At the Sierra Blanca border checkpoint, and at other areas along the United States-Mexico border, vehicle searches and seizures for illegal immigrants or drugs are common occurrences. However, there may be less of a reason for a Border Patrol agent to pull over a vehicle these days. Border apprehensions of illegal immigrants have dropped to just 340,252, one-quarter less than the numbers in 2010 and one-fifth the number of apprehensions in 2000.
Border Patrol officials believe that fewer apprehensions may be due to fewer attempts to cross the border. This may be due to a variety of factors. One factor, of course, is the beefed-up presence of the Border Patrol. This past year, the number of Border Patrol agents reached its highest number ever -- 21,444. The heightened presence has led not only to the greater likelihood of apprehension, but has led to the biggest crackdown on illegal drugs to date: nearly five million pounds of narcotics were caught at the border, an increasing of 20% over 2010. Many people south of the border believe that the heightened presence of Border Patrol agents has made getting smuggled into the country more dangerous than ever, so many don't try it.
Another reason is due to the poor shape of the U.S. economy. Many people who enter this country illegally pay smugglers up to $3,000 to take them across the border. The danger and expense don't seem worth it if there isn't a job on the other side. Add in the fact that the Mexican side of the border has been caught up in drug violence, and the risk may simply be too big to take. Finally, the Mexican economy is actually doing fairly well at the moment, and the overall birth rate in Mexico has declined, creating less of a need to move to the U.S. for a better life. So all of this combined has led to a reduction in illegal border crossings. Still, the number of illegal immigrant apprehensions remains highest in southwestern states, with the biggest hot spots being Arizona (129,118), Texas (118,911), California (72,638) and New Mexico (6,910).
These numbers are likely to convince the Border Patrol that it is on the right path in terms of cracking down on drugs and illegal immigrants. That is not necessarily encouraging when you consider that the Border Patrol's tactics are often heavy-handed and not always lawful. While there have been some encouraging attempts to place limits on the Border Patrol's scope -- such as by preventing them from investigating transit stations without knowledge of a clear threat -- it isn't enough. Too many Border Patrol agents are stopping cars at the border based on prejudice or a hunch -- neither of which amounts to a "reasonable suspicion," the legal standard required. They then come up with a post hoc rationale once they find the evidence that they were looking for -- drugs or people being smuggled. Many of the people they arrest are then taken to the local jail, where it is up to an experienced federal criminal defense attorney to defend their rights.
