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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Pinal sheriff: Armed conflict with drug cartels coming soon

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Pinal sheriff: Armed conflict with drug cartels coming soon  

January 28, 2011  
eastvalleytribune.com

Paul Babeu at the Grace Inn in Ahwatukee Foothills Tuesday. Armed conflict in Arizona between sheriff's deputies and heavily equipped drug cartel squads is inevitable, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Tuesday during a speech in Ahwatukee Foothills.

"We're expecting a conflict," Babeu told the Ahwatukee Republican Women's organization at the Grace Inn, 51st Street and Elliot Road. "I absolutely believe you're going to see that happen in the next 30 to 60 days. It's not like I'm trying to start a war with the cartels. They're coming through like they own this place, and we're trying to stop them. I pray that every time, they surrender."

About 70 people turned out to hear Babeu, who was re-elected recently to a second term as president of the Arizona Sheriff's Association. A self-described friend and ally of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Babeu has risen to the forefront of the national debate over illegal immigration and is an outspoken critic of what he believes is the federal government's adversarial relationship with Arizona and federal officials' failure to secure the U.S. border with Mexico.

"The federal government has literally become an enemy who is fighting us, and I have not been afraid to fight them," he said.

Babeu ripped into Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's contention that the border is as safe and secure as it has ever been. Last year in the eastern portion of Arizona's two sectors, which includes Phoenix and Tucson, the U.S. Border Patrol reported apprehending 241,000 illegal immigrants. However, the agency estimates there were an additional 400,000 illegal border crossers in this sector that were not caught, he said.

"Close to 20 percent already have criminal records established in America," Babeu said.

A significant percentage of illegal immigrants caught in Pinal County are from countries other than Mexico, he said, including "countries of interest" such as Yemen, Somalia and Syria.

"Nations whose governments have sponsored terrorists or are anti-American," Babeu said.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the public was told to be vigilant and not be lulled into a false sense of security, he said.

"Our own federal government is the one who is trying to lull us into a false sense of security," Babeu said.

Drug seizures in Pinal County have more than doubled in the last two years, while the number of high-speed police pursuits rose from 142 in 2007 to 340 in 2010, he said.

The federal Bureau of Land Management has erected more than a dozen signs in Pinal County warning people to stay away from places designated as active drug and human smuggling areas where visitors might encounter armed criminals. Drug cartels have infiltrated the U.S. and have set up observation posts to ensure their shipments make it through, Babeu said.

He likened the cartel's activities in the U.S. to a foreign insurgency.

"Less than 30 miles from where we are now, they have 50 locations in Pinal County that are scout locations," Babeu said. "They're providing safe passage for drug and human smuggling coming though our county. They're reinforcing their supply routes."

On Oct. 25, cartel hitmen killed an informant who was working for the Sheriff's Department, shooting him a half-dozen times, he said.
"A cartel hit in Pinal County. That's what we've arrived at," Babeu said.

In another recent incident, the cartels sent a team of heavily armed assassins to Arizona to dispatch bandits that had been robbing drug mules, he said.

"Certainly they've destabilized their country," Babeu said of the Mexican cartels. "That stuff is coming here."

Deputies have discovered abandoned vehicles used by bandits that have been made up to look like police cars, complete with spotlights, sirens and red and blue lights, he said. Such tactics not only could lead illegal immigrants to distrust U.S. law enforcement, but it could touch off a gunfight if deputies attempt to confront armed men, he added.

"They may believe we're bandits saying we're the sheriff," Babeu said.

He endorsed a plan put forward by Arizona senators John McCain and Jon Kyl to send armed U.S. soldiers to the border and to construct a double-barrier security fence. Additionally, Babeu said authorities should hold illegal immigrants in custody for longer periods as a deterrent to repeat offenders, rather than using the current system of "catch and release."

"The core problem is an unsecured border," Babeu said. "I've asked (President Barack Obama) to give me a half hour and I'd give him the solution to the border. He hasn't called me back."

He accused Napolitano, Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder of "throwing up their hands and saying, ‘We can't do it'" and of portraying local authorities as racial profilers instead of as protectors and enforcers of the law.

"We do have the answer to secure the border. It's not beyond us. That is literally un-American for them to say that," Babeu said. "How have we arrived at this point in America, that it's the job of the local sheriff to fight cartels from a foreign country?"

As for the drug cartels, he said, "I want to say to them publicly, ‘You're not coming through.'"

 

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Pinal County Sherrif Paul Bebeu's Response to 3 "Kool-Aid" AZ Mayor's

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So...is there a connection between these Latino mayors, voted into office in border towns, and a desire to stifle border control???  Just ASKING. I'm from the north and don't fully understand the politics down there...

PDF Source for this letter -

Pinal County Sheriff’s Office   

Paul Babeu
Sheriff

February 14, 2011

Arturo R. Garino, Mayor of Nogales, AZ
Juan C. Escamilla, Mayor of San Luis, AZ
Dr. Michael Gomez, Mayor of Douglas, AZ

Dear Mayors,
Pinal County is the number one pass through county in the United States for drug and human smuggling. Our pursuits and drug seizures tied to drug and human trafficking far exceed those of the all four border counties. The threat from an unsecured border is real, where 241,000 illegals were apprehended last year by the border patrol and an additional 400,000 got away just in Arizona alone! These are failing grades by anyone's score card.

You speak of improved safety, yet Pinal County has doubled the confiscation of drugs, calls to the Border Patrol and has had 340 vehicle pursuits in 2010 - up from 289 the year before and 140 the year prior. We have a serious public safety threat in my county, due to an unsecured border with Mexico and our nation’s citizens should be highly concerned about the more dangerous national security threat that is presented with other than Mexicans (OTM's) and persons from countries of interest (foreign countries that harbor/sponsor terrorist and actively speak against America and our values).

Year   /   Pounds of Seized Marijuana   /  Pursuits   / Calls to the US Border Patrol

2007               28,093                               142                   188
2008               19,619                               140                   169
2009               44,963                               289                   270
2010               44,819                               340                   370


Sadly, these numbers do not reflect other violence or violent crimes related to drug smuggling that has taken place during the past year; including, two officer involved shootings, the execution of a drug cartel member in Casa Grande and the killing of two illegals transporting drugs (killed by bandits or competing Cartel), a man who was kidnapped in Phoenix and because he was unable to meet the ransom demand - was shot twice in the back in the Vekol Valley, as well as another victim who was stabbed in Casa Grande as part of a “Cartel Hit.”

On the human smuggling side of this issue, my deputies have acted with great heroism and risked their own lives to save the lives of illegals who have been abandoned by their “Coyotes.” Pinal County Sheriff’s Deputy Russell Warren jumped into a deep canal to save five Hondurans, while five others could not be saved and drowned. Deputy Warren nearly drowned himself as he fought to save the five survivors and said, “Sheriff, the Coyotes ran away from the cries for help and Deputy Hernandez and I ran to help them.” Deputy Warren’s statement sums up the true measure of the men and women that I’m proud to lead. They have been put in increasingly grave danger due to our unsecured border with Mexico.

Another case includes a six and eleven-year-old who were abandoned by “Coyotes” and forced to drink their own urine for two days in order to survive. I forgot to mention they were abandoned along with their parents, since they were too slow for the main group, so they were simply discarded and left to die in the desert. Where is your outrage and concern for these victims and the many other crimes committed against illegal immigrants?

Just this week, the US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Pinal County has a minimum of 75-100 mountains/high terrain features that are occupied by “Scouts, or lookouts” for the Mexican Drug Cartels. How have we arrived at this point in America that this has become acceptable to have foreign born criminals controlling the safe passage of drugs and other illegal activities in an entire region of our Arizona?

Feel free to “drink the Kool-Aid” of Janet Napolitano, Dennis Burke and Barak Obama all day long, yet this threat to America remains, until our border is secured. Their agenda is clear – they want “immigration reform” and must convince the public that everything is just fine. The complexities of this problem will not be solved by SB1070, employer sanctions, lawsuits, other future interior enforcement measures, or even thousands of new Border Patrol Agents. We must secure the border. This is achieved by the McCain/Kyl 10 Point Border Security Plan. Only then can we have a reasonable discussion about “immigration reform.” For your review, I have included a copy of the McCain/Kyl 10 Point Border Security Plan.  (editor note: half way down this Pdf page)

If your intent was to establish dialogue with me, you would have called, or at least waited for your letter to arrive by mail at my office, prior to releasing it to the media. You have done the very thing they accuse me of doing. I do not represent you, or the citizens of your community, yet I do represent the nearly 400,000 citizens of my county and the viewpoint of the solid majority of Arizonans, who laugh at Secretary Napolitano's suggestion that our border is more secure than ever.

Sincerely,
Paul Babeu, Sheriff
Pinal County, Arizona     

Brewer to Countersue Federal Government Over Immigration Enforcement

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Brewer to Countersue Federal Government Over Immigration Enforcement  

Published February 10, 2011 | FoxNews.com

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer announced Thursday that her state will file a countersuit against the federal government, claiming Washington has failed to enforce immigration law along the southern border.

The governor said the federal government hasn't secured the state's border with Mexico and has stuck Arizona with the costs tied to illegal immigration.

"Because the federal government has failed to protect the citizens of Arizona, I am left with no other choice," Brewer said.


Brewer went "On the Record" with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren Thursday night and said she is "in it to win it."

"We're continually looking at arrests of drug cartels," she said. "It's just untolerable."

"We will fight it all all the way to the Supreme Court," she added."


The announcement is the latest swipe in the ongoing legal dispute between Arizona and the U.S. Department of Justice over the state's tough immigration law. After the Obama administration challenged that law, a judge last year blocked key portions of it from going into effect. While the case is on appeal, Brewer said the countersuit will be filed as part of the federal government's challenge.

"It's outrageous the United States Department of Justice sued the people of Arizona to stop Senate Bill 1070," Brewer said. "Our message for the federal government is very simple -- use federal resources to combat the cartels who are breaking the federal law."


Arizona plans to sue on five different counts, including a claim that the federal government has failed to enforce immigration laws enacted by Congress and a claim it has failed to reimburse the state for costs associated with jailing criminal immigrants.

The original Arizona immigration law was passed following years of complaints that the federal government hadn't done enough to lessen the state's role as the nation's busiest illegal entry point.

A judge blocked the most controversial portions of the law, such as a requirement that says police, while enforcing other laws, must question people's immigration status if there's a reasonable suspicion they're in the country illegally.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

1 U.S. Immigration Agent Killed, 1 Injured in Mexico

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1 U.S. Immigration Agent Killed, 1 Injured in Mexico 

Published February 16, 2011
| FoxNews.com

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was killed and another wounded while driving through northern Mexico Tuesday, in a rare attack on American officials in this country which is fighting powerful drug cartels.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said one agent was critically wounded in the attack and died from his injuries. The second agent was shot in the arm and leg and remains in stable condition.

ICE Director John Morton late Tuesday identified the slain agent as Jaime Zapata, who was on assignment from the office in Laredo, Texas, where he served on the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Unit as well as the Border Enforcement Security Task Force. The injured agent, who was not identified, remains in stable condition, Morton said.

"I'm deeply saddened by the news that earlier today, two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents assigned to the ICE Attache office in Mexico City were shot in the line of duty while driving between Mexico City and Monterrey by unknown assailants," Napolitano said.


U.S. and Mexican officials said they were working closely together to investigate the shooting and find those responsible. They did not give a motive for the attack.

"Let me be clear: any act of violence against our ICE personnel -- or any DHS personnel -- is an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for our safety," Napolitano said. "We remain committed in our broader support for Mexico's efforts to combat violence within its borders."


The two agents were driving in the northern state of San Luis Potosi when they were stopped at what may have appeared to be a military checkpoint, said one Mexican official, who could not be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case. Mexican military officials said they have no checkpoints in the area.

After they stopped, someone opened fire on them, the official said.

San Luis Potosi police said gunmen attacked two people a blue Suburban on Highway 57 between Mexico City and Monterrey, near the town of Santa Maria Del Rio, at about 2:30 p.m.

Police said one person was killed and another was flown to a Mexico City hospital, though they couldn't confirm the victims were the ICE agents.

A U.S. law enforcement source who was not authorized to speak on the case said the agent who died was on loan from Laredo, Texas.

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhan spoke with Morton to express Mexico's condolences, according to a spokesman.

"Please keep Special Agent Zapata's family, friends, and colleagues close to your heart during this difficult time. May the work we continue to do as an agency be worthy of a sacrifice as great as the one made by Special Agent Zapata," Morton said in a statement Wednesday.


Zapata, who joined ICE in 2006, had also served as a member of the U.S. Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona. He was a native of Brownsville, Texas and graduated from the University of Texas at Brownsville in 2005. No age was given for Zapata.

Though Mexico is seeing record rates of violence from warring drug cartels and a crackdown on organized crime, it is rare for U.S. officials to be attacked. The U.S. government, however, has become increasingly concerned about the safety of its employees in Mexico amid the escalating violence.

In March, a U.S. employee of a consulate, her husband and a Mexican tied to the American consulate were killed when drug gang members fired on their cars as they left a children's party in Ciudad Juarez, the city across from El Paso, Texas.

The U.S. State Department has taken several measures over the past year to protect consulate employees and their families. It has at times authorized the departure of relatives of U.S. government employees in northern Mexican cities.

In July, it temporarily closed the consulate in Ciudad Juarez after receiving unspecified threats.

In 1985, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar was tortured and killed in Mexico. Mexican trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero is serving a 40-year prison term for Camarena's slaying.

ICE, the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government, enforced immigration laws and is primarily responsible for arresting, detaining and deporting people who are in the U.S. illegally. It also investigates drug cases in the U.S. and Mexico and other types of trafficking.

It was created in 2003 through a merger of the investigative and interior enforcement elements of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service and has more than 20,000 employees in offices in all 50 states and 47 foreign countries.

Mexico is fighting heavily armed and powerful drug cartels that supply the U.S. market. Since President Felipe Calderon launched a military crackdown against drug trafficking shortly after taking office in December 2006, almost 35,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence.

Fox News' Mike Levine and the Associated Press contributed to this report

Arizona Rancher Will Fight Court Order To Pay Damages to Undocumented Immigrants

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Arizona Rancher Will Fight Court Order To Pay Damages to Undocumented Immigrants 
By Elizabeth Llorente

Published February 09, 2011
| Fox News Latino

An Arizona rancher who was ordered to pay nearly $90,000 in punitive damages to undocumented immigrants he confronted, with a gun, is going to request a rehearing, his attorney said.

“We’ll be filing a motion for a rehearing,” said David T. Hardy, who is representing Roger Barnett. “He feels he got screwed. I have some sympathy for that view.”


The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a lower court verdict ordering Barnett to pay the damages for the 2004 incident, in which the plaintiffs claimed that he approached them with his dog and said he’d shoot them if they tried to leave.

The court said that an Arizona law permitted a person to threaten to use – or actually use – physical force against someone else when that person believes it is necessary for protection “against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful physical force.”

But the court said that Barnett held them at gunpoint even after becoming aware that no one in the group of 16 men and women was armed, and so he could not use the argument of self-defense.

“Basically they said he took his pistol out and kept his pistol out longer than necessary,” Hardy said.


In fact, Hardy added, Barnett put his gun away after realizing that no one in the group was armed, and after feeling he was not in physical danger.

“What they [judges] missed was that once he saw they were harmless, he holstered his gun,” Hardy said. “When the Border Patrol showed up, [the pistol] was in his holster.”


David Hinojosa, southwest regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, which represented the plaintiffs in the suit against Barnett, said he is confident the Ninth Circuit Court will deny a rehearing.

"He pointed the barrel of the gun at every single one of those immigrants," said Hinojosa, who was co-counsel in the case. "He apparently didn't remember yelling racial epithets at the people, or making one lady break down to the point of crying and praying to be let go."

"The jury believed the immigrants, they didn't believe him," he said. "It's just a simple delay tactic for Barnett rather than just paying the debt."


After the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling, MALDEF released a statement that said: “Today's ruling sends the strong message that vigilantes will not be tolerated in Arizona.”

Hardy took exception at MALDEF’s description of Barnett as a trigger-happy vigilante.

He said Barnett has been “swamped” by the impact of undocumented immigrants and drug smugglers coming onto his property. Hardy said "the FBI twice told him his life was in danger."

“Whole areas of his land have been covered in trash” left behind by people crossing on it illegally, Hardy said. “Some are parties of illegal entrants, sometimes there are groups of 40 or 50. He has drug smugglers come through too. They take vehicles and plow through his fence.”

“He doesn’t like illegal immigrants trashing his land,” Hardy said. “I don’t think before he cared about the issue [immigration] one way or the other.”


Hinojosa said Barnett has acted overzealously in the past when encountering undocumented immigrants.
"He's notorious for going on to other people's lands and assaulting immigrants in the same or similar manner," Hinojosa said. "There's a difference between wanting to arm yourself for protection, and wanting to commit assault. The American system doesn't tolerate the Wild West."


Elizabeth.Llorente@FoxNewsLatino.com