INS Chief Lashes Out at Rights Groups : Border: Defending Border Patrol at congressional hearing, the commissioner urges skepticism of critics, while others testify about violence by agents.

Counter-punching forcefully against criticism that Border Patrol agents are too violent, the chief of the Immigration and Naturalization Service told a congressional panel Wednesday that he is “tired” of immigrant rights groups making “ludicrous charges” and urged committee members to take a more skeptical approach to such accusations.

INS Commissioner Gene McNary, appearing before an oversight subcommittee for the second time in two weeks, was at times testy in his support of the Border Patrol, which has come under renewed criticism for a recent series of assaults and the fatal high-speed crash near the Temecula checkpoint.

“These critics keep coming in like the fog--some of them paid to say bad things about the Border Patrol,” McNary testified.

“If there’s one thing we need more than resources,” McNary told the subcommittee on international law, immigration and refugees, “is a commitment (from Congress) to stand behind the Border Patrol . . . and against those critics who would render border enforcement ineffective.”

The Border Patrol has come under scrutiny after a spate of violent incidents. An agent was recently indicted for assaulting a legal resident in San Diego; another agent in Nogales, Ariz., has been accused of murdering an illegal immigrant, and an agent in Calexico was convicted of raping a documented Mexican worker.

In June, six people died in Temecula as the result of a high-speed chase started--but subsequently broken off--by Border Patrol agents.

The Border Patrol quickly moved to tighten its pursuit policy and has been put on the defensive about reports of abusive or irresponsible agents.

McNary characterized the record of the Border Patrol as “exemplary” and lauded its agents for their “discipline and devotion.”

Several Southern California congressmen, including Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado), Ron Packard (R-Oceanside) and Randy (Duke) Cunningham (R-San Diego), also praised the Border Patrol for performing well under difficult circumstances and with limited resources.

They recommended more agents, better pay and more reliable equipment to maintain control of the troubled Mexican border, where the vast majority of the nation’s illegal immigration and smuggling occurs.

But other witnesses painted a darker picture.

Rep. Esteban E. Torres (D-Pico Rivera), while agreeing the agency was understaffed and overworked, said, “The violation of human rights at our borders is of crisis proportions.”

“I do not condone or excuse illegal entry into our country, but violence and discrimination cannot be the weapons for enforcement and control of our border,” Torres said.

Maria Jimenez, director of the Immigration Law Enforcement Monitoring Project, has accused law enforcement agencies of persistent abuses--psychological, verbal and physical--at the Mexican border and in south Florida.

The Monitoring Project, part of the American Friends Service Committee organized by the Quakers, has documented 1,274 abuses reported by 392 persons from May, 1989, to May, 1991.

The group found that 50.6% of the victims are citizens or legal residents of the U.S., and that the Border Patrol was the agency most frequently accused.

“The Border Patrol has great power over people who look foreign,” Jimenez said.

To combat the border violence, the Monitoring Project called for congressional hearings in the border areas and a civilian oversight board to handle the complaints.

Americas Watch, another group sharply critical of Border Patrol operations, took issue with the view of agency supporters that the numbers of complaints was low, when contrasted with the high number of apprehensions along the border.

“That only reinforces the need for a civilian review board,” said Aryeh Neier, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “People are afraid to complain out of fear they will suffer retribution.”

Neier conceded that no other federal law enforcement group had such a civilian oversight board.

“But this agency deals with the most powerless of all,” said Neier. “This is a weak and helpless group of people.”

Commissioner McNary had earlier blamed the “friendly media” for printing whatever immigrant support groups say. “To call Americas Watch a credible group is absurd,” he said.

“I’m tired of this,” McNary said. “It’s time for Congress to take a more pro-active stance against these critics.”

Testimony from the Government Accounting Office updated several findings from an earlier report on Border Patrol effectiveness. That report found that added duties--controlling drug-smuggling and enforcing the employer sanctions of the 1986 immigration reform law--had diluted the Border Patrol’s effectiveness.

Among the key points:

* The proportion of time spent by agents on border-control activities along the Southwest border declined from 71% of total hours in 1985 to 60% in 1991.

* The apprehension rate increased from 1989 to 1991, but decreased overall from 1986.

* Assaults on agents increased from 128 to 282 between 1987 and 1990, but fell to 178 in 1991.

* Condition of vehicles improved slightly. In January, 1991, 71% of the vehicles in the San Diego sector exceeded recommended mileage levels; in October, 1991, that figure had dropped to 49%.