Illegal immigration hitting the heart of Green Valley

The U.S. Border Patrol has reportedly apprehended nearly 6,000 illegal immigrants in Green Valley since October of 2007, down from nearly 8,000 in the previous fiscal year.

“Green Valley is much better than it was a year ago,” said Mario Escalante, a Border Patrol spokesman who explained that the numbers reflect increased enforcement in the area.

Still, many in the community think that number is alarmingly high, especially because it does not include surrounding cities such as Sahuarita, Amado or Tubac — only Green Valley.

One of them is Kelly Walter, a Green Valley resident and staff member of the Green Valley News, who says she sees illegal immigrant activity on her property weekly. Protecting her home against illegal immigrant activity has cost her a total of $14,000 since she moved into her Country Club Vistas home five years ago, she said.

That cost includes a brick wall surrounding her back patio, a fence, a home security system, a motion-activated security light, and a garage where a carport used to be. She also replaced her windows and security doors two years ago after she had seen “illegal immigrants standing outside the front door at 2 in the morning, smoking cigarettes,” she said.

Walter lives in an established housing division in central Green Valley, not on the outskirts of the city, or in a rural area where this problem might seem more likely to occur.

“The Border Patrol told me they were surprised this kind of thing was going on right in the heart of Green Valley,” she said.

Her home is in a unique location, however, bordered by a vacant lot on one side and a wash that leads up to the southbound Interstate 19 on the other.

She believes that much of the illegal activity is the result of drug smugglers taking advantage of her property’s proximity to the freeway. She say it’s a telling sign that the streetlight in her cul-de-sac was covered up with black paint several months ago.

“I’ve heard gunshots on two occasions,” she said. “This goes beyond looking for food and water.”

Earlier this month, Walter followed tire tracks coming from the nearby lot until she found that two large boulders (which she put at the edge of her property to keep cars from driving through) had been moved out of the way. Her two large barrel cactuses were dug up and moved, and a solar light and oleander bush had been run over.

Two days after this incident, she found a man hiding behind her patio wall, and called the Sheriff’s Department.

She says both the Sheriff’s Department and the Border Patrol have been concerned and interested in stopping what appears to be a potentially serious problem.

“I will add window guards to my two windows that are not covered after the first of the year,” says Walter. “All I can say to anyone is ‘This is not my mother’s Green Valley.’”

“What we hear from people who live in the area helps us to develop intelligence,” said Escalante, who says it is important that residents call the Border Patrol when they see any suspicious activity. “It always helps when community gets together and lets us know what going on.”

The Tucson Sector’s hot line can be reached by calling 1-877-USBP-HELP. The number is not automated. It goes directly to dispatch, and from there, to agents in the field, Escalante said.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726