May 21, 2004

U.S. Border Patrol agents from Casa Grande this morning successfully deployed a tire deflation device on a vehicle near Pipeline and Freeman roads west of Stanfield after a high-speed pursuit involving three vehicles.

All of the vehicles came to a stop and the agents apprehended 57 illegal immigrants, but many fled on foot. A short time later, an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer reported seeing a large group of immigrants walking along Interstate 8. Border Patrol agents responded and arrested an additional 47 people, bringing the total apprehensions to 104.

The incident began about 1 a.m. when Border Patrol agents assigned to the Ajo Station spotted the three vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed through a High Intensity Enforcement Area. Before the agents were able to do vehicle stops, they lost sight of the speeding vehicles.

The suspect vehicles were sighted by Bureau of Land Management rangers passing through the village of Hickiwan, and they relayed the information to agents from the Casa Grande Station.

"The collaborative effort demonstrated here by various agencies is paramount to the success of the Arizona Border Control Initiative," Chief Patrol Agent David Aguilar said.

The Border Patrol is a division of the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for managing and securing the nation's borders.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11770924&BRD=1817&PAG=461&dept_id=68561&rfi=6