198 Arrested in I-10 Sweep for 'Coyotes'

Nov. 19, 2003
Susan Carroll, Republic Nogales Bureau

Federal agents have arrested almost 200 smuggling suspects and thousands of undocumented immigrants along Interstate 10 in the aftermath of a deadly shooting incident earlier this month, authorities said.

The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection started intensified patrols Nov. 7 as part of "Operation Transguard," targeting I-10 and other popular smuggling arteries in response to a deadly shootout south of Phoenix.

In the first week of the crackdown, agents in the Tucson sector caught 6,509 undocumented immigrants, compared with 5,402 the previous week. Through Sunday, the operation resulted in 198 smuggling arrests and the seizure of 205 vehicles, said Rob Daniels, a U.S. Border Patrol spokesman.

Federal officials hailed the operation, which ended Tuesday, as a success. Daniels acknowledged that a spike in apprehensions and seizures is standard at the beginning of any operation but said the strategy of employing roaming patrols will allow agents to keep the "element of surprise."

"Since this enhanced enforcement is mobile," he said, "it gives us the upper hand, and it puts the smuggler at a constant disadvantage."

Critics of the nation's immigration policy said the crackdown is futile without other elements of reform, such as a guest-worker program and legalization of undocumented immigrants.

"Another variation on a failed theme is not going to, at the end of the day, make us any safer . . . or stop these shootings," said Angela Kelley, deputy director for the National Immigration Forum, which advocates reform of U.S. border policy.

"The smugglers will find different ways to commit similar atrocities."

On Nov. 4, four people were killed and five injured after some people believed to be smugglers fired shots into vehicles carrying rivals and immigrants along I-10 from Casa Grande to south Phoenix, authorities said.

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Nov. 10 unveiled "Operation ICE Storm," an anti-smuggling task force involving 50 special agents designed to dismantle smuggling networks in Arizona.

The 198 suspects arrested as part of Operation Transguard have been detained on federal smuggling charges, Daniels said.

Their cases will be reviewed for prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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