http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/09/20110209us-mexico-fight-bo rder-crime.html#ixzz1DSqSeSUR
U.S., Mexico police unite to fight border crime by Dennis Wagner - Feb. 9, 2011 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic TUCSON - Top Homeland Security officials said Tuesday that a little-known coalition of U.S. and Mexican police agencies has played a major part in cracking down on smuggling and illegal immigration along the Arizona-Mexico border. The joint operation between the U.S. Border Patrol, Mexican federal police and about 60 U.S. state, federal, tribal and local police agencies has had a dramatic success in making drug seizures and arresting undocumented immigrants, said Alan Bersin, director of Customs and Border Protection. Since the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats launched quietly in September 2009 with coordinated training, intelligence-sharing and patrols, the program has resulted in the arrest of 270,000 illegal border crossers, the seizure of 1.6 million pounds of marijuana and the recovery of $13 million in cash in the border's Tucson Sector. Authorities said that as the program continues, it will be another factor in the efforts to help stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drug smugglers into Arizona. This became a funnel point when officials clamped down in other states along the U.S. boundary with Mexico. "We will force the smuggling organizations out of their entrenched positions here in Arizona . . . north of the border and south of the border, with the help of Mexican law enforcement," Bersin said. Collaboration among U.S. police agencies near the border is hardly new. Numerous joint operations, such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area coalition, have long worked to combat smuggling, money laundering and other border crimes. But Bersin said the alliance is unique because it includes cooperative policing from the Mexican side. In theory, that means smugglers will find it more difficult to evade capture by dodging back across the border when they are detected. The alliance issues weekly intelligence briefings on security threats for all border agencies. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderón reached an agreement last year to share responsibility to fight smuggling cartels on the border. "No longer would there be a pointing of fingers," Bersin said. "Rather, drugs going north and guns going south would be seen as part of the same vicious cycle." "What's really different is how we do business, and how we organize ourselves," said Matthew Allen, Arizona director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Our efforts (now) extend deep into Mexico." David Shirk, director of the Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego, said collaborating more closely with Mexico to battle drug trafficking and human smuggling represents a welcome shift in the way the U.S. deals with border issues. "The traditional U.S. approach has been one that focuses on unilateral solutions," he said. "The result is you can't do much from one side of the border." Although working more closely with Mexican law-enforcement officials will help the U.S. tackle drug trafficking and human smuggling, those problems can't be solved through cross-border enforcement alone. More emphasis has to be put on reducing drug consumption in the U.S. and creating jobs in Mexico, Shirk said. For the Calderón administration, the collaboration with American investigators can help combat violent narcotics cartels that threaten public confidence and governmental stability south of the border. For the Obama administration, the alliance is another accomplishment for U.S. authorities citing evidence that the border is being secured, particularly in Arizona. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano cited statistics on bolstered enforcement and delivered a speech at the University of Texas at El Paso, documenting the administration's successes. "We have strengthened the southwest border in a way that many would not have thought possible," she said in her remarks. "And our partnership with Mexico on border security is strong. . . . It is inaccurate to state, as too many have, that the border is overrun with violence and out of control. "This statement, often made only to score political points, is just plain wrong. "Not only does it ignore all of the statistical evidence, it also belittles the significant progress that effective law enforcement has made to protect this border." On Tuesday, Bersin said the alliance is part of an overall campaign to plug the last corridor for contraband and illegal immigration. He predicted the cartels "will make a stand here to try to preserve their smuggling routes." He did not make predictions similar to Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, who said recently that he thought a violent conflict was imminent. Bersin said the alliance included Operation Vekol Valley, a March initiative targeting Pinal County's notorious smuggling corridor. That operation netted more than 500 undocumented immigrants, 46 stolen vehicles, 29 smuggling suspects, three stash houses and 35,000 pounds of marijuana. Bersin said the goal of the alliance and other initiatives is to manage the border and make it safe. That goal that is attainable, he added. "Border safety and security does not mean sealing the border to a point where not one single illegal alien comes across," he said. "This is perfection to which we do not aspire." Read more: <http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/09/20110209us-mexico-fight-b order-crime.html#ixzz1DZTPiFk8> http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/09/20110209us-mexico-fight-bo rder-crime.html#ixzz1DZTPiFk8 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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