Permanent border checkpoint possibly in the works for 2009

TUCSON — The U.S. Border Patrol is committed to building a permanent checkpoint on Interstate 19, the Tucson Sector’s chief agent said Tuesday.

The interim checkpoint currently running 24 hours a day beneath the Agua Linda overpass near Tubac will likely have a T1 digital network installed some time in 2009 to allow for more immediate recognition of criminals trying to cross the border, said Chief Robert Gilbert during a press conference in Tucson.

Even with that upgrade, the controversial I-19 stop won’t be permanent. For it to become the first permanent checkpoint in the Tucson Sector, it will need a new building, bathrooms, and other infrastructure that will likely cost in excess of $20 million, Gilbert added.

“This is an operational need,” he said. “It is our intent ... to go forward with building a permanent checkpoint somewhere on I-19.”

Permanent checkpoints north of the border are a fact of life in the border region in all sectors save Tucson, a hold-over from former Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe’s decades-long tenure in the U.S. House.

Kolbe was fundamentally against permanent checkpoints, and thus the tool has been used for years in other sectors but not in the Tucson Sector.

In the border sectors comprising New Mexico and Texas, there are some 23 permanent checkpoints; in California and western Arizona there are 10, according to Border Patrol figures.

Had an impact

Checkpoints had a significant impact on narcotic smuggling during fiscal year 2008, according to Tucson Sector statistics. Seizures at checkpoints here increased by 63 percent over fiscal year 2007, with some 29,813 pounds of marijuana seized, up from 18,979 last fiscal year.

“The majority of seizures occurred at the Interstate 19 checkpoint (near Tubac) with 18,000 pounds, proving yet again that checkpoints are a vital piece of the multi-layered defense-in-depth national strategy that is used by the Border Patrol,” said a Tucson Sector press release.

There is still significant opposition to a permanent checkpoint in nearby Tubac and in the surrounding residential areas, said Gary Brasher, a Tubac Realtor who has led opposition to the checkpoint for some time. His group has enlisted the help of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-8th Congressional District, Brasher said, and is committed to opposing any permanent checkpoint in the area.

“One of the main reasons we oppose the permanent checkpoint is that it is forcing illegal activity to circumvent the checkpoint,” Brasher said.

This results in illegal activity in residential areas, he added.

“It is really making everything to the south and the north of the checkpoint less safe,” Brasher said.

The federal Government Accountability Office is currently preparing a report on the efficacy of permanent checkpoints in the sector.

Across the sector, the number of apprehensions of illegal migrants was down in fiscal year 2008 by 16 percent compared to fiscal year 2007. Tucson Sector agents arrested 317,696 illegal border-crossers; just over 12,000 of those arrested were from countries other than Mexico.

“We are on the right path,” said Gilbert, who took over as head of the Tucson Sector — which he said has been “ground zero” for the U.S. Border Patrol for several years — a year and a half ago.

“But we are a long war from being where we need to be,” he added.

While he said that apprehension numbers are at a 10-year low in the sector — lower even than the numbers after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — Gilbert believes the economic downturn has had little to do with this decrease. He said that it is true that Arizona’s construction industry has taken a hit over the last several months, but the service industry is still relatively solid. Both are traditionally thought to be job markets for illegal crossers.

The Tucson Sector continued to lead the nation in marijuana seizures in fiscal year 2008, Gilbert said. This region accounts for more than 50 percent of all the pot seized nationwide. Agents also seized 265 pounds of cocaine, 61 ounces of heroin, and 23 pounds of methamphetamine in the Tucson Sector during fiscal year 2008.

Violence up

There was an upsurge in violence against agents during 2008, a trend Gilbert attributed to frustration on the part of smugglers. There were 261 agents assaulted in 2008, a 29 percent increase from 2007. Agents were fired on at least nine times.

Looking forward, Gilbert said there are plans to increase the use of technology in the sector, with a major roll-out of new Boeing-designed towers planned for 2009. He added that officials are still deciding where to place the towers.

Gilbert said that there are approximately 3,100 agents working in the Tucson Sector, and about 200 support personnel.

Tim Hull is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News.