Border Control and Customs

More Than 200 Pounds of Cheese Seized at U.S./Mexico Border, for Second Time This Year

For the second time this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized hundreds of pounds of cheese from someone trying to drive a cheese-load into the United States from Mexico.Federal authorities say not only was this cheese undeclared, but it also was unpasteurized.See also:-230 Pounds of Chees ... More >>

Border Agents Find Heroin Stuffed in a Guy's Belly Button

Ladies and gentlemen, the above photo is a man's belly button stuffed with heroin, in an attempted smuggling attempt in Nogales.See also:-Bell Peppers Will Not Disguise 2,000 Pounds of Weed, Mexican National Discovers-Border Agents Find Women With Buckets of Chicken: Half Original Recipe, Half Meth- ... More >>

Phoenix Man Tries to Cross Border With Almost $11,000 in His Shoes, but Fails

Today in Found at the Border, a Phoenix man tried to cross the border into Mexico with almost $11,000 in his shoes.It might sound like a cash-hiding method that would be obvious to the authorities, but that's not quite the case.See also:-Bell Peppers Will Not Disguise 2,000 Pounds of Weed, Mexican N ... More >>

John McCain Takes Tour of Border, Watches Woman Climb Right Over "Danged" Fence

How could you forget Senator John McCain's "complete the danged fence" ad?"It'll work this time," assures underwear model/Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.Well, today, while McCain took a tour of the border, he watched a woman climb over an 18-foot border fence in Nogales.

Guns, Drones, But What Was the Most Important Thing at the Border Security Expo?

Yesterday marked the end of the 7th annual Phoenix Border Security Expo, and we should all feel much, uh, safer knowing that the 180 companies attending have devoted so much time and resources to keeping our border safe from low-grade pot and immigrants. The companies set up individual booths like l ... More >>

Bell Peppers Will Not Disguise 2,000 Pounds of Weed, Mexican National Discovers

A Mexican national discovered on Tuesday that a bunch of bell peppers won't conceal more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana from the authorities.U.S. Customs and Border Protection made the find while the man was attempting to enter the United States through a commercial facility in Nogales with the load ... More >>

Border Agents Find Women With Buckets of Chicken: Half Original Recipe, Half Meth

Unless someone's familiar with a Nogales-area establishment that sells chicken and meth in the same bucket, we'll have to rely on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's claim that it busted a smuggling attempt.Yes, the preferred method of smuggling in this attempt apparently was to hide multiple pound ... More >>

Luis Vasquez, Former Border Officer, Guilty of Letting 1,200 Pounds of Weed Roll Into U.S.

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who let 1,200 pounds of weed roll on into the United States on a truck from Mexico was found guilty of several charges by a federal jury.Luis Vasquez faces a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine at his sentencing, which is scheduled ... More >>

Border Patrol Arrests in Arizona Lowest in Nearly Two Decades

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say the last year Border Patrol apprehended fewer people than last year was almost two decades ago.The 124,631 "apprehensions" by Border Patrol in Arizona in 2012 is the lowest number in 19 years, and the agency says that's how they measure attempted bord ... More >>

Mexican Man Breaks Record for Unsuccessful Arizona-Bound Marijuana Smuggling

A 26-year-old Mexican national is apparently a new record-holder in the world of marijuana smuggling.According to Customs and Border Protection, nobody's been caught with this much marijuana at an Arizona port of entry -- more than 14,000 pounds.See also:-230 Pounds of Cheese Seized at U.S./Mexico B ... More >>

230 Pounds of Cheese Seized at U.S./Mexico Border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is proud to report that it has prevented 230 pounds of cheese from entering the United States of America.See also:-Drug Smugglers Now Shooting Weed Cannons Into United States-Border Crossing Gone Wrong: Jeep Gets Stuck on Top of 14-Foot Fence-Piñatas Used to Hide ... More >>

Drug Smugglers Now Shooting Cannons Into United States, Using Cans of Weed as Ammo

The people who smuggle drugs into the United States from Mexico really have some ingenious ways of getting the goods over the border.There's the old trick of hiding the drugs in fruit; we've even seen piñatas. We've also seen at least one instance of someone trying to drive over a 14-foot border fe ... More >>

Border Crossing Gone Wrong: Jeep Gets Stuck on Top of 14-Foot Fence

For all the "build the dang fence" advocates, or people who like to laugh at idiots, here you go -- someone tried to drive over the border fence near Yuma yesterday, and failed.

Woman Busted at Border With 310 Vials of "Date Rape" Drug

Bad news, rapists (good news, society): Customs and Border Protection says officers caught a woman attempting to enter the United States with 310 vials of a "date rape" drug.According to CBP, 51-year-old Josefina Irene Dominguez was pointed out for additional questioning and a vehicle search at the ... More >>

Paul Babeu, Pinal County Sheriff, Tosses Armed Militia into the Mix of Poorly Training Border Patrol Agents With Use of Force Issues

A recipe for disaster: U.S Customs and Border Patrol's lax policies over the use of lethal force. Inadequately trained agents sent to patrol rough desert terrain blanketed with fear and tension that's fueled by potential danger. A border-hawk sheriff putting weapons in the hands of unpaid civilia ... More >>

Border Patrol Agent Killed, Another Wounded in Shooting Near Bisbee

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed and another one was wounded in a shooting this morning near Bisbee.The agents were stationed at the Border Patrol station in Naco, which is named after slain Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Joe Arpaio or ICE: Whose Story Do You Believe?

Late last week, Sheriff Joe Arpaio claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement "refused" to take custody of two suspected illegal immigrants that MCSO deputies found in the desert.Arpaio suggested that he saw this was coming, and had discovered a back-up plan to keep turning over immigrants to feder ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Tells Tale About Fooling the Feds; ICE Calls Sheriff's Bluff

Sheriff Joe Arpaio put out a press release today boasting about how he outsmarted Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which "refused" to take custody of two suspected illegal immigrants that deputies found in the desert yesterday.In reality, ICE didn't refuse to take custody, and Arpaio's boys actu ... More >>

Border Patrol Abuse: PBS Video Documents Stories of Cruel Treatment of Immigrants

See also Cloaked Brutality: Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants See also Immigrant Abuses by Border Patrol Agents Documented See also Mexican Smugglers Exploit the Corrupt Reputation of U.S. Border Officers When New Times traveled to Nogales in Mexico in about two years ago, we found many ... More >>

J.T. Ready Brags About Hunting "Two-Legged Varmints" in Police Report

According to one Gilbert neighbor, neo-Nazi baby-killer and anti-immigrant vigilante J.T. Ready boasted of hunting "two-legged varmints" just days before a massacre in which Gilbert police believe he murdered four, including a 16-month-old girl, and then committed suicide.In a police report released ... More >>

Paul Babeu Turns Distortion of Truth Into an Art Form

Jan Brewer Invited to Testify Before Senate Subcommittee on SB 1070. Governor's Apparently Not Thrilled With The Idea

​New York Democratic Senator Charles Schumer sent a letter to Governor Jan Brewer yesterday, asking her to give testimony before his Senate Subcommittee on Immigration about Senate Bill 1070.According to a release from Schumer's office, the point of Brewer's testimony would be "to hear whether she ... More >>

Mexican Smugglers Exploit the Corrupt Reputation of U.S. Border Officers

220 Pounds of Marijuana Found in Desert South of Yuma -- Not by You; Agents Prepare for Seasonal Ponche-Ingredient Smuggling

​ Yuma Border Patrol agents on Wednesday found about 220 pounds of marijuana in the desert south of Dateland -- we'll bet some of you wish you did, too.But Agent Ken Quillan advises against going on your own "treasure" hunt, despite the fact that smugglers do occasionally drop loads of dope in ... More >>

Border Patrol, YouTube Censored Video, ACLU Says

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo playerThe McLeod video censored by YouTube and CBPWhen you're member of the media and you want to hear about U.S. Customs and Border Protection's latest drug bust, you get an almost instant return call from an agent eager to answer your every questi ... More >>

Immigrant Abuses at Hands of Border Patrol Agents Documented by Human Rights Organization

​No More Deaths, a Tucson-based human rights advocacy group, continues its push to end the abusive treatment immigrants suffer while in U.S. Border Patrol Custody.The group shares the stories of abuse, neglect and humiliation of 13,000 people detained by Border Patrol in a report released today -- ... More >>

Congressman Ben Quayle Introduces Bill That Gives Border Agents Unrestricted Access to All Federal Borderlands

James King Congressman Ben Quayle​Arizona Congressman Ben Quayle introduced a bill this morning that would give U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents unrestricted access to federal lands in the southwestern borderlands region.The bill has been co-sponsored by Congressman Peter King, cha ... More >>

Border Agents Killed by Train Were Tracking "Drug Traffickers," According to AG Tom Horne -- Which is News to Border Patrol Authorities

James KingTom Horne apparently knows something Border Patrol doesn't. That or he's making things up.​Two Border Patrol agents were killed this morning when their unmarked SUV was hit by a train near Gila Bend, and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne is already implicating illegal drug traffickers i ... More >>

Comatose Border Patrol Victim Spared Deportation, Removal from St. Joseph's (For Now)

UnivisionJose Gutierrez, who is in a vegetative state, with part of his skull removedSaint Joseph is traditionally the patron saint of workers and immigrants. The latter is because the father of Jesus was forced to flee to Egypt to save the Christ child from Herod the Great's wrath. Once King Herod ... More >>

Travel to Mexico Can be Safe -- But Spring Break Visitors and Others Should Prepare for Experience

Image: New Times​ Traveling to and around Mexico can be a fun experience, but you should use your head if you're planning on going there for spring break. It's not as simple as driving to Lake Havasu or San Diego, and -- as we detail in this week's feature article on Rocky Point -- the safety ... More >>

President Obama Signs Anti-Border Corruption Act Into Law; Requires All Prospective Border Agents to Undergo Polygraph Test

​President Obama has signed into law a measure that requires that all prospective Customs and Border Protection employees undergo a polygraph test.It seems like a no-brainer, especially considering that federal officials who investigate corruption within the agency say that polygraph ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, December 30, 2010

Cloaked Brutality: The Feds Bury Border Patrol Abuses of Immigrants, But What's Been Unearthed Reveals a Culture of Cruelty

Border Patrol Agent Fatally Shot Near Nogales. Four Suspects in Custody

www.jetdesigns.com​A U.S. Border Patrol agent was fatally shot while on patrol near Nogales Tuesday night.Authorities investigating the shooting aren't saying much about it at this point, only that the agent, 40-year-old Brian Terry, was killed about 11 p.m. yesterday near Peck Canyon while on pat ... More >>

Grinding Justice: Operation Streamline Costs Millions, Tramples the Constitution, Treats Migrants Like Cattle, and Doesn't Work

Barack Obama's $600 Million Border Boondoggle

Obama: $600 million-tough on landscapers and nanniesSo President Barack Obama, who still talks a good game about "comprehensive immigration reform," has now signed a supplemental border security package worth $600 million to add 1,000 Border Patrol agents, as well as hundreds of new officers for Imm ... More >>

Seized: Inside the Brutal World of America's Kidnapping Capital

Jan Brewer Writes President Obama Thank You Letter/ Immigration Wish List. Then She Offers to Buy Him Lunch

Brewer and Obama meeting at The White House earlier this month.​As you are probably aware, President Barack Obama penciled in Arizona Governor Jan Brewer in for a little face-time earlier this month so the two could discuss Arizona's controversial, new immigration law.Obama had originally not agre ... More >>

Border Agents Seize Estimated $2.7 Million Worth of Weed Found in Abandoned Truck; No Arrests Made

www.photobucket.com​Border agents from the Casa Grande Station found a truck containing about 3,300 pounds of marijuana Monday morning near the checkpoint on Federal Route 15.According to Border Agent Colleen Agle, the weed was found when agents responded to suspected illegal activity in the ... More >>

Badlands: For Those Living in the Arizona County That's Ground Zero for Drug and Human Trafficking Along the Border, the Illegal Immigration Crisis Is Personal

Border Patrol Nabs More Than 4,100 Pounds of Weed -- Worth About $3.3 Million -- Over Memorial Day Weekend

U.S. Customs and Border Protection One of four busts made by Border Patrol agents last weekend. Those brown bundles can get ya high.​While you may have been busy grilling burgers over Memorial Day weekend, Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona were on the prowl for weed coming across th ... More >>

Weed-Filled Truck Crashed Into Border Fence So Suspects Could Evade Capture -- And it Worked

USBP​U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector seized more than 1,300 pounds of marijuana during four separate vehicle interdictions in the past 24 hours, including one stop where the suspects crashed their weed-filled truck into the border fence to evade capture.Those suspects, according to ... More >>

Marijuana and Watermelons Redux; 9,500 Pounds of Weed Found Hidden in Watermelon Truck Near Nogales

www.motivatedphotos.com​One of the more popular Valley Fever posts over the last couple of years is about a New Jersey man who got nabbed by Department of Public Safety officers while moving about 500 pounds of weed in his truck. Busting someone for moving large amounts of weed isn't too str ... More >>

Two Teenagers Set Record for Largest Attempted Meth Smuggling Ever at Yuma Checkpoint

www.shoelace.org Let's just hope her kids aren't in the backseat.​Two teenage girls made history at a border checkpoint in Yuma, but it's hardly a record that will make their families swell with pride. The two unnamed girls, ages 18 and 19, were arrested by border patrol agents for attempt ... More >>

Border Patrol Seizes 971 Pounds of Marijuana Being Carried on Horseback

U.S. Border PatrolOne of several horses border agents say were used to bring more than 900 pounds of pot over the border​U.S. Border Patrol Agents made two substantial drug busts this week resulting in the seizure of about 2,400 pounds of weed, 971 of which were being moved on horseback.On Sunday ... More >>

"Secret Squirrel Operation" by ICE Nets Border Patrol Agent, Says Lawsuit; Agent Claims He was Traumatized by Arrest

​ A Border Patrol agent is suing the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, claiming he was traumatized after being stopped by ICE agents on a dark, rural road in southern Arizona and held at gunpoint. Jess Cabe, who works out of the Border Patrol's ... More >>

ACLU to Host Forum on "Constitution-Free" Zone Near Border That Allows Checkpoints

Border Patrol checkpoints and their impact on civil rights will be discussed at a forum next week in Green Valley hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union. The topic is a hot one in the southern Arizona community, where some residents have fought plans to install a permanent checkpoint on Inte ... More >>

Customs Programs' "Trust Betrayed" by Participants; Security Breaches Possible

Go figure.The U.S. Customs and Border Protection grants some foreign companies the right to less frequent random inspections at the border, and some of those companies seem to be abusing the privilege in a big way.Yesterday, a vehicle tied to one of the companies enrolled in a CBP program known by ... More >>

Meltdown

The Phoenix branch of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau is Exhibit A of this country's failed border policies

Pressure Point

WHILE THE BORDER PATROL IS ATTACKING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN CALIFORNIA AND TEXAS, THE AGENCY IS LITERALLY RETREATING IN ARIZONA. THE RESULTS ARE COSTLY AND DANGEROUS.