Leedavisone
Member
I read a previous thread about the Mexican border, and was going to reply, but it was 'closed'! So, I have some thoughts to spill...
What surprised me was the untruths/ lack of Knowledge/ wrong opinions/ and plain BS that so many wrote. I live in Albuquerque, I am a Gringo (if you don't count the French Canadian in me), and I own land and have a business in Chihuahua, Mexico. I have traveled down to Chihuahua 177 times in the past 2 years (560 miles, roundtrip), and so I have seen it all, well, at least all one can see in 2005-6. I have seen the political situation change on both sides of the border, seen friends lose family members, seen people die in the desert... It is a sad situation.
There seemed to be a lot of critical comments about the National Guard... no ammo, just dunces with no direction, no help. Well folks, things have changed dramatically over the last year! In the summer of 2005, on into the fall, thousands of illegals simply walked across the border, unmolested. The border patrol drove around rounding them up and returning them to Mexico in white painted Bluebird school busses, a fairly efficient process. What made it so easy is that the Mexicans (Typical is a young man, 19 or 20, with a baseball cap and a one gallon jug of water, wearing a teardrop backpack) wear black. Invisible at night. (The Border Patrol has limited night vision gear). But in the daylight, someone dressed in black stands out like a fencepost at Bonneville. The BP just had to scoop them up. I even would give rides to illegals that were walking the road, but I explained that they were guaranteed caught... would they like me to take them up to a BP checkpoint? More than half said yes, and so I would deliver them to the BP officers. I got to be known as the 'Mule' among the BP. But I felt that I was saving the Illegals from suffering, after all, it hit 106 degrees several times in August.
The smart (or older ones, who lived in the US) ones would simply walk across the border within 10-2000 yards of the crossing, walk to the Family Dollar, and drive off in a car that a family member had left there earlier. Or, without a car, they could walk to the far side of the US Customs checkpoint and just thumb a ride. Bright clothing made them invisible to the US Border Patrol. After all, the BP is trained to look for black fence posts. A man wearing bright yellow is certainly legal, right? I am sure that the BP has their rules of engagement... you can't harrass legal legal residents of Mexican descent, or some such rule.
Southern New Mexico, particularly this small town became a conduit for people to get to the US. In 2005, the central town plaza was always full... perhaps 200 people. Another 300 on the streets of the town. The cheap, ****ty motels in town did a gangbuster business at $3 a night, 15 to a room. Most, it seems were 20 year old men, mostly in groups of 3 to 6. Some families though. I struck up a conversation with a man from Guatemala who had his 5 children with him. He said his dream was to become a carpenter in the US. I don't know what happened to him... Well, the goal was to slip across the border, make your way to Albuquerque or Kansas (That seemed to be the only two places that people knew about), and get rich.
Then the National guard happened. Things have changed dramatically! Actually, before the National squeeze, the Governors of New Mexico and Chihuahua started it. Gov Richardson reacted to an American woman being killed and a dozen Mexican helicopters shooting across the border by sending every third state trooper (it seemed) to the border.
But here are the facts: The Federales shot at an SUV in Palomas that was running past several of their trucks (not really a roadblock... they just expected the SUV to stop). Inside was a wanted drug dealer (boss) that lived in Palomas, Chihuahua. So they thought. Actualy, it turned out to be the girlfriend, a resident of Deming, NM (and a US citizen) that was soon to marry the boss. They shot her dead. New Mexico was up in arms! A US citizen killed on the streets of Palomas! Then, a report came about the helecopters attacking the us. Actually, what happened here? A local cop got the daughter of a drug dealer pregnant, the dealer drove to the police station in Palomas in his suburban and fired two rounds into the facade of the building. He demanded that the Bastard come out and show himself. everyone stayed inside, and the drug lord drove off... he made his point. But! Shots were fired. The Mexican National Guard that have a base 3 miles south of Palomas were notified, and so they sent a helicopter over the town to investigate (Hey! we get to fly!). They flew around, seeing nothing. But the arc of their flight took them right up to the border... the police station is 3 blocks from the border). In the Deming paper, and the Albuquerque Journal the next day, it was reported as a dozen Mexican helecopters attacked the US in the largest raid since Pancho Villa.
So... I think that that helped to prompt the Bush administration to start clamping down. National guard... waste of time, right? Well, things have changed. Palomas is a dead town. Where the plaza used to be full of people, it is deserted now. The only branch bank in town has closed. Two motels have gone out of business. As the Albuquerque paper reported, several of the retailers in town cannot pay for heat, so the sales people wear coats. Even the bars are suffering. The National Guard are there to report any activity to the BP, and they do. It has effectively closed the border. Nada, nicht, nunca, nothing.
As for me? I like it. Palomas is a wonderful town, I have lots of friends there. When I go into Pancho's Cantina, I am the only customer. The Federales and local police ignore me. But my life is golden there... you are dead meat if you harm a gringo...
So, before you disparrage the National Guard or the Border Patrol, check out the source of those comments. LBD
What surprised me was the untruths/ lack of Knowledge/ wrong opinions/ and plain BS that so many wrote. I live in Albuquerque, I am a Gringo (if you don't count the French Canadian in me), and I own land and have a business in Chihuahua, Mexico. I have traveled down to Chihuahua 177 times in the past 2 years (560 miles, roundtrip), and so I have seen it all, well, at least all one can see in 2005-6. I have seen the political situation change on both sides of the border, seen friends lose family members, seen people die in the desert... It is a sad situation.
There seemed to be a lot of critical comments about the National Guard... no ammo, just dunces with no direction, no help. Well folks, things have changed dramatically over the last year! In the summer of 2005, on into the fall, thousands of illegals simply walked across the border, unmolested. The border patrol drove around rounding them up and returning them to Mexico in white painted Bluebird school busses, a fairly efficient process. What made it so easy is that the Mexicans (Typical is a young man, 19 or 20, with a baseball cap and a one gallon jug of water, wearing a teardrop backpack) wear black. Invisible at night. (The Border Patrol has limited night vision gear). But in the daylight, someone dressed in black stands out like a fencepost at Bonneville. The BP just had to scoop them up. I even would give rides to illegals that were walking the road, but I explained that they were guaranteed caught... would they like me to take them up to a BP checkpoint? More than half said yes, and so I would deliver them to the BP officers. I got to be known as the 'Mule' among the BP. But I felt that I was saving the Illegals from suffering, after all, it hit 106 degrees several times in August.
The smart (or older ones, who lived in the US) ones would simply walk across the border within 10-2000 yards of the crossing, walk to the Family Dollar, and drive off in a car that a family member had left there earlier. Or, without a car, they could walk to the far side of the US Customs checkpoint and just thumb a ride. Bright clothing made them invisible to the US Border Patrol. After all, the BP is trained to look for black fence posts. A man wearing bright yellow is certainly legal, right? I am sure that the BP has their rules of engagement... you can't harrass legal legal residents of Mexican descent, or some such rule.
Southern New Mexico, particularly this small town became a conduit for people to get to the US. In 2005, the central town plaza was always full... perhaps 200 people. Another 300 on the streets of the town. The cheap, ****ty motels in town did a gangbuster business at $3 a night, 15 to a room. Most, it seems were 20 year old men, mostly in groups of 3 to 6. Some families though. I struck up a conversation with a man from Guatemala who had his 5 children with him. He said his dream was to become a carpenter in the US. I don't know what happened to him... Well, the goal was to slip across the border, make your way to Albuquerque or Kansas (That seemed to be the only two places that people knew about), and get rich.
Then the National guard happened. Things have changed dramatically! Actually, before the National squeeze, the Governors of New Mexico and Chihuahua started it. Gov Richardson reacted to an American woman being killed and a dozen Mexican helicopters shooting across the border by sending every third state trooper (it seemed) to the border.
But here are the facts: The Federales shot at an SUV in Palomas that was running past several of their trucks (not really a roadblock... they just expected the SUV to stop). Inside was a wanted drug dealer (boss) that lived in Palomas, Chihuahua. So they thought. Actualy, it turned out to be the girlfriend, a resident of Deming, NM (and a US citizen) that was soon to marry the boss. They shot her dead. New Mexico was up in arms! A US citizen killed on the streets of Palomas! Then, a report came about the helecopters attacking the us. Actually, what happened here? A local cop got the daughter of a drug dealer pregnant, the dealer drove to the police station in Palomas in his suburban and fired two rounds into the facade of the building. He demanded that the Bastard come out and show himself. everyone stayed inside, and the drug lord drove off... he made his point. But! Shots were fired. The Mexican National Guard that have a base 3 miles south of Palomas were notified, and so they sent a helicopter over the town to investigate (Hey! we get to fly!). They flew around, seeing nothing. But the arc of their flight took them right up to the border... the police station is 3 blocks from the border). In the Deming paper, and the Albuquerque Journal the next day, it was reported as a dozen Mexican helecopters attacked the US in the largest raid since Pancho Villa.
So... I think that that helped to prompt the Bush administration to start clamping down. National guard... waste of time, right? Well, things have changed. Palomas is a dead town. Where the plaza used to be full of people, it is deserted now. The only branch bank in town has closed. Two motels have gone out of business. As the Albuquerque paper reported, several of the retailers in town cannot pay for heat, so the sales people wear coats. Even the bars are suffering. The National Guard are there to report any activity to the BP, and they do. It has effectively closed the border. Nada, nicht, nunca, nothing.
As for me? I like it. Palomas is a wonderful town, I have lots of friends there. When I go into Pancho's Cantina, I am the only customer. The Federales and local police ignore me. But my life is golden there... you are dead meat if you harm a gringo...
So, before you disparrage the National Guard or the Border Patrol, check out the source of those comments. LBD
