Illegal immigrant apprehensions in Bisbee area increase

By Jonathon Shacat
Herald/Review
Published/Last Modified on Friday, Mar 28, 2008 - 05:21:25 am MST

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BISBEE — U.S. Border Patrol agents, with the assistance of Bisbee police, are continuing to apprehend significant numbers of illegal immigrants in the area.

Bisbee police who catch individuals contact Border Patrol to take custody of them. As a result, apprehension figures for Bisbee police are reflected in Border Patrol’s numbers.

Sgt. Taron Maddux, spokesman for the Bisbee Police Department, said local apprehensions were higher during the last 12 months than during the same time frame one year prior.

He said the increase could be due to additional participation in the federally-funded Operation Stonegarden program, in which Bisbee police officers get paid overtime for helping stop illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

From April of last year until March 17 of this year, Bisbee police apprehended about 2,179 illegal immigrants.

“Because we are working that Operation Stonegarden, which is funded through the government on behalf of the Border Patrol, we have officers out,” he said. “These numbers are probably higher than what they normally would be because we have officers on overtime and they are strictly looking for stolen vehicles, dope loads, UDAs (undocumented aliens) and that kind of stuff.”

Maddux pointed out there were some days when police officers working the Stonegarden detail would apprehend 50 individuals. And, sometimes there were seven or eight vehicle seizures in a day.

From Jan. 1 to mid-March of this year, Bisbee police apprehended 425 illegal immigrants.

In comparison, from Jan. 1 until mid-March of last year, Bisbee police had apprehended about 100 to 150 illegal immigrants.

But during the last two weeks of March of last year, they apprehended about 255.

“Generally right around March, when it starts to warm up a little bit more, we start to see a lot more apprehensions because a lot of them are going south every year for the holidays and then they try to make the trip back north usually right around this time,” Maddux said.

“From right about now until June or July we really see an increase because the weather is better and there are more people trying to go back,” he added.

Mike Scioli, a public information officer for Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, said there was a 4 percent decrease in apprehensions from fiscal 2006 to fiscal 2007.

The agency made a little more than 378,000 arrests and seized a little more than 897,000 pounds of marijuana from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007, in the Tucson Sector.

From Oct. 1, 2007, until Feb. 29, 2008, the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector made about 113,000 apprehensions and seized about 400,000 pounds of marijuana.

The area of response for the Tucson Sector includes 262 linear miles of the border and a total of about 90,500 square miles.

The region stretches from the New Mexico border to the San Luis port of entry and north to around Interstate 10.

There are eight stations and the total manpower for the sector is just over 3,000 agents.

Scioli declined to release apprehension figures for each individual station in the sector, citing operational security.

herald/review reporter Jonathon Shacat can be reached at 515-4693 or by e-mail at jonathon.shacat@bisbeereview.net.

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April wrote on Mar 31, 2008 1:08 PM:

" Great! It's about time! Get involved in your state and get the state laws changed before Obama, Clinton or McAmnesty are elected! ALL three have said they will pass amnesty for illegals the first chance they get. States are finally cracking down and it can't come soon enough. Find your elected officials at: www.vote-smart.org Call them and DEMAND (politely) that they enact tough legislation against illegals. I'm tired of reading about yet aother ILLEGAL who has raped, molested, killed, killed by drunk driving, etc. an innocent AMERICAN! Enough is enough.Get "

handstied wrote on Mar 29, 2008 3:02 PM:

" I agree with "Bobby" but he said it nicer than I think it. What do I do? I feel my voice is nothing and if I do voice my opinion my job and safety will be at risk. What do I do? If so many of us feel this way, and it appears we do, can't we get together? I would take time off my job to join a protest! "

Bobby wrote on Mar 29, 2008 9:40 AM:

" It's quite obvious the game the administration is playing with illegal immigration. They are allowing raids here and there, supporting it with a little money here and there--and all of it is ineffectual and they know it because that is their plan. The truth is they could stop it instantly if they wanted to. Americans should demand their rights to not to have to pay the billions upon billions of dollars required to incarcerate, remove, feed, school, medicate--mostly Mexican Naationals. Americans never signed up for this job, to my knowledge. Our taxes are supposed to be used for --Duh, Americans. "

Wow wrote on Mar 28, 2008 10:13 PM:

" Wow, that's pretty impressive. The Bisbee police department has arrested more than 450 criminals since the beginning of this year. Great job! Too bad the rest of the police departments in Cochise County aren't taking a proactive step in enforcing our laws and cracking down on criminals in our county. "

Styx wrote on Mar 28, 2008 3:37 PM:

" Doesnt the article say FEDERALLY funded?? "

sierravistan wrote on Mar 28, 2008 12:28 PM:

" actually, just having the officers visible presence should help deter other crimes, more visiblity should equal a little less crime..so looks like everybody (except peole enter the country illegally ) benefit, wish SV would do the same. "

To really wrote on Mar 28, 2008 11:34 AM:

" Congrats to Bisbee pd. Just one question. If the officers are getting paid for the overtime, who is paying the extra gas and maintenance on the city's vehicles? Now if they could solve some of the crimes in town that would be a plus. "

INS or City Cop? wrote on Mar 28, 2008 10:55 AM:

" Looks like the City of Bisbee is in the immigration business. Looks like little of the extra hours are used to cover local crime and drug issues. Meth users and sellers are on the rise and no evidence of arrest being made as seen on the police log. "

Not In SV wrote on Mar 28, 2008 8:26 AM:

" The great chief of the SV police dept, doesn't want federally-funded Operation Stonegarden money, thereby not having his officers even ask if someone is an illegal. "