Posted on 02/26/2003 7:56:52 AM PST by madfly
Tancredo doesn't see Jericho in desert wall
NACO, Ariz. - At last, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo has found a wall separating the United States from Mexico. It's about 12 feet high and is made of weather-beaten, corrugated metal that resembles the sides of a boxcar. It runs for about two miles through the small town of Naco and out into the desert. The Army Corps of Engineers built the wall in 1993 to block Mexican criminals from making high-speed drug runs through the town's quiet streets. "This wall has been a godsend," said rancher Charlie Miller, whose property runs along it. "We love it. If we could just extend it." Friday was Tancredo's fourth day inspecting the border at Arizona, which has become one of the busiest places for illegal crossings during the past five years. The Littleton Republican, assisted by ranchers, locals and a retired Border Patrol agent, came to gather more evidence to advance his congressional agenda to militarize the border if necessary to make it secure. "If I were able to," Tancredo said looking at the wall, "this is what you'd see along the entire border. This is what makes good neighbors." A Border Patrol agent explains that he and his colleagues would prefer a lower fence to a solid barrier, so they could see threats coming. Along the wall's joints are hundreds of square gaps. Someone could jam a shotgun through one of them, wait for a patrol vehicle to come alongside and blast away, said the agent, who declined to give his name. Tancredo hears the agent out, but waves him off, convinced of the wall's superiority. "You start with a wall, and then you place some personnel on it," Tancredo says, thinking out loud. "Honest to God, as low-tech as this is, it works." But the wall doesn't appear to be impregnable. The drug runners have used blowtorches to cut pass-throughs for their drug packages. Some have made doors with hinges. Others have cut down entire sections of the wall. And the piles of water bottles, dirty clothes and discarded personal effects found in "lay-up" sites miles from here testify that this wall doesn't stop the flow of illegal immigration north. More than 300,000 Border Patrol arrests were made along the 261-mile Arizona border in the federal fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The day was full of indirect observations of what goes on in "the sieve," the two or three miles inside the U.S. border where drug cartels drop shipments and illegal aliens crouch in the brush, waiting for their car ride north. Miller told Tancredo he'd seen men in camouflage gear, carrying automatic rifles, drop backpacks on his land. He believes they are Mexican soldiers under the command of corrupt officers assisting in the drug smuggling. Tancredo is extremely interested in the Mexican military's alleged incursions into the United States, saying they underscore his point about the vulnerability of the border. Rancher George Morin, 53, a lifelong Arizonan, explained the puzzling array of debris left in the washes and ravines. There are hundreds of empty water bottles. The toothbrushes and deodorant were to mask the aroma of hiking several miles through the desert that can give away an illegal. Dirty clothes are chucked for the same reason. Backpacks and anything that makes it look like someone is on a long walk is discarded. Tancredo's entourage also found employment documents on ranchland beside Arizona Highway 80. A person named Matilde Delgado, who had worked in Washington state, received a $3,785 tax refund in 1998. Tancredo found her 12-year Social Security history. "The American public needs to know what's going on down here," said Larry Vance, a 40-year resident of the area. "The federal government allows the Mexican government to completely ignore our border and run millions of their citizens and other nationalities into our country." Nobody was spotted crossing the border illegally during the day Friday, although there was a brief bit of excitement in the late morning. The Tancredo motorcade stopped on a highway leading out of Sierra Vista, Ariz. A trail network leading through the brush from Mexico was apparent from the roadside. Tancredo took the field glasses to inspect it, and called out that he'd spotted three would-be crossers near the border. "But they're walking south," he said. Someone suggested that they had been alerted to the Border Patrol and were turning back. But no agents were nearby. A golden retriever was with the three figures, who walked along casually until they reached a white house. Two went inside. The third waved. No one said that maybe these people lived here.
Lawmaker trumpets benefit of crumbling barrier on border
Sorry, Frohickey, but that makes too much sense.
Next?
MM
He certainly is courageous, and I salute him. He practically stands alone in Congress trying to spread the word in Washington, most of whom turn deaf ears to him. He was warned not to darken the door of the White House again by one of President Open Borders Bush's minions.
Do we discard that many of those over the years? What do we do with the old ones now?
Maybe we'd finally have the environmentalists on our side. They like recycling. ;^)
Agitator Hour Archives
Freeper Agitator has this bio of Col. Anderson listed with a link to streaming audio of his interview with him last year. He speaks like a Military lifer and an American cowboy. While he may not have polished journalistic or PR skills, he provides a service to the people in SouthEastern Arizona where there is nothing but leftist media.
Oct 30 - Col. Ben Anderson
Col. Anderson believes that the out-of-control illegal immigration situation this country is currently experiencing constitutes a threat to our national security and that U.S. Military should be used on our borders to stop it. In addition to making a convincing case on that issue, he addresses a wide range of geopolitical issues from the middle east to China.
Col. Anderson brings a wealth of experience to a very interesting conversation. To list just a few of his qualifications, Col. Anderson retired in 1993 after almost three-decades of Army service, which included assignments in Europe; Far East, including Vietnam; Central and South America; Caribbean; and North Africa.
Among the retired Infantry Colonel’s military decorations are 2 Silver Stars, 2 Purple Hearts, 2 Legions of Merit, The Defense Superior Service Medal and 3 Meritorious Service Medals. He also wears the Combat Infantry Badge, Aviator Wings, Ranger Tab, Pathfinder Designation, Senior Paratrooper Wings, Scuba Badge and both German and Paraguayan Paratrooper Wings.
Anderson graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1966 (BS, Engineering). He holds three masters degrees: (German Linguistics), Georgetown University, Wash. D.C.; MA (International Relations), Salve Regina College, Newport, RI; and MA (National Security & Strategic Studies), Naval War College. He also taught on the faculty at the United States Military Academy, West Point (1974-76).
Streaming Links
Windows Media version - RealPlayer version
Congressman Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) Weekly E-Newsletter
February 26, 2003
VISIT COLORADO'S SIXTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT'S WEBSITE:
www.house.gov/tancredo
************************************************************************
TUNE IN TO C-SPAN TONIGHT, FEB. 26TH, LIVE BETWEEN 6PM MST TO 8PM MST
TO
SEE REP. TANCREDO SPEAK ON THE U.S. HOUSE FLOOR REGARDING THE
CONGRESSIONAL IMMIGRATION REFORM CAUCUS' MOST RECENT TRIP TO
INVESTIGATE
BORDER SECURITY.
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chuck <truth@YeshuaHaMashiach>
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