Posted on 11/10/2004 5:11:20 AM PST by Spiff
November 9, 2004 at 10:00PM MST
The Investigators on Eyewitness News 4
Return to Terrorist Alley
Video is HERE.
Good evening.
In August, The Investigators on Eyewitness News 4 first reported the possible threat of terrorists using the Arizona/Mexico border to cross into the U.S.
While local government officials and immigration advocates questioned the validity of such a threat, our report, "Terrorist Alley," gained national attention.
Just a few weeks ago, high-level sources told a Washington newspaper that Chechen terrorists have entered the U.S. through our state.
Now, we've uncovered even more evidence that the threat along our border is real.
"The story you did was 100% accurate. It showed what's happening on the border on a daily basis. It was completely accurate," says a Border Patrol agent.
This Southern Arizona Border Patrol agent came forward to talk with The Investigators about his concerns regarding homeland security along the Arizona/Mexico border. He does not want to be identified, but we've verified his employment through pay stubs and high-level sources.
As our cameras had captured this day, hundreds of illegal entrants sneak into Arizona from Mexico.
Items left behind, like a Muslim prayer rug and a diary written in Arabic have led some to believe not all crossers are from Central and South America.
In our original story.sources. including a former Border Patrol supervisor, say people from terrorist-related countries are crossing the border at will.
This agent says it's certainly happened, describing one incident with a detainee near Naco, Arizona.
"So they took him back to the Naco station for further investigating there, and when they entered his fingerprints into the AFIS database, which is maintained by the FBI, several minutes later they received a phone call from someone on the other end -- I'm not sure who it was."
"and they stated, whoever is working on this particular terminal, they need to separate that gentleman right away. He was later determined to be from Pakistan. And he had affiliations with a terrorist group. It wasn't al-Qaida, but it was another terrorist group and this gentleman was wanted out of France for trafficking in heroin."
And he details another incident.just a few months ago.
"We received intel that seven males of Middle-Eastern descent had entered the United States illegally, and they were here to carry out a terrorist attack on this country. I'd never seen the agency go to the level that we did as far as treating it with such urgency."
"and when we got that information we immediately sent agents to patrol the highways. We had never done anything like that before. And like I said before, within a week, there I am, watching the nightly news, and the terror threat was raised, and they actually showed pictures of these seven men who had reportedly entered the country. And that's when it kinda really hit me for the first time that it's really happening."
"We were told specifically that these people had terrorist pasts and they were coming here specifically to carry out a terrorist attack."
As far as we know, no arrests were ever made in that case, but this Border Patrol agent says he's been told that other terrorists are, perhaps, lying in wait south of the border.
"We know it's happening. We've seen it. We've actually received hard intelligence that they're there in Mexico. It's just a matter of trying to keep them from coming north."
This agent says, if terrorists want to cross, it's become too easy for them because of a severe lack of manpower in the Border Patrol.
"And there's just complete areas of fence that are missing, roads that lead north, well-traveled. I mean, you can tell the tire sign. A vehicle was there within the last day or two. Where they're going, who knows. And the worst part is what are they carrying. I would like to think it's just marijuana, because we can deal with that, but what if it's not?"
And he says other resources are desperately lacking and keeping agents from adequately protecting our border with Mexico.
"Over 50% of our vehicles at that station are out of service, or deferred for maintenance. If our cameras worked, which I would say well over 50% of them do not work at night, the infrared lenses are not functioning."
Even before new agents are deployed, he says, they're not prepared to fight illegal entry into this country.
"Some of our training, it lacks in that department. At the Academy we do three hours of training to determine if somebody is carrying fraudulent documents. And I can tell you from working the checkpoint, there are times people have given me documentation that I have absolutely no clue, as sad as it is to say that, what I'm looking at."
This agent says there's enormous pressure to rush people through checkpoints, and he says agents can't take adequate time to check out suspicious individuals because there are too many of them and too few agents.
He says the Border Patrol is at the mercy of bureaucrats in Washington who either don't realize the extent of the terrorist threat or who choose to deny it.
"Before September 11, I tell people 'yeah, you can make arguments for anything you wanted 'cause we were relatively safe, or we thought we were. After September 11, everything changed, and to continue to do business as if September 11 never happened, which is what we do in our agency, I don't think that's acceptable and I think people in Arizona need to know what's really happening
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As you might imagine, the Border Patrol has plenty to say about this agent's claims, and we'll talk with Arizona Senator Jon Kyl about what you just saw and heard tomorrow night at 10.
PULEEZE keep FR posted on the Senator's remarks on this steenkin situation.
Pres. Bush, perform your constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws of the land and enforce the immigration laws. I'm more concerned with the safety of American citizens than I am with any political ethnic group voting strategies.
Is not this the area the government is arresting US citizens for stopping illegal's from entering?
No, not quite...
The Border Patrol is quite appreciative of our help in stopping illegals. I have the BP phone numbers on speed dial.
Hmmm...'they' said the terrorist story was bogus when reported by the Tombstone Tumbleweed. I wonder how they'll respond to the NBC Affiliate in Tucson saying the same thing?
NBC et al interested now? Think,,looking for anything to use against Bush,,,maybe impeachment fodder???
Powell and Ridge are in Mexico already handing the keys to America over to Fox. Let the games begin.
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BUMP
I had the pleasure (and frustration) of working in the WH Office of Homeland Security for about a year after 9/11 and up to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Without revealing any classified information, I can tell you with absolute certainty that this report is true. I couldn't begin to characterize the numbers involved, but we are well aware that some operators have crossed into the United States from both Mexico and Canada. While we're wont to point out blame in this situation, there is plenty to spread around. The Border Patrol doesn't have enough properly-trained patrol agents. When a subject of interest is detained, there aren't enough FBI agents to respond, and many of them lack the training and experience to make an informed call on a subject with seemingly legitimate ID. Besides which, we've been running FBI agents ragged for over three years running down "leads." The bottom line is, something has to be done about it and that something has to address the concerns of the "free trade at any cost" crowd, the immigration crusaders, but, most importantly, the security of the American people.
Related story
Upstate N.Y. Man Arrested For Plotting To Help Terrorists
POSTED: 8:00 pm EST November 9, 2004
EL PASO, Texas -- A 19-year-old man accused of planning to supply a Somalian terrorist group with night vision goggles and bullet proof vests has been arrested crossing into El Paso from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.......
http://www.wnbc.com/news/3905194/detail.html
ping
BTTT
Buying our lettuce for 10 cents a head less is going to get very expensive!
Yes --- and planning to meet some Khalid guy at the airport in El Paso. And after making comments about how he wished he had flown the airplanes on 9-11.
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