Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A Vermont woman who was charged with drunken driving will walk away after a judge ruled the U.S. Border Patrol held her illegally, the Associated Press reports. Judge Howard Van Benthuysen said Border Patrol agents did not have the right to take Meaghan Leary’s keys from her, which effectively forced her to…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Felix Chavez, who served as deputy division chief of operations for Border Patrol at Washington headquarters, is returning to the Tucson Sector to take the job as deputy chief patrol agent, Tucson News reports. As an added bonus, Chavez is intimately familiar with the development and implementation of the 2012-16 National Border…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Arrests of migrants are at their lowest level since the 1970s because of increased security, the LA Times reports. Since 1986, the number of U.S. Border Patrol agents rose 3,222 to 18,500 today, the LA Times reported. The result: Less crime and more economic development for border towns. “We have gone above…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Immigrant advocacy groups are worried that an incentive program for U.S. Border Patrol agents is encouraging abuse of authority and false arrests, Buffalo News reports. The program awards agents with cash, extra vacation time and gift cards. The Buffalo News reported that a crackdown on illegal immigration has netted 277 arrests of…
Editorial Arizona Daily Star For a law-enforcement agency to be trusted, the public must be able to see how it functions when something goes wrong. The U.S. Border Patrol doesn’t seem to understand that. As the Arizona Daily Star’s Tim Steller reported on Sunday, when Border Patrol agents shoot people on the other side of…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A preliminary investigation into the friendly fire death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona found that agents didn’t lose radio contact before shots were fired, the Associated Press reports. The sheriff’s report eased fears that a communication breakdown led to the fatal shooting, as many had speculated. According to the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A Mexican man pleaded guilty Tuesday in Arizona in the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near the Arizona-Mexican border in 2010, the Associated Press reports. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes said he and others snuck into the U.S. a week before the shootout to rob marijuana smugglers, stashing guns and food…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com U.S. Border Patrol agents have been complaining for years about losing radio contact with each other because of so-called “dead spots.” Despite those complaints, agents continue to lose radio communication, especially in remote mountainous areas similar to the one where friendly fire killed Agent Ivie this month, the Arizona Republic reports. A…
