Free Republic

<p>Dozens of law enforcement officers picked over a miles-long crime scene bisecting a rural South Texas town Tuesday, collecting evidence after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent was shot while conducting surveillance.</p> <p>The agent with ICE's Homeland Security Investigations was shot early Tuesday near Hargill, about 25 miles northeast of McAllen. The agent was conducting surveillance related to an ongoing criminal investigation, ICE spokeswoman Nina Pruneda said. The agent was taken to a local hospital and was undergoing surgery, she said.</p>

Mexico has belatedly discovered that its criminal syndicates have become so powerful that they directly threaten the state. In fact, Mexico hovers on the brink of becoming a narco-state. Its criminal syndicates control the Mexican side of the Texas/Mexico border and the smuggling of drugs and illegal immigrants into Texas. Their influence and reach have crossed the Rio Grande River in ways that many politicians and media prefer to not acknowledge. Caught in this crossfire are ranchers trying to protect their property and their way of life. Here are some of the problems they face daily. The criminal organizations To...

A Sullivan City man accused of smuggling three Iraqis into the United States was set to appear for a detention hearing Thursday. Prosecutors allege Juan De Dios Martinez Vela, 28, sneaked the men across the Rio Grande as part of a smuggling network with links to the Middle East.