Alert agent led to arrest of S. African at border. Terrorist threats keep Border Patrol on watch

Dallas Morning News ^ | July 30, 2004 | DAVID McLEMORE

[John Jorsett]

McALLEN, Texas – The arrest of a South African woman for illegal entry into the United States was the result of heightened awareness by border agents in the wake of terrorist threats.

"We are doing pretty much what we've always done, but a little more vigilant, a little more alert. We tell our agents to be on the look for anything out of the ordinary," said Eddie Flores, a supervisory agent for the Border Patrol at McAllen. "We now work out of a concern that terrorists may try to come through using illegals as a cover."

On July 19, during a routine check at the McAllen International Airport, two Border Patrol agents arrested Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed, 48, after she presented an altered passport and lied about having a U.S. visa.

Ms. Ahmed later told FBI agents she had crossed the border illegally. Subsequent checks determined her name was on an FBI watch list.

Ms. Ahmed has been charged, however, only with immigration violations. A federal magistrate ordered her held without bond pending an appearance before a grand jury in McAllen. Her court-appointed attorney, Kyle Welch, would not comment Friday.

South Africa's embassy in Washington asked U.S. authorities for information but has not confirmed that Ms. Ahmed is a South African citizen, said Daniel Ngwepe, head of political affairs at the embassy. He said embassy officials "don't know anything about her."

Reports in recent weeks suggest terrorists are able to falsify South African passports, but Mr. Ngwepe said he is not aware of the specifics.

"Obviously, anytime a passport gets violated by people who commit fraudulent activities, that would be a concern to us," he said.

"There have been no instances of terrorists using the [U.S.-Mexico] border to enter the United States that we know of," Agent Flores said. "But we're having our agents look more closely, particularly if they're from countries we don't normally see."

Agents in the McAllen sector, one of the busiest along the U.S.-Mexican border, apprehended nearly 78,000 illegal immigrants last year. Almost all were Mexican nationals and returned voluntarily.

The rest, including people from Central and South America and a smattering of illegal immigrants from China, Poland and elsewhere in the world, were held for deportation proceedings at the federal detention facility at Los Fresnos.

"If we find people from a country we don't normally see, we look at them a lot more carefully, using everything at our disposal," Agent Flores said. "The lady from South Africa is an example of the extra vigilance. The agent who stopped her was acting on a hunch, backed with years of experience. Something just didn't seem right. So he went with his gut feeling."

[Stallone]

Was her name TERESA?

Did she look like Frau Farbissina?

Did she tell border patrol to 'shove it'?

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Breaking Silence over a Possible Imminent Threat

[eno_]

Whatta joke. When they start sweeps of moslem illegals already here, erect a border fence with sensors, and start mass deportations, THEN we might be getting serious.