Post by jeffolie on Jun 17, 2010 13:26:21 GMT -6
Mexicans rule 3500 border acres for 4 years...no Americans
"Four years after federal officials quietly surrendered thousands of acres of America's border to Mexican drug gangs and illegals, there still are "no plans to reopen" the taxpayer-owned national park lands....because of heavily armed drug smugglers and human traffickers...U.S. Parkland Bordering Mexico, Shut Since 2006...3,500 acres were being closed to public use out of concern for public safety...wide swaths of America's border with Mexico into a virtual no-man's land...southern Arizona -- part of which was closed in 2006 because it was considered too dangerous for Americans to visit -- is just the tip of the iceberg.
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Lawmaker Warns Parks Takeover by Mexican Cartels, Illegals 'Intensifying'
Reuters
Jan. 9, 2008: A U.S. Border Patrol agent watches over a group of immigrants arrested after crossing illegally from Mexico through the Altar Valley in Arizona.
Federal environmental laws are handcuffing U.S. Border Patrol agents to a foot-and-horseback strategy as they try to battle Mexican drug cartels and illegal immigrants who are turning wide swaths of America's border with Mexico into a virtual no-man's land.
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, ranking Republican on the House Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee, said the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona -- part of which was closed in 2006 because it was considered too dangerous for Americans to visit -- is just the tip of the iceberg.
He said there's plenty of other parkland along the border that's either closed to the public or is considered too dangerous because of concern about drug gangs, human smugglers and illegal immigrants, and that the problem is getting worse.
"You travel here in America at your own risk," Bishop told FoxNews.com.
The reason the parkland along the border has become so hazardous, Bishop said, is because environmental regulations restrict Border Patrol from using vehicles to patrol in those areas -- except in special circumstances. In turn, he said, drug cartels are being funneled into those swaths as immigration agents get tougher patrolling private land.
"It's intensifying," Bishop said. The Utah Republican is the author of a bill, H.R. 5016, that would allow border agents to patrol parkland without worrying about the environmental restrictions. He described that bill as the solution to the problem.
"They're not allowing the Border Patrol to do the job that they know they need to do," he said.
New attention has been drawn to the issue following reports about the Buenos Aires refuge. Signs have been posted warning Americans not to cross into the closed-off territory -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service originally sent around a notice in October 2006 that about 3,500 acres were being closed to public use out of concern for public safety.
"The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge has been adversely affected by border-related activities," the notice said. "Assaults on law enforcement officers and violence against migrants have escalated. Violence on the refuge associated with smugglers and border bandits has been well-documented."
The Interior Department has said that Secretary Ken Salazar is trying to work with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to "meet the twin goals of protecting our national security and our natural resources."
But Bishop said the "irony" of the situation is that trespassers in the lawless zone are trampling the environmental habitat anyway. And he said the Obama administration's plan to send National Guard troops to the border will be inhibited by the restrictions on federal land.
"I don't care how many troops you send down there -- until they have access to the land, it doesn't do any good," he said.
www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/17/lawmaker-warns-drug-cartel-danger-public-parks-intensifying/
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U.S. Parkland Bordering Mexico, Shut Since 2006, Remains Off-Limits As Violence Escalates
Four years after federal officials quietly surrendered thousands of acres of America's border to Mexican drug gangs and illegals, there still are "no plans to reopen" the taxpayer-owned national park lands.
Roughly 3,500 acres of taxpayer-funded government land in Arizona have been closed to U.S. citizens since 2006 due to safety concerns fueled by drug and human smuggling along the Mexican border, according to a statement posted on the website for the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.
The section of land -- about 3 percent of the 118,000-acre refuge -- has been closed since Oct. 6, 2006, when "there was a marked increase in violence along the border due to human and drug trafficking," according to the statement released Wednesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The closed area extends north from the international border for roughly three-quarters of a mile; a notice of the area's closure has been posted on the refuge's website since 2006. The remainder of the refuge remains open to the public for recreational activities.
"At this time there are no plans to reopen this southernmost 3/4-mile portion of the Refuge," the statement continued. "However, since 2006 the Refuge has experienced a significant decline in violent activity in the area thanks to ongoing cooperation between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection."
Stretch of Arizona is off limits to Americans because of heavily armed drug smugglers and human traffickers..Part of Arizona off limits to AmericansPart of Arizona off limits to Americans
In a statement to FoxNews.com on Thursday, the director of law enforcement for the Bureau of Land Management said the agency takes visitor and employee safety very seriously.
"We have posted these signs to inform visitors to this part of Southern Arizona of the ongoing public safety issues in this area," William Woody said in a statement. "We are committed to working with everyone engaged with public land management to ensure that all visitors and users have a safe experience on our public lands."
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu told Fox News on Wednesday that violence against law enforcement officers and U.S. citizens has increased in the past four months, further underscoring the need to keep the area off-limits to Americans.
"It's literally out of control," Babeu said. "We stood with Senator McCain and literally demanded support for 3,000 soldiers to be deployed to Arizona to get this under control and finally secure our border with Mexico."
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have warned visitors in the area to beware of heavily armed drug smugglers and human traffickers. In a statement posted at the time of the closure, Mitch Ellis, manager of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, said conditions in the zone reached a point where public use of the area was not prudent.
"The [refuge] has been adversely affected by border-related activities," Ellis' statement read. "The international border with Mexico has also become increasingly violent. Assaults on law enforcement officers and violence against migrants have escalated. Violence on the Refuge associated with smugglers and border bandits has been well-documented."
Security is also a top concern in other parcels of public land in Arizona.
Dennis Godfrey, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management's Arizona office, said roughly a dozen signs were posted earlier this month along the Sonoran Desert National Monument advising that travel in the area is not recommended due to "active drug and human" smuggling.
"It is a corridor for smugglers of all types," Godfrey said on Thursday.
The monument, which contains more than 487,000 acres of desert landscape, is roughly 35 miles southwest of Phoenix. Bureau of Land Management officials are encouraging travelers to use public lands north of Interstate 8, which runs from San Diego to Casa Grande, Ariz.
"Visitors may encounter armed criminals and smuggling vehicles travelling at a high rate of speed," the signs read. "Stay away from trash, clothing, backpacks and abandoned vehicles."
www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/17/portion-arizona-wildlife-refuge-closed-safety-concerns/
"Four years after federal officials quietly surrendered thousands of acres of America's border to Mexican drug gangs and illegals, there still are "no plans to reopen" the taxpayer-owned national park lands....because of heavily armed drug smugglers and human traffickers...U.S. Parkland Bordering Mexico, Shut Since 2006...3,500 acres were being closed to public use out of concern for public safety...wide swaths of America's border with Mexico into a virtual no-man's land...southern Arizona -- part of which was closed in 2006 because it was considered too dangerous for Americans to visit -- is just the tip of the iceberg.
=============================================================
Lawmaker Warns Parks Takeover by Mexican Cartels, Illegals 'Intensifying'
Reuters
Jan. 9, 2008: A U.S. Border Patrol agent watches over a group of immigrants arrested after crossing illegally from Mexico through the Altar Valley in Arizona.
Federal environmental laws are handcuffing U.S. Border Patrol agents to a foot-and-horseback strategy as they try to battle Mexican drug cartels and illegal immigrants who are turning wide swaths of America's border with Mexico into a virtual no-man's land.
Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, ranking Republican on the House Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee, said the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arizona -- part of which was closed in 2006 because it was considered too dangerous for Americans to visit -- is just the tip of the iceberg.
He said there's plenty of other parkland along the border that's either closed to the public or is considered too dangerous because of concern about drug gangs, human smugglers and illegal immigrants, and that the problem is getting worse.
"You travel here in America at your own risk," Bishop told FoxNews.com.
The reason the parkland along the border has become so hazardous, Bishop said, is because environmental regulations restrict Border Patrol from using vehicles to patrol in those areas -- except in special circumstances. In turn, he said, drug cartels are being funneled into those swaths as immigration agents get tougher patrolling private land.
"It's intensifying," Bishop said. The Utah Republican is the author of a bill, H.R. 5016, that would allow border agents to patrol parkland without worrying about the environmental restrictions. He described that bill as the solution to the problem.
"They're not allowing the Border Patrol to do the job that they know they need to do," he said.
New attention has been drawn to the issue following reports about the Buenos Aires refuge. Signs have been posted warning Americans not to cross into the closed-off territory -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service originally sent around a notice in October 2006 that about 3,500 acres were being closed to public use out of concern for public safety.
"The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge has been adversely affected by border-related activities," the notice said. "Assaults on law enforcement officers and violence against migrants have escalated. Violence on the refuge associated with smugglers and border bandits has been well-documented."
The Interior Department has said that Secretary Ken Salazar is trying to work with the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to "meet the twin goals of protecting our national security and our natural resources."
But Bishop said the "irony" of the situation is that trespassers in the lawless zone are trampling the environmental habitat anyway. And he said the Obama administration's plan to send National Guard troops to the border will be inhibited by the restrictions on federal land.
"I don't care how many troops you send down there -- until they have access to the land, it doesn't do any good," he said.
www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/17/lawmaker-warns-drug-cartel-danger-public-parks-intensifying/
==================================================================
U.S. Parkland Bordering Mexico, Shut Since 2006, Remains Off-Limits As Violence Escalates
Four years after federal officials quietly surrendered thousands of acres of America's border to Mexican drug gangs and illegals, there still are "no plans to reopen" the taxpayer-owned national park lands.
Roughly 3,500 acres of taxpayer-funded government land in Arizona have been closed to U.S. citizens since 2006 due to safety concerns fueled by drug and human smuggling along the Mexican border, according to a statement posted on the website for the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.
The section of land -- about 3 percent of the 118,000-acre refuge -- has been closed since Oct. 6, 2006, when "there was a marked increase in violence along the border due to human and drug trafficking," according to the statement released Wednesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The closed area extends north from the international border for roughly three-quarters of a mile; a notice of the area's closure has been posted on the refuge's website since 2006. The remainder of the refuge remains open to the public for recreational activities.
"At this time there are no plans to reopen this southernmost 3/4-mile portion of the Refuge," the statement continued. "However, since 2006 the Refuge has experienced a significant decline in violent activity in the area thanks to ongoing cooperation between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection."
Stretch of Arizona is off limits to Americans because of heavily armed drug smugglers and human traffickers..Part of Arizona off limits to AmericansPart of Arizona off limits to Americans
In a statement to FoxNews.com on Thursday, the director of law enforcement for the Bureau of Land Management said the agency takes visitor and employee safety very seriously.
"We have posted these signs to inform visitors to this part of Southern Arizona of the ongoing public safety issues in this area," William Woody said in a statement. "We are committed to working with everyone engaged with public land management to ensure that all visitors and users have a safe experience on our public lands."
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu told Fox News on Wednesday that violence against law enforcement officers and U.S. citizens has increased in the past four months, further underscoring the need to keep the area off-limits to Americans.
"It's literally out of control," Babeu said. "We stood with Senator McCain and literally demanded support for 3,000 soldiers to be deployed to Arizona to get this under control and finally secure our border with Mexico."
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have warned visitors in the area to beware of heavily armed drug smugglers and human traffickers. In a statement posted at the time of the closure, Mitch Ellis, manager of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, said conditions in the zone reached a point where public use of the area was not prudent.
"The [refuge] has been adversely affected by border-related activities," Ellis' statement read. "The international border with Mexico has also become increasingly violent. Assaults on law enforcement officers and violence against migrants have escalated. Violence on the Refuge associated with smugglers and border bandits has been well-documented."
Security is also a top concern in other parcels of public land in Arizona.
Dennis Godfrey, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management's Arizona office, said roughly a dozen signs were posted earlier this month along the Sonoran Desert National Monument advising that travel in the area is not recommended due to "active drug and human" smuggling.
"It is a corridor for smugglers of all types," Godfrey said on Thursday.
The monument, which contains more than 487,000 acres of desert landscape, is roughly 35 miles southwest of Phoenix. Bureau of Land Management officials are encouraging travelers to use public lands north of Interstate 8, which runs from San Diego to Casa Grande, Ariz.
"Visitors may encounter armed criminals and smuggling vehicles travelling at a high rate of speed," the signs read. "Stay away from trash, clothing, backpacks and abandoned vehicles."
www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/17/portion-arizona-wildlife-refuge-closed-safety-concerns/