and been moving forward to get funding and permits for third interim checkpoint is scheduled to be built next year on While I sat on the perp bench, they dutifully searched my car and its contents, hoping to find more-incriminating evidence. I had lots of time to observe these agents and can testify that they are a humorless crew. And then there are the actual checkpoints themselves: The insecure shacks that must be shuttered during summer storms, and the hulking, white arches that provide relief for the K-9s during hot afternoons. Most of the complainants say they were never questioned about their citizenshipthe alleged purpose of the checkpointsbut were detained for a half hour or more for refusing to consent to an unwarranted search or for asking why they were being detained. About a third of Arivaca residents have signed a petition to close the checkpoint. On a Monday afternoon between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., I counted 206 cars passing through the I-19 checkpoint, each stopped by two Border Patrol agents. The sector was made up of 9 former mounted guards and 26 officers who were selected from a Civil Service Register for railway postal clerks. Receive the digital, interactive PDF of the newspaper in your inbox. That's because a long-standing congressional requirement interim checkpoints. Hudspeth County doesnt even have a full-time prosecutor; it has to bring one over from El Paso twice a month. highway checkpoints were efficient or effective. SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. Authorities are investigating a fatal shooting at a Sierra Vista home by an off-duty Border Patrol agent, police said. Laura Lopez waits for her husband to pick her up from an appointment in the Chiricahua Community Health Center in Douglas, Arizona. stretches from New Mexico to Yuma County. On Jan. 31, Border Patrol agents staffing the Sierra Blanca checkpoint encountered a teen and man in a vehicle that matched the description provided by Bozeman police, according to KECI, the regional NBC affiliate in Missoula, Mont. I got questioned this one time, like Is everybody a U.S. citizen? ", Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or