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“In this case, it was actually the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) ranger that found them and called us to assist,” said Sheriff's spokesperson Sandy Edwards.
It's the second time Sheriff's deputies in the Lake Havasu City area apprehended suspected illegal aliens. On Dec. 1, deputies took 17 suspects into custody following a traffic stop on State Route 95 at Industrial Boulevard.
Three other suspected illegal aliens were taken into custody in Mohave Valley on Dec. 19 and four more were arrested in Golden Shores Dec. 6. In each of the cases, the suspects were turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“We're not doing any extra patrols when it comes to illegal aliens, we're contacting them during the daily course of duties,” Edwards said.
Lake Havasu City Police officers also have found themselves taking custody of a number of illegal aliens. During a July 31 traffic stop, officers discovered six undocumented aliens. Another three were taken into custody following a Sept. 2 traffic stop, and during a Dec. 19 sweep of those wanted on outstanding warrants and those suspected of drug activity in Lake Havasu City, nine suspected illegal aliens were encountered. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took jurisdiction of six and three were turned over to Border Patrol agents.
Lt. Rich Sloma with the Lake Havasu City Police Department said it's not unusual for law enforcement in the area to find illegal immigrants as they travel.
“Highway 95 has always been a corridor for trafficking of illegal immigrants. They come up from Yuma to Interstates 10 and 40 and that will take them pretty much anywhere they want to go,” Sloma said.
In addition to participating in the crime sweep, the ICE agents met with Lake Havasu City Police Chief Dan Doyle and Capt. Joe Fiumara, Mayor Mark Nexsen, City Council member Margaret Nyberg and City Manager Richard Kaffenberger.
“We explored with them the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding,” said Nexsen.
The MOU would allow ICE to train up to five Lake Havasu City Police officers, giving the local officers the authority to conduct investigations of suspected illegal immigration activity.
“Generally speaking they sign these with Departments of Corrections,” said Nexsen. “We explained that Lake Havasu City can make a good test case on the effectiveness of working with local departments. So they are speaking with their superiors to see if this can move forward. I don't want to speak for ICE, but I got the impression this is something do-able.”
Should the agreement be put in place, Nexsen said training would likely take place in Lake Havasu City. And, Nexsen said, ICE is interested in putting together a work site program, to ensure that workers are legally entitled to be on a job site.
ICE officials told Lake Havasu City representatives that it could take up to several months to craft a memorandum of understanding.
Deportation trend decreasing so far
BY DAVID BELL
Since Dec. 1, Mohave County Sheriff's deputies have taken into custody 39 suspected illegal immigrants, 32 of them in Lake Havasu City.
In each of those instances, custody of the suspects was turned over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, commonly known as the Border Patrol.
That begins a process of identifying the suspect and returning them to their country of origin.
“We take that individual to our station for processing and enroll them into the ENFORCE/IDENT and IAFIS systems,” said CBP spokesman Todd Fraser.
ENFORCE is the Enforcement Case Tracking System and IDENT is the Immigration Automated Biometric Fingerprint Identification System, both used by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. IAFIS is the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.
“Here we will enter biographical data as well as take a photo and run the suspect's digital fingerprints,” Fraser said.
While each suspected illegal immigrant goes through the initial processing, the results of the criminal background check determine the next step.
If the suspect has no criminal background, has no outstanding warrants, is from Mexico and depending on the number of times has been caught attempting to illegally gain entry to the country, they may be offered the option of voluntary return.
If the suspect has a criminal background or has attempted to illegally gain entry too often, they may go through the process of deportation.
“If a person is legally deported, and depending on how many times they've been deported, they are barred from applying to legally enter the country for a period of time. And if it's severe enough, the suspect can be held for jail time,” Fraser said.
If an illegal immigrant is from a country other than Mexico, they are processed for expedited removal. But if a suspect is found to be wanted by any U.S. jurisdiction, regardless of citizenship status and country of origin, they are extradited and criminal proceedings initiated.
“Plus all individuals have the right to appear before an Immigration Judge. That is their right to plead their case. They are detained until that process can take place,” said Fraser.
Whether through voluntary return or deportation, once a Mexican national is to return to their country, Border agents will transport them to a port of entry, such as San Luis, just south of Yuma.
While the processing of a suspect will be completed within an hour of Border agents taking custody, Fraser said the time frame to get that person to the border depends on the distance from where they are being held to the port of entry and how many suspects are being transported.
Through the first two months of the federal fiscal year - October and November - U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted 112,310 apprehensions on the Southwest border, a 27 percent decrease over the same time last year.
“We're optimistic we'll continue to see the trend continue,” Fraser said.
Fraser attributed that reduction to increased technology being used on the border, including infrared and motion sensing devices, and expedited removal for those within 100 miles of border. That's reduced the time to return a suspect to Mexico from about 90 days to about 30 days.
Also President George Bush authorized use of National Guard troops in non-enforcement capacity along the border, freeing Border agents to return to the field. And another 6,000 Border agents are to be hired by 2008 to replace the National Guardsmen.
And in September, the Department of Homeland Security awarded a $2 billion contract to Boeing to develop SBInet, a control strategy employing high-tech initiatives to secure the border. SBInet will be tested on a 28-mile stretch along the Arizona-Mexico border and planning for the test section began in November.
- You may contact the reporter at dbell@havasunews.com
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