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Aliens Run a Dangerous Gauntlet in San Ysidro

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United Press International

The canyons of southern San Diego County have never been a safe place, but increasing illegal immigration has made them more dangerous than ever to the people who patrol them and to the aliens who use them as passage into the United States.

When the Mexican peso was devalued in 1982, illegal immigration, a problem for decades, soared to record levels. Thousands of people began filtering through the rural San Ysidro area in hopes of a better life in San Diego County or Los Angeles or points north.

The dark, rugged canyons of the San Ysidro area also became the turf of thugs from the Mexican border city of Tijuana who prey upon bands of undocumented men, women and children.

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‘Vicious, Mean Robbers’

“You’re talking really about a group of very vicious, mean robbers who hold obviously little regard for human life,” said San Diego Police Cmdr. Cal Krosch, a 22-year veteran of the force who is in charge of field operations.

Large bands of aliens, sometimes numbering as many as 100, are usually safe, Krosch said. It’s the small groups of fewer than 10 aliens who are the targets of bandits.

After being shaken down for money, jewelry and whatever else the bandits fancy, the aliens are abandoned. That’s if they are lucky. Women are often raped; others are shot or roughed up. Police say most of the assaults go unreported because the aliens face deportation if they go to the authorities.

“The victims are usually very meek,” Krosch said. “They give up what they have, and for their trouble they get their head bashed in with a rock. That happens frequently.”

Krosch oversees a special 11-man unit of police officers and Border Patrol agents. Their job is to break up into small patrols and enter the canyons. Armed with shotguns and automatic pistols, they creep through the darkness looking for trouble.

Involved in 11 Shoot-Outs

They have found trouble aplenty. While patrolling their beat, a five-mile strip of border that extends a mile into the United States, the Border Crime Prevention Task Force has been involved in 11 shoot-outs with suspected border bandits, Krosch said. Five suspects have been killed, and three officers have been wounded.

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“If you consider the size of the area covered, the number of crimes, the number of robberies and the number of shootings,” Krosch said, “you could say it’s the most dangerous police beat in the city, probably one of the most dangerous beats in the country.

“It’s dark, and in the summer you get bugs and snakes and spiders. It’s very difficult to see. It gets pitch black in those canyons, and the type of people we are dealing with don’t hesitate to shoot us even if they know who we are.

“You’re not talking about a very large space, but it’s very rugged territory. You can get around in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, but really the only way you can patrol it is on foot, which is what our guys are doing. If you’re in a four-wheel drive, they are going to see you coming from miles away, and make yourself a sitting duck. Obviously, they like to shoot at us.”

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