U.S. Border Patrol under the gun to stop illegal immigrants
March 20, 1996
Web posted at: 3:45 p.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Anthony Collings
Every day, U.S. authorities arrest about 2,700 people who try to enter the country illegally. A bill before the House of Representatives calls for tightening the borders and making it harder for illegals to get jobs. In the third part of our four-part series on immigration, we visit the border region between Mexico and the United States.
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- At the United States' border with Mexico near San Diego, it's a daily struggle for the U.S. Border Control to keep illegal immigrants from crossing. (932K QuickTime movie)
Using high-tech night-vision equipment, border agents can spot people hiding in the dark on the American side of the fence. But with thousands of would-be immigrants lining up on the Mexican side of the border every day, there is growing pressure in the United States to make the barrier impenetrable.
The commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service says her agency is trying.
"Those are the areas that have traditionally been the heaviest crossing and we are getting control of those areas," Doris Meissner said.
Try, try again
But for every illegal immigrant they catch, others slip through. People like Carlos. He is one of an estimated 4.5 million illegal immigrants in the United States.
Carlos (not his real name) crossed the border from Tijuana five times in just one week. Each time he was sent back. "And then the sixth time we made it," he said.
Now he lives with his aunt in a suburb of Los Angeles. He makes $20 a day painting houses, compared to the $3 a day he made in Mexico. He sends money home to his mother and brothers and sisters in Morelos.
"I came here because I needed to work." He is hired on the street by contractors who don't ask too many questions.
But in a recent raid, the INS wanted some answers. Carlos ran away, but lives in fear he'll be caught.
"I was scared, I was afraid," he said.
Crackdown on employers
David Martinez is from the same town in Mexico, but he's here legally. He works at a bicycle factory.
His company uses a computer link to the INS to make sure green cards are legitimate. It's a pilot program that may be expanded to make it harder for illegals to find work. Across the country, the INS has been stepping up raids on employers.
Some Mexicans who enter the U.S. illegally persuade courts to give them political asylum. But new legislation would make that more difficult. The INS is also cracking down on immigrants who are smuggled in by gangs.
Critics say INS not doing enough
But it's the border that is the biggest focus of attention.
Eastward from California, the U.S. border with Mexico stretches about 2,000 miles. Much of it is rugged terrain, and trying to seal it is no easy task.
In the San Diego sector, where improvements include night lights and stronger fences, the INS believes fewer illegals are getting through. But at Douglas, Arizona, the border is less fortified.
"We don't have enough people to put everybody here down at the line," said George Lopez of the U.S. Border Patrol.
And the patrol's effort is weak, according to some critics in Congress.
"The INS is doing a great job of public relations," said Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican. "They're doing a poor job of holding the line against illegal entry."
No one knows how many illegal immigrants get across. But along the border, about one million arrests are made each year. The INS is spending $500 million more this year to stem the immigration tide.
Next in our series ...
In the fourth and final part of our series, CNN's Anne McDermott, a longtime resident of Los Angeles, reflects on the attraction the United States has for immigrants, and how "natives" have reacted to them.
Join CNN's Charles Bierbauer Sunday at 10:30 p.m. EST for the CNN special on immigration, "Whose America?"
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