Border Patrol: civilians tripping sensors

NACO, Ariz.--Minuteman Project volunteers are setting off sensors and creating footprints that are leading Border Patrol agents on wild goose chases, an agency spokesman said this week.

"They are tripping sensors, causing false alarms," said Andy Adame, spokesman for the agency's Tucson Sector.

Due to the need for security, Adame said he could not give out where the sensors went off and how many times agents responded only to "find a group of civilians (the volunteers) in the area."

The sensors are used for tracking foot and vehicle traffic and other functions.

While the Border Patrol is experiencing inconvenience, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff's Department said no complaints about the volunteers have been received.

Besides the sensors going off, the volunteers are walking in areas that "have been dragged," meaning footprints have been wiped away, Adame said.

Much of that problem is happening along the border road, an area of dirt, which agents use to track foot traffic, the spokesman said.

What is happening is the trackers follow the footprints and end up coming "upon a bunch of civilians, the volunteers," he said.

The actions of the Minuteman Project are taking agents away from their prime mission in responding to sensor hits and following footprints to apprehend illegal immigrants, Adame said

"It's untrained civilians walking around jeopardizing our mission," he sadi.

Organizers of the Minuteman Project could not be reached for comment about Adame's concerns.

There has been a reduction in the number of illegal immigrants taken into custody in the NACO area since the monthlong Minuteman Project began last Friday, Adame said.

On Friday, 205 illegal immigrants were apprehended. Saturday, the number went down to 91 and on Sunday, there was a slight increase to 103, he said.

The lower number of illegal immigrants taken into custody could be the result of another mission by the Mexican military and not the presence of the Minuteman Project volunteers, Adame said.

"I know the Mexican military is out there. Numerous times in the past when they have done operations, the number (of illegal immigrants) has dropped," Adame said.

Bill Hess is a reporter for the Sierra Vista Herald.