The Sierra Vista Herald reports that the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended a large group of 53 illegal aliens yesterday west of the San Pedro River (this is very close to American Border Patrol's headquarters.) According to the report, the aliens were spotted by a Border Patrol camera.
The San Pedro River is a favorite border crossing point because Customs and Border Protection left a quarter-mile hole in the fence where the north-flowing river crosses the border. (See map)
Drugs and illegal aliens flow through the hole on a regular basis.
The San Pedro River has been a favorite crossing point for years and was the site where ABP's smuggled simulated weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. - four times.
The river is a sensitive area and the gap in the fencing is understandable but probably too large.
What is not understood is why the U.S. Border Patrol allows people and drugs to cross at all. It would be a simple matter to install a camera at the ¼-mile gap, coupled with ground sensors. Agents stationed nearby could apprehend any and all trespassers. (ABP built a camera tower to do just this but lacked the funding to maintain it.)
Instead, agents are stationed at locations a mile or more north of the fence, thus allowing migrants to cross in the hope that they are seen and chased down. They probably do this to make the agent's job more interesting. This is consistent with the management philosophy at the U.S. Border Patrol, i.e., chase and release vs. prevention.
