San Ysidro
The U.S. Border Patrol, its arrests of illegal aliens already setting a record-breaking pace in San Diego County, has launched a monthlong crackdown on illegal border crossings with increased staffing and overtime shifts.
On Wednesday, its first day, Operation Reconquest resulted in the arrest of more than 1,000 illegal aliens along a two-mile strip east of the San Ysidro border crossing--about double the Wednesday norm, according to Gene Smithburg, assistant chief patrol agent.
Border Patrol officials in San Diego had asked that 100 officers be assigned to the area for the special operation, but because of federal budget constraints, only 23 Northern California officers could be detached, Smithburg said. In addition, agents normally assigned to posts on the border are working six-day weeks during the campaign.
“What we’re attempting to do is try to regain some control of the border,” Smithburg said. “We’re in a crisis situation.”
Alien arrests in San Diego County have set a record each month since January, climbing to nearly 72,000 last month. Arrests are up 50% over last year.
Smithburg acknowledged that the added clout of the expanded work force would be only temporary. He reiterated the Border Patrol’s call for immigration law reforms as the only long-term answer to the alien dilemma.
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