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06.01.06, 17:41
SAN DIEGO - Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has declared
a crackdown on immigrant smugglers at two California border crossings from
Tijuana, Mexico.
Chertoff promised more prosecutions of smugglers who tried to enter the
United States at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa crossings in San Diego, as well
as more jail space to hold them, though he did not say on how much the effort
would cost.
In a potentially controversial twist, Chertoff said Thursday state and local
officials would participate in the crackdown. Proponents of tougher
enforcement have long advocated a larger role for local law enforcement, but
critics say local agencies should stick to fighting crime, not enforcing
immigration laws.
Border Patrol agents thwarted 60,000 attempted illegal crossings at San
Ysidro and Otay Mesa last year. Smugglers once stuffed a baby inside a
gasoline tank, Chertoff said.
"It is remarkable the lengths to which smugglers will go to try to get people
into this country," he said at a news conference. "They simply want to make
money at the expense of human misery."
The federal government has also increased border enforcement in Arizona,
which has surpassed California as the nation's busiest corridor for illegal
immigrants. Arizona accounted for more than half the Border Patrol's 1.1
million arrests last year.
Border Patrol arrests in the San Diego sector plummeted to about 110,000 last
year from 528,000 in 1995, when the state had stepped up security.
