Blog header: Border Boletin

Obama pushes for Dream Act in state of the union for 2nd straight year

By Brady McCombs

Highlighting a downturn in illegal border crossings, President Obama said in his state of the union address last night that the time has come for comprehensive immigration reform.

Most deported illegal immigrants from 4 Latin American countries

By Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star

Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador account for more than four-fifths of the deportees yearly; Traffic offenses on the rise among deported "criminal" illegal immigrants.  

Child migrant turned inspirational leader has always made an impression

By Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star

Leo Guardado — the young man I profiled in this Saturday story — has a way of making a profound impact on nearly everyone he meets.

Terrorism-related deportations dropped in last decade, report finds

By Brady McCombs

Deportations based on terrorism or national security grounds became even rarer in the decade after Sept. 11, 2001, shows a new report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

DHS still has no way to track visa overstays, GAO reports

By Brady McCombs

Homeland Security still doesn’t have a mechanism in place to track when, and if, legal foreign visitors leave the country, a recent Government Accountability Office report found.

Sen. McCain calls for 'Fast and Furious' hearing

By Brady McCombs

Sen. John McCain has requested a Congressional hearing on the much-maligned gun trafficking investigation led by the ATF.

Customs and Border Protection takes anti-corruption measure

Brady McCombs

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is going to send its own internal affairs investigators to work with the Homeland Security's Inspector General under a new agreement designed to streamline efforts to detect and stop corruption within the ranks.

$158K for state border fence so far

Brady McCombs

The pace of fund-raising has slowed for the state's border fence since the brisk first few days.

Border Boletín: Crossing more dangerous than ever for migrants?

Brady McCombs

As I wrote about earlier this week, the border death tally is down slightly this year compared to past years. But, considering the precipitous drop in illegal entries from Mexico into the U.S. through Arizona, the argument can be made that t…

Border Boletín: Mexican illegal immigrants not returning home en masse, report finds

By Brady McCombs

A study recently released by the RAND Corporation shows that fewer Mexican immigrants returned home from the United States during 2008 and 2009 than in the two years prior to the start of the recession. It's an interesting finding that sugges…

Naco Station would be named for Agent Terry

By Brady McCombs

Federal legislators have introduced a bill to name the Border Patrol's Naco Station after slain agent Brian Terry, who was killed last December in a shootout near Rio Rico.

$24.4M for Arizona fence repairs

By Brady McCombs

Border fences, roads and lighting are not only expensive to build, they are costly to repair and maintain.

Border Boletín: Five of 31 ‘solved’ Coronado fires started by illegal immigrants since 2002

By Brady McCombs

Illegal border crossers have been responsible for five of 31 fires that investigators have solved from 2002-2011 in the Southwest Border area of the Coronado National Forest.

Border Boletín: More evidence that fewer Mexicans coming illegally

Brady McCombs

The Pew Hispanic Center's latest report – The Mexican-American Boom: Births Overtake Immigration — is the latest report to conclude that illegal immigration from Mexico into the U.S. has slowed.

Border Boletín: Poll shows lukewarm support for more border walls

Brady McCombs

Poll results released today by the Tucson-based Sky Island Alliance show more people prefer spending money on strengthening border ports of entry rather than building more border fencing.

Border Boletín: Sheriff Dever says illegal immigrants likely started Monument Fire

Brady McCombs

As I wrote about last week, the Monument Fire is the third major Southern Arizona fire this summer that started in rugged, mountainous corridors frequently used by people and drug smugglers. That's led to speculation that some, or all, of th…

Border Boletín: Another major fire in a smuggling corridor

By Brady McCombs

The Monument Fire raging south of Sierra Vista is the latest major fire in Southern Arizona that was started in rugged, mountainous corridors frequently used by cross-border people and drug smugglers. The Horseshoe 2 Fire northeast of Dougla…

Border Boletín: 'Special interest’ illegal immigrants

By Brady McCombs

There's been about 340 illegal immigrants from "special interest" countries apprehended each year by the Border Patrol but none have been in Pinal County.

Border Boletín: Border deaths down slightly this year

By Brady McCombs

In today's story about Rev. Robin Hoover's plan to give GPS devices to illegal immigrant guides in an effort to save lives, I mentioned that fiscal year 2010 was the deadliest year in what has been a deadly decade for border deaths in Ariz…

Border Boletín: Third time a charm on border technology?

Brady McCombs

Homeland Security is trading Star Wars for simplicity in its latest border technology strategy

Border Boletín: Tucson mayor says Rocky Point safe

Brady McCombs

Rocky Point remains a safe place to visit, said Tucson mayor Bob Walkup emphatically during a visit this week to the Mexican beach town.

Border Boletín: Obama's 'alligators in the moat' comment irks some

Brady McCombs

President Obama's immigration address Tuesday may forever be remembered as the "alligators in the moat" speech.

Border Boletín: DHS to implement 'index' to measure border security, Napolitano says

Brady McCombs

Department Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano provided more insight Wednesday into what the government's new border security metrics will look like.

Border Boletín: Rocky Point fights back against travel warning

Brady McCombs

The U.S. State Department's decision to specifically mention Puerto Peñasco for the first time ever in its latest Mexico travel warning has hotel- and home-owners in the beach town known as Rocky Point up in arms.