(Border Patrol) Agent Saves a Life, Only to Lose His On Mexico Border

Washington Post ^ | Feb. 8, 2004 | Kevin Sullivan

[FairOpinion]

Witnesses recalled that Fan (19, an illegal immigrant from China, was in the river trying to sneak into the United States with four Chinese companions and two Mexican smugglers) was drowning in the fast-rushing waters and screaming for help when U.S. Border Patrol Agent James Epling waded into the deep river and carried her to safety. Epling then turned to go catch the others... Divers found Epling's body three days later, drowned at the bottom of the river.

Border Patrol officials said their officers catch an average of 2,500 people a day -- more than 100 an hour -- who, despite sharply increased security since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, continue to try to sneak across the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Patrol, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, has 9,800 agents stationed along the border, up from 3,600 a decade ago. That includes 1,300 agents hired since 2000, reflecting a new emphasis on tracking border crossings.

Agents in darkened control rooms monitor hundreds of infrared video cameras that keep an electronic eye on the border as if it were a 2,000-mile-long convenience store. Hundreds of motion sensors are hidden in the scrub brush. Each time an unsuspecting immigrant passes one, an alarm goes off in a control room -- programmers made it sound like a door bell, a bit of borderlands humor: It's the sound of another guest arriving.

[FairOpinion]

It is sad. Sounds like we need a 20 foot fence on the borders.

[FairOpinion]

PING

[FairOpinion]

"The Border Patrol, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, has 9,800 agents stationed along the border, up from 3,600 a decade ago."

==

Obviously it's still not enough, but it's quite an improvement -- Bush almost tripled the border patrol agents. Obviously it's still not enough -- but I read that in his 2005 budget he was adding more funding and more agents.

[janetgreen]

As long as our government continues to force American taxpayers to pay for the support of illegal aliens and refuses to enforce immigration laws, the invasion will continue.

[Captainpaintball]

LINE THE BORDERS WITH NUCLEAR WASTE!!!

[AzJohn]

Bush almost tripled the border patrol agents.

That's not clear from the article. The next sentence after the one you cited is:

That includes 1,300 agents hired since 2000, reflecting a new emphasis on tracking border crossings.

So all we really know is out of a total increase of 6,200, 1,300 were hired in the last 3 years. The rest of the increase could have been hired under the previous administration, or perhaps they were transferred to the southern border under this or the previous administration.

[John Beresford Tipton]

"Bush almost tripled the border patrol agents."

And even if he did triple them with one hand,
with his other hand he's handing out the catnip of amnesty to attract more of them.

[FairOpinion]

You are right -- I didn't read carefully.

[dougherty]

As long as our government continues to force American taxpayers to pay for the support of illegal aliens and refuses to enforce immigration laws, the invasion will continue.

You have more brains in your pinky toe than Bush and the other panderering politicians put together. Why do they not understand this? Oh that's right, they might offend the illegals if they stop the freebies. I am so disgusted by it all.

[MissouriForBush]

I agree with you and Janet.

I am very pessimistic about our country's future due to the unwillingness of our politicians to crack down on illegal immigration and also bring some much-needed reform to our just-plain-bad immigration laws -- starting with the rewarding of anchor-baby citizenship to the children delivered in US hospitals by freeloading illegals courtesy of the US taxpayer -- to list just one example.

This whole situation makes a complete travesty of everything my ancestors fought for in the American Revolution and the precious values they handed down in my family generation after generation.

[JustPiper]

Posted you here before I got the ping and at the daily terror thread ;)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1067401/posts

[CIBvet]

Lotsa jibber-jabber from the Bush/D.C. BureaucRATS about all the money they've spent on High-Tech, and personnel upgrades to 9,800 agents, but no indication they've put any WILL behind the $$$ they've spent.

Corporate interests for cheap labor, and bureaucRATic interests for new sign-ups for social programs take presidence over the Will of the People.

We here at FR have discussed this issue more thoroughly than Bush's entire team, and understand clearly that until Law Enforcement agencies start showing up on the job sites, the Welfare Offices, and dragging the responsible companies/CEO's/Mgrs into court, citizens know NOT A DAMN THING IS BEING DONE TO STOP THE INVASION OF ILLEGALS.

And Bush WILL be a single termer, just like daddy.

Oh well, he's had his chance to do right ... as bfor me, note to buy more ammo.

[Michael81Dus]

Maybe there´s something you can actually learn from the Germans....

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

The smuggler was a daily crystal meth/pot user for 10 years.

Unscreened freaks like this pour across our border every day.

[JustPiper]

We also know of one American drug using creep:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1072397/posts?page=89

[DumpsterDiver]

I didn't see the article saying about how many of the agents were assigned to the legal ports of entry as opposed to how many are out there in the great beyond guarding the rest of the border. I also didn't notice any mention of how many of the agents were on the northern border. A break down of the numbers would be nice to know.

[FairOpinion]

Here is some good news re. border security:

Tracking system has 4,000 successes (Border Patrol)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1074026/posts

More than 4,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records were busted last year by Tuscon sector Border Patrol agents using the world's most advanced biometric tracking system.

The identification system, which is linked to the FBI, uses a five-finger scan and instantly reveals any criminal record or outstanding warrant, Adame said.

[Marine Inspector]

IMMIGRATION FROM A BORDER PATROLMAN'S HOLSTER: PART I