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11/23/2011 6:56:00 PM
dude you got problems. Trade your rights? Come on. Never shot a gun? Theres law and order.
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09/08/2011 2:52:00 AM
The 100 mile rule is not the authority of the Border Patrol, but the range of a border inspection and interior checkpoint. The authority of the Border Patrol is anywhere in the U.S. The same authority to arrest illegal aliens as an ICE agent. The only difference is that ICE is states that they will enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act in the interior, but they don't. But the authority of the USBP is throughout the country.
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Dean 08/17/2011 10:07:00 PM
if i were king i would have a cop in every home, just so you would be safe ted.
hope you like the new camps being built for you and your family
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Brian - Seattle 08/17/2011 1:03:00 AM
This is a pretty biased story. Anyone with knowledge of Border Patrol can immediately see how the author glosses over several facts to support their view - that illegal immigrants on the Northern Border should not be treated as illegals. Furthermore, the author does not display knowledge of the facts in this story, such as details about the U.S. border and the authorities that immigration agents have and does not seem to care what Agent Carrol says. If you do not know much about Border Patrol, than I suggest you do not take most of this article as a balanced representation.
Ultimately I would like to know what the author would suggest we do about illegal immigration in Washington State or anywhere on the Northern Border other than nothing. A critical piece is easy to write, a policy solution is a bit harder. However, I would like to see at least some suggestions instead of pure criticism of people doing their jobs as determined by the U.S. Congress. But then I suspect SW wouldn't sell more advertising and be in business.
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08/14/2011 10:09:00 PM
Not being able to have a dialogue with someone you disagree with is a disease. Don't bother seeking help until you acknowledge that people of good faith may disagree with your firmly held beliefs.
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08/05/2011 11:11:00 PM
I live in Clallam Bay, about 29 miles from Forks. I take my passport, because I really don't look quite like an Invader American. Forks does have a drug problem -- it's known as the greatest producer of home-made meth in Western Washington. Admittedly, it also has the best program to get off meth in the same area. Clallam Bay also produces meth, but it's also known for some very fine local strains of marijuana. So I've heard. :)
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08/05/2011 7:03:00 PM
Local, US Border Patrol timeline:
2006- Staffing level at USBP Port Angeles station is 4 agents.
2008- Jefferson County- Checkpoints begin- then end- after local complaints and protests.
Aug 2010- US Border Patrol dictates a news blackout on local arrests while moving to establish a 50 agent station at Port Angeles.
March 2011- Local paper submits FOIA request for USBP arrest numbers to justify new 50 agent station. FOIA request denied. FOIA appeal denied.
March 2011- 30 day public comment period for 50 agent station project. Public comments have never been released, published or discussed- project has moved forward.
Aug 2011- Agent Sanchez reports USBP staffing level is now 40 agents.
http://web.mac.com/aleko/iWeb/Site%202/Blog/71055E8F-A69A-41A8-8526-9AA77072A967.html
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08/05/2011 7:00:00 PM
"...i have been stopped and asked to prove my residency on multiple occasions by border patrol..."
For what reason were you stopped?
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08/05/2011 6:02:00 AM
"almost a quarter of our nation being unemployed, many aren't getting any benefits because our system is backed up giving the benefits to illegals." Wrong; benefits run out because Republicans in Congress don't want to pay for extending them.
"if you think murderers should just be allowed to roam freely about, but you'd say very strongly no. There is no such thing as a victimless crime, all crime should be stopped." Right: Murder is just like jaywalking, smoking pot, and not paying sales tax on those cigs from Oregon or Indian res. Stop them all "in any way possible"! How about we just summarily shoot 'em?
If you think it's OK to be forced to cough up ID on the street all the time, why don't you live in some fascist state somewhere where you can be a "good German"?
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08/05/2011 5:54:00 AM
"i would gladly trade some of my rights for law and order." First step to fascism. You're a fool.
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Ted 08/05/2011 4:50:00 AM
also to you kelly, i'm sorry that your family has been put through that, and i'd gladly take your place. But know that our law enforcement could use the hispanic community's support instead of supporting law breakers. They aren't getting that help. Period. Hispanics are rallying around those that break the law, and i know not all but most. They're treating you like the enemy yes, but start helping them and they'll go away because they have effectively done their jobs. Yes, I put myself in your position, and you know what, i'd gladly help law enforcement. I'd gladly prove i was legal and take any and all measures to prove myself thus. I'm sorry but i think you're giving an excuse to hate border patrol and law enforcement in general. Like i said i'm terribly sorry that you and yours are being put through this. However, i would gladly trade some of my rights for law and order.
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Ted 08/05/2011 4:29:00 AM
As a legal resident of Forks, Wa i can say for certain that this is a very biased view of the border patrol in and around our town. Honestly i have been stopped and asked to prove my residency on multiple occasions by border patrol and am happy to help. FYI I am a white american 6'5" tall and over 300 pounds. Other white friends of mine have also been asked to prove their identities. All of us willing to do so, even as embarassing as it is, because we are lawful citizens being engaged by law enforcement that have their orders from our government.
You have gone to great lengths to report about how victimized our illegal population is, but i'm sorry illegal is illegal. And as illegals they don't have rights in this country. Our state is unfortunatly harboring fugitives by giving illegals benifits such as food stamps and unemployment. Have you checked our unemployment rates, as of 8-4-11 we estimate almost a quarter of our nation being unemployed, many aren't getting any benefits because our system is backed up giving the benefits to illegals. they aren't victims, but criminals that we are helping instead of letting our law enforcement do their jobs. I would ask you if you think murderers should just be allowed to roam freely about, but you'd say very strongly no. There is no such thing as a victimless crime, all crime should be stopped. And i believe that it needs to be stopped in any way possible.
Also you say "Nowhere near the border" I'm sorry i was under the impression that our border was less than 30 miles away. That border being international waters, ever heard of it? We have drugs being smuggled in all over the peninsula. We also have a high concentration of illegal immigrants in forks. I'm sorry but i think that the border patrol are doing an exceptional job, albiet a hard one, and they deserve our support and respect.
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Kelly 08/04/2011 9:36:00 PM
A lot of comments here are just disgusting to read. A lot of U.S born hispanics are pulled over every day by the border patrol or the local police for no reason. Then they ask the U.S born hispanics for their documentations and just like a normal U.S citizen, we don't carry our birth certificates so we are arrested and taken to the border patrol or police station. Once they realize, we are born here, they let us go. When we complain, we get this quote, "We are just doing our job and following orders." So to other non-hispanic U.S born citizens, who write comments on here.... What would you do if this happened to you or your family members every day?
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Yankee 08/03/2011 2:12:00 AM
one less leach on society. good riddance. liberalism is a disease. seek help.
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WhatAboutTheTruth 08/03/2011 2:11:00 AM
What a one-side piece of garbage this article is. Why don't you tell the OTHER SW? Yeah, you know that part about the rapings and killings that are done done by ILLEGALS. WHat about the ILLEGALS working under the table and still collecting welfare on the US taxpayer dime. Yeha what about that part.
In actually Border Patrol has been stripped of it's power. Do you know about the agents at the border that FORCED to use nothing more than BEAN BAG guns against drug cartels that have automatic weapons? Yeah know about that? OR how even when a BP agent apprehends and ILLEGAL - ILLEGAL alien for committing a crime, like oh murder, they are NOT allowed to deport them. The fucking so-called "president" and his mob want to keep the aliens here for the vote so they are intentionally breaking he law by denying the border patrol power to uphold it.
Why don't you talk about all the AMERICAN lives that have been lost to ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. What part of fucking ILLEGAL doesn't translate?
These moochers are ALLOWED to come here and rape our country of all that is good, but you want to cry about a Border Patrol agent being in WA? Well, last time I checked we are a santuary state. Yeah, that means we GIVE ILLEGALS FREE money, free housing, free driver's license and working citizens have to pay for it. So they are bound to be ILLEGALS here. So you know what? BRING ME MORE Border Patrol. Maybe they exterminate a few more of the cockroaches.
Hey if I quit my job and pretend I don't speak English,will you give me a paycheck and house for free, too?
Take a look at these "hard working" ILLEGALS and what htey'r doing to border and country.
The first video shows just how much they "love this country". Nothing like a little flag stomping and hate speech towards Americans to show thier love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ScYY__oyk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gD_NdIstbM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lb3oFzCj_0&playnext=1&list=PLE7A723A6C67C8F80
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p5UZMH6jP4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=killing+at+the+mexican+border&aq=f
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SmegMa 08/02/2011 10:47:00 PM
http://www.aclu.org/national-security_technology-and-liberty/are-you-living-constitution-free-zone
"Using data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau, the ACLU has determined that nearly 2/3 of the entire US population (197.4 million people) live within 100 miles of the US land and coastal borders.
The government is assuming extraordinary powers to stop and search individuals within this zone. This is not just about the border: This " Constitution-Free Zone" includes most of the nation's largest metropolitan areas."
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SmegMa 08/02/2011 10:02:00 PM
Don't forget that Customs claims the Constitution doesn't apply to anything they do.
IOW - You have no rights.
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08/01/2011 6:02:00 PM
Reminds me of a large animal that's run out of food.
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08/01/2011 4:18:00 PM
You mean like all the "illegals" who create(d) huge public safety problems in the Fremont & Wallingford neighborhoods along Aurora?
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Satchseven 07/31/2011 10:05:00 AM
i do not feel sorry for them.. you expect me to feels sorry for these guys?no way you cannot go anywhere on earth and not get deported if you are in that country without a visa.send then all back that includes the asians euros and paki/indians
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07/31/2011 12:19:00 AM
Yes, we're a nation of laws. What that means is the legislature can do whatever it wants until slapped down by a court. Are the actions of the Border Patrol legal? Yes. Are they constitutional? We don't know. All we know is they haven't been slapped down by a judge. Yet.
Menawhile, if someone asks where you come from, say in a very slow monotone voice, "I come from my mommy's tummy," and walk away.
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07/30/2011 8:58:00 PM
Man I couldnt go through more than half this story without getting tired of the complete whining, acquisition of the border patrol and enabling of illegals.
The guy that ran, killed himself.
You talk about them being 60 miles from the Canada border. Temecula California is about that far from the border and you will see a large border patrol presence. Why? Because Illegals live in the hills, starting meth operations, marijuana groves, coyotes living there for trafficking. So whats makes Washington diferrent, nothing. After the forest is deplenished of its ground cover, those NW mexicans will start to grow weed and take part in more illegal activities. And pehaps they will start cutting down the trees and forests that are there to be protected.
I hope the environmentalist get involved in this one, just as do they do with the logging. Destroy that ground cover, the soil dries out, the trees die, the owl dies. GET WITH IT ENVIRONMENTALIST. If your going to make people be responsible for taking from nature, make sure your doing it on a fair scale to all human citizens - white - mexican - legal - illegal.
Mexicans, get educated and real jobs and quit distancing yourself from the US community if you wish to be respected as a citizen in the US community. Hiding out in a forest collecting ground cover for florists because you know what your doing is illegal, being a non citizen and not having proper permits is against the law and structure of this nation, like it or not.
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07/30/2011 3:06:00 PM
Staying informed is an essential part of participating in government.
The policy on not reporting arrests is confusing because it is instantly lifted if two Canadians attempt an amphibious marijuana landing on a remote beach.
That accounts for 2 USBP arrests in the past 24 months.
Maybe the USBP just says they can't report arrests because there have not been enough to justify a six-fold increase in agents and an upgrade to a 50 agent station.
If almost no arrests are being made out of Port Angeles & there is no justification required for a 50 agent station- maybe every Port Angeles sized town- all across America should have a 50 agent USBP station- for our safety.
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Jay 07/30/2011 6:40:00 AM
As I said above to yeomalt...let's see how this shakes out. So far that is one guy making claims and a still unfinished investigation according to the article. Once again a shoddy article with minimal background info on the BP and the guy involved though.
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Jay 07/30/2011 6:37:00 AM
Again, so what if they don't report arrests? What do you care? How does that affect you?
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Jay 07/30/2011 6:33:00 AM
Lets see how this shakes out when the investigation is concluded...because according to this, this is one guys take on things and the investigation is not finished.
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Jay 07/30/2011 6:31:00 AM
How would I? But I'm tired of reading your comments that have no backing to them. You simply try to influence your agenda by siting inaccurate quotes on comments pages and on youtube.
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Jay 07/30/2011 6:28:00 AM
This doesn't even deserve me explaining more to you.
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07/30/2011 2:59:00 AM
"... they fight each other over salal territory..."
Please post news links.
http://web.mac.com/aleko/iWeb/Site%202/Blog/71055E8F-A69A-41A8-8526-9AA77072A967.html
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07/30/2011 2:56:00 AM
"I have read accounts in local papers of illegals killing each other over territory (salal)."
Please post news links.
http://web.mac.com/aleko/iWeb/Site%202/Blog/71055E8F-A69A-41A8-8526-9AA77072A967.html
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Keith11468 07/30/2011 2:40:00 AM
Actually they are acting like criminal. They drive with no insurance, they fight each other over salal territory, and the local police is powerless to do much of anything about it because they are not US citizens. OF course you call in immigration, but even if they get deported they are back here 6 weeks later. You tell me what should we do? AND..... for all those out there that say they do work we don't want to do get your head out of the sand. Illegals dominate many trades that U.S. citezens use to and still would do .... they just do it for way less.
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Keith11468 07/30/2011 2:31:00 AM
Once again we get slanted reporting from the Seattle Weekly.
It is indeed sad that this gentleman lost his life. I doubt it was to the aggresive nature of Immigration authorities. According to your own story the ILLEGAL ran for it as soon as immigration pulled up, was it their aggresive driving you were eluding to? Are you aware that many teachers (among others) use to make money during the summer picking salal as well as mushrooms near Forks? Being familiar with the Olympics I can tell you that this industry has been completely over run with illegals. I have read accounts in local papers of illegals killing each other over territory (salal).
If we have illegal, undocumented or whatever we are calling them this year in Washington than we obviously need immigration or border patrol agents here, What's your problem with that? As for the agency being flush with funds please state your facts, as they obviously need more money to control illegal population.
Before writing such an irresponsible article please, PLEASE do your homework first. Maybe even throw in an opposing view?
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07/30/2011 12:11:00 AM
US Department of Homeland Security- Port Angeles Update
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D371ysQy5ec
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07/29/2011 10:21:00 PM
An incredibly well-reported story.
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yank E 07/29/2011 9:34:00 PM
seriously, we can do better to improve immigration, protect the families that are here and lesson illegal immigration
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yank E 07/29/2011 9:25:00 PM
Interesting story, The U.S. border patrol is easily rounding up undocumented immigrants from MEXICO just a few miles south of the CANADIAN border . It says something about how many latinos have relocated here and throughout the united states. what can you do? apparently we live in the land of opportunity. these guys are hardly behaving like "criminals" but people who are looking for a genuine opportunity to improve their lives. the border patrol is just doing its job. last i heard it coast $2,000 dollars to be smuggled across the border from mexico . surly there's a better solution. the U.S. no longer has the " just come on in" immigration policy it use to and people who are here illegally will continue to be exploited ? fuck if I know, i just grew up here
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Vigilantlens 07/29/2011 7:50:00 PM
Condoms, diapers, Costco, the child rapist Agent Giuliano who ran the road blocks in Port Townsend - before he got caught, bored agents who get paid overtime to do nothing and or chase Spanish speaking terrorists into rivers - until they drown...Norm Dicks' Pashto speaking pals, the Port Angeles agent and his video...all light which is indeed passed through a lens.
The distortion you see, comes from the teevee talking points you use. Many of us who've enforced the law and served their country...ended up seeing the distortion up close and personal. What is happening in Port Angeles is happening all across the Homeland, because no teevee talking point pusher will follow the money.
Agent Christian Sanchez may want to just do his job...but there is no job to do in Port Angeles, unless you count everything I've already said. He's saying what Yeomalt and many others have been saying along.
It's the money, it's about stripping you of your rights, it's also for Norm Dicks, The GEO Group and Fresh Del Monte Produce. If the Seattle Weekly had dug a bit deeper, they'd have an even bigger story to tell.
Toss in the debt ceiling along with the cheap wars on Islam and common sense...and we've got plenty to ignore.
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WadeGraham 07/29/2011 6:49:00 PM
Hint: Caps lock is voluntary.
And when you talk about "their culture" are you referring to immigrants from Russia, Somali, Guatemala, Eritrea, India, Mexico, China, et al? Because there's 11 million different stories to be told and I didn't realize they were all gang members who commit felonies? Especially since I know mothers, teachers, hard workers, strawberry pickers, spouses, and students who just don't fit that description so well. Open your mind a crack, it's an interesting world out there.
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07/29/2011 6:19:00 PM
"There is little work to do at the Port Angeles, Wash., station, where he is assigned, he said. He calls it a “black hole” where agents have “no purpose, no mission.”
“The worst fraud on taxpayers is that we are getting paid overtime not to work,” Sanchez said in a prepared statement. When he first started working at the station, “I noticed it was common practice for everyone to get paid overtime not to work. Back then there were about twenty-four agents and our entire station was receiving at least two hours of Administratively Uncontrolled Overtime.” Now, he said, there are more than 40 agents there."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/border-patrol-whistleblower-pays-price-for-refusing-overtime-pay/2011/07/28/gIQAg9isfI_story.html
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07/29/2011 4:05:00 PM
Aug 2010-
A US Border Patrol spokesperson tells the press:
"Border Patrol spokeswoman Jenny Burke said Monday that the agency will not release any information on the number of arrests made by agents who work out of the Port Angeles station, the names of those arrested, what they were arrested for and the disposition of their cases"
“The number of arrests for Port Angeles' or any other station is "law enforcement-sensitive," Burke said.”
"The names of those arrested and other facts about them are not available for release under the 1974 Privacy Act, she said."
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20100824/NEWS/308249990/border-patrol-move-almost-a-certainty-no-special-permits-needed
Pennsylvania-
Port Angeles is not the only northern border station looking to expand:
Erie Station- similar to Port Angeles in that it is separated from Canada by water.
Note: reports of the expansion at Erie include numbers of arrests out of that station:
"The Border Patrol operations in Erie, nearly six years old, include more than 30 agents who apprehended 588 illegal immigrants in fiscal year 2008-09."
"The Border Patrol's apprehensions in the Erie area have grown steadily, from 332 in fiscal 2006-2007 to 588 in 2008-09 to 305 so far in 2009-10.
Of those apprehended so far this fiscal year, 136 were individuals found by other law enforcement agencies and turned over to the Border Patrol."
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100328/NEWS02/303269866
Why are the people of Pennsylvania provided with justification for their new US Border Patrol station- while the people of the Olympic Peninsula get a denied FOIA request?
Federal policy on releasing public information- changing from time to time & place to place.
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07/29/2011 3:53:00 PM
From back in the checkpoint days-
"On Monday north of Forks, agents arrested five people for suspected illegal immigration and a man for having an outstanding misdemeanor warrant."
"Last Friday about a mile west of the Hood Canal Bridge, six people were arrested for suspicion of illegal immigration."
No problem reporting arrests here- even revealing specific locations, methods, etc.
Looks like national security was not a concern in making public information public.
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20080827/NEWS/808270304
March 2011-
“The Border Patrol has refused to release specific data on the number of arrests made by the Port Angeles station, Blaine Sector, in fiscal years 2009 and 2010.”
“The agency refused a Peninsula Daily News Freedom of Information Act request for the information and on Jan. 28 denied a subsequent appeal.”
“Disclosure of the arrest statistics from the Port Angeles station would provide those interested in crossing our borders illegally with information that could aid their strategic targeting of potentially vulnerable areas along the border,” said Shari Suzuki, chief of the FOIA Appeals, Policy and Litigation Branch.”
“Releasing this information could frustrate the agency’s ability to enforce the U.S. border laws by providing a literal road map to those seeking to avoid their detention.”
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110304/news/303049978/border-patrol-headquarters-contract-awarded-renovations-of-eagle&frompost=1
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07/29/2011 3:46:00 PM
I never used the word corrupt.
What I am referring to is an arbitrary news blackout/federal policy on US Border Patrol arrests that changes from county to county in Washington State.
On at least three occasions, the US Border Patrol has stated that arrests will not be reported out of the Port Angeles station.
News links here:
http://web.mac.com/aleko/iWeb/Site%202/Blog/71055E8F-A69A-41A8-8526-9AA77072A967.html
No such news blackout exists in Whatcom County.
News links here:
http://web.mac.com/aleko/iWeb/Site%202/Blog/29477347-849E-40C4-A8B8-7DA8B452F33D.html
Note that the news blackout is instantly lifted when two Canadians attempt an amphibious marijuana landing on the north coast.
A 30 day public comment period on the new 50 agent station ended in March- months later- we have seen no public comments and the project has moved ahead.
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07/29/2011 3:28:00 PM
Simply demonstrating that this is the best info provided by the federal government.
Do you have better info on any justification for the number of US Border Patrol agents that will be housed in the new 50 agent station?
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shapiro fan 07/29/2011 3:01:00 PM
excellent article. nina shapiro is the reason i read the weekly. more, please.
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Jay 07/29/2011 4:45:00 AM
Show me where you have ever gotten corrupt management of public info since you claim to be "looking for honest management of public information".
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Jay 07/29/2011 4:42:00 AM
So why use "pretty weak" info? Opens you up to appearances of being a quack with an agenda.
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07/29/2011 4:12:00 AM
The statement I quoted is the best info we have Re: justification for a six-fold increase in USBP staff at Port angeles.
I admit it comes off pretty weak in terms of justification.
The local paper tried to get better info from the Border Patrol- they even went though official channels- newspaper generated FOIA request denied.
“In 2006, four agents worked in the Port Angeles headquarters, which covers both Clallam and Jefferson counties. That number had increased to 24 by April 2009. By last August, the staff was 25.”
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110606/news/306069996/customs-to-lease-port-space-border-patrol-won-8217-t&frompost=1
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07/29/2011 4:05:00 AM
Are your concerns connected in any way to the US/Canada border?
Why would someone with nothing to hide not be willing to identify themselves to a sworn law enforcement officer?-
Some people value their privacy. Post 911 fear of terrorists & illegal aliens coming across the Strait of Juan de Fuca is not enough for them to cut and run from their basic principles- they expect to be seen as innocent until proven guilty by government officials at all levels- away from ports of entry and border crossings.
Washington is one of several states where DUI checkpoints are not legal:
http://www.statehighwaysafety.org/html/stateinfo/laws/checkpoint_laws.html
Our state and local law enforcement agencies do not conduct suspicionless checkpoints. This may be one reason why some people object to being stopped and questioned by federal agents when they are not crossing the border and have done nothing wrong.
Local police, county sheriff, & the Washington State Patrol- not enough law enforcement agencies to keep local communities safe?
"...you don't want the right people...the BP...here working in WA."
Not looking to have the US Border Patrol leave Washington State- just looking for honest management of public information.
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Jay 07/29/2011 3:48:00 AM
So you quote him? If you want to be taken seriously then you're going to have to come up with better sources. The PDN article about the fast boats had a good comment to your same lines you are writing here...Where do you get the info about a six-fold increase in staff in PA? As you repeatedly say...the bp doesn't give out info so where do you get your six-fold number from?
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07/29/2011 3:43:00 AM
The USBP has not come forward with any statement to justify a six-fold increase in staff at Port Angeles.
The PDN submitted a FOIA request for this info. FOIA denied. Appeal denied.
The closest we get is a statement from a spokesperson tied to federal facilities/construction, etc.
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Jay 07/29/2011 3:31:00 AM
I mispoke...what I meant was that you have to identify yourself to law enforcement when requested. Either provide them with ID or verbally tell them your info so that they can verify who you are.
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Jay 07/29/2011 3:28:00 AM
And due to your comment about the BP not wanting to walk two hundred feet...proves you've never lived in the south where the BP work, nor do you actually know any BP because if you did you would know just how much work those guys do. I highly doubt you do anything close to what they do on a daily basis.
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Jay 07/29/2011 3:22:00 AM
Why would someone with nothing to hide not be willing to identify themselves to a sworn law enforcement officer? The main gist that I see of the problem with people against the border patrol in WA is that it's still a relatively new thing. Well deal with it because it's not going away. As I've said previously, go live in the southern border states near the border. See what it is like there. The corruption, gangs, violence...things that are beginning to appear much more often here in WA. 12(?) people shot in Seattle the other day ring a bell? Heck, go live in Detroit...where they fight homegrown AND illegal immigrant gangs and crime. See what that is like and then say that you don't want the right people...the BP...here working in WA.
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knotbumper 07/29/2011 3:17:00 AM
Unless the Constitution has changed in the last two hours, there is NO law requiring a citizen to have "a valid ID" Jay, put your drugs away and think about what you say. I just checked with a Deputy Chief of the Seattle PD. We as citizens can do whatever we want as long as it is not proscribed (look the word up) by law. Only in places like North Korea do they require you to carry ID.
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Jay 07/29/2011 3:14:00 AM
"Project manager Mike Sangren of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-"
Yes, because quoting someone who is not actually a Border Patrol Agent on Border Patrol activities and policies is a good way to justify your comments. Come on.
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Jay 07/29/2011 3:11:00 AM
A simple answer of "yes" to the question of his citizenship would have probably avoided being taken in to identify him...it is a law that all legal adults possess valid ID...so he screwed up there too....and the 24 hour hold. If, and that's a huge if, the agents refused a US citizen a call to an attorney, then it was probably because they had yet to identify who the "cocky" guy was. Illegals do not have the right to an attorney until after they are processed and sent to the detention center. See, unlike so many of the commentors on various border patrol articles, I actually took the time to look up the rules, laws and policies before opening my mouth. If you read one of my other comments you would perhaps have been clued into the fact that the border patrol is a federal law enforcement agency. That means that the agents do have authority to arrest US citizens if they have broken the law. By not carrying ID the agents would have been justified in calling the local police to come pick him up for that infraction. By not having ID, not answering a simple question and giving the agents attitude, he caused himself to be arrested. I can't wait to see what happens with his frivolous case either.
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Healy V S 07/29/2011 3:09:00 AM
huh?
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Jay 07/29/2011 3:00:00 AM
Sounds like you know exactly what they do. Hmmmmmm that would make you seem to be on the other side of what the agents do. Illegal activity on your part perhaps?
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knotbumper 07/29/2011 2:47:00 AM
Yes, they do arrest American citizens; my apprentice is an American citizen, born here in Seattle of a naturalized mother and father. He is Hispanic of origin. Being 24, back from Afghanistan, and fresh out of the military, (read cockey) he was asked for ID, which he did not have and felt as an American citizen he did not have to talk to the Border Patrol. They hauled him in and held him for 24 hours. After refusing him an attorney, he has one now and plans to pursue. I wait to hear what happens. For the last decade, we have lived in a police state and it will get worse.
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07/29/2011 2:41:00 AM
"Would you rather no security was conducted anywhere?"
Communities in Washington state are served by 2 or 3 state and local law enforcement agencies. Not suggesting "no security", not suggesting no border patrol- just looking for honest management of public information.
How many law enforcement agencies are appropriate to stay on top of local crime concerns?
This is where the local dispatch logs come in. Not expecting federal agencies to go with this- just pointing out that local agencies are able to get the job done & keep the public informed- no conflict in policy there.
Local "news" agencies should be out shooting videos and doing interviews and investigative stories Re: local news blackouts on federal arrests- but they are tied up covering news about gift shops, ferry boats, high school sports, local festivals, using their FB news feed to ask people about their weekend plans, etc.
That leaves local people to interact with each other and to ask questions that are not answered by elected representatives, government agencies and local newspapers.
"...then why fight the BP opening another office in Port Townsend?"
Questioning public policy is not a "fight" with a government agency.
Maybe the US Border Patrol should set up an office in Port Townsend- have they ever made an arrest there?
As far as a constitution free zone-
You may be referring to suspicionless checkpoints in Jefferson County.
We had US Border Patrol checkpoints here in Jefferson County in 2008.
The checkpoints have not been here since- possibly due to well informed citizens and local protests.
The US Border Patrol held a public forum here in 2008-
A lady asked:
"What is the penalty for not identifying oneself to federal agents at an internal, suspicionless checkpoint?"
US Border Patrol said they would call in the Sheriff when a person refused to identify themselves.
Sheriff says they will not respond to a non-emergency situation involving a person peaceably refusing to interact with federal agents.
Question about providing ID at 0:35:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eJQ1IzS6FE
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Lew 07/29/2011 2:20:00 AM
One, the title of the article is wrong, it should be "Twillight for ILLEGAL immigrants". My dad was an immigrant and obtained a green card, then later citizenship. Illegals are a slap in the face to those that go through the process.
So I guess when you are in the country illegally, poaching salal for a few extra bucks and you think a viable escape route into a frigid raging river is a good escape route, I am to mourn your darwinian demise.
As a previous commenter said, the author should go live in an extreme southern border town for a couple years. You want that here? When I go to Home Depot it looks like Tijuana. Wasn't like that 10 years ago.
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Jay 07/29/2011 1:58:00 AM
Looking through a lens or attempting to show other people something through a lens creates distortion of reality...however "vigilant" you may think yourself to be. You are still only showing what you want to be seen through your lens.
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knotbumper 07/29/2011 1:56:00 AM
Unfortunately, the Border patrol does not want to patrol the border here in the Northwest, it is too rugged and true to stereotype, if a BP officer need to get out of his car and walk two hundred feet, it is not a crime worth investigation. Forks is just low hanging fruit to run up the score. Many things come across the border illegally between Canada and the US but you have to walk in to make the arrest. Walking with a pack is not in their job description. As long as they can drive to an arrest, they are all over it.
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Jay 07/29/2011 1:44:00 AM
I've seen your trying to be sneaky filming the BP trucks videos. What does that accomplish? You're wasting your time and possibly jeopardizing yours plus the agent's safety. Would you rather no security was conducted anywhere? If you're worried about the gas that they drive to get to Port Townsend, then why fight the BP opening another office in Port Townsend? That would solve the gas issue and bring more jobs to the area. You're worried about big government spending money? Why not question why Port Angeles resurfaced 1st street only to then chop sections back up because they forgot to do something. Isn't that wasted money worth you're inquiries? FYI - Read up on USBP policy. They have authority over all US states and territories. That means they can operate anywhere in the country. Their authorities are increased within 100 miles of the border. There is no such thing as a constitution free zone either. That's all more fear mongering that you help to perpetuate to the uninformed masses. You mention local law enforcement logs being posted. What federal agency posts logs of their activities for the general public to read? None. Why would the BP be any different? Contrary to popular belief on the peninsula, the BP are federal law enforcement agents.
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07/29/2011 1:25:00 AM
It's not really about me. The Peninsula Daily news submitted the FOIA request after seeing something missing- checkpoints ending in 2008- yet a 50 agent USBP station going in at Port Angeles in 2011.
I'm a member of the public- concerned about money spent on big government programs which are rigged to avoid accountability- someone who notices when a 30 day public comment period which ended in March- results in no public comments months later- as the 50 agent station project moves forward.
Someone who notices government credibility squandered as arbitrary checkpoints and roadblocks are shut down after local complaints. Those checkpoints must not have been vital to national security.
Someone who notices no USBP news blackout on arrests in Whatcom County -where they actually have a land border with Canada & no new 50 agent facility going in.
Someone who notices that USBP says they can operate 100 miles from the border- but isn't boarding transit busses at the Pike Place Market to conduct guilty until proven innocent suspicionless stops.
Someone who notices local law enforcement dispatch logs posted in at least one local paper and wonders why government at the federal level seems indifferent or opposed to keeping people informed.
Someone who values honest management of public information.
Someone who wonders how many tanks of gas the US Border Patrol has burnt up driving 94 miles round-trip to check the Port Townsend ferry dock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjqlEFnBhJk
Your love it or leave it comment specified a few foreign countries where people may not be free to question public policy- interesting that doing so is quite controversial here on the Olympic Peninsula.
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Jay 07/29/2011 12:31:00 AM
Justification to who? Who are you that requires their justification?
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07/28/2011 11:59:00 PM
Only asking questions that have not been answered.
Project manager Mike Sangren of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-
“It's just the direction the Department of Homeland Security has been given, to expand and allocate money to build stations, and we are just executing their plan," he said.
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110501/news/305019987/work-to-begin-this-month-on-new-border-patrol-headquarters-in-port&frompost=1
Imagine a school or fire district, or a local police or sherif's dept. increasing staff and facilities and dictating a news blackout on arrests- or in the case of schools- student population, number of students graduated in recent years etc.- all at the same time.
A denied FOIA request- generated by The Peninsula Daily News brings attention to a lack of justification for expanding local Homeland Security staff and facilities.
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07/28/2011 11:34:00 PM
If they were here the right legal way, none of this would have happened.
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Bark more, Wag less 07/28/2011 11:20:00 PM
I have no problem with illegals. But like most good Seattle liberals, I know none can afford to live in my neighborhood. I wonder how Wallingford and Fremont liberals would feel if their neighborhoods went 50% illegal, with all the ensuing problems?
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Jay 07/28/2011 11:07:00 PM
Ever live in the southern border states? I have. Two of them actually. You think that picking up illegals is not the "serious criminals" that should be focused on. Go live in a southern border state for a while. Then tell me what you think of the illegal immigrant problems. Gangs, drugs, violence and more all come with them. They don't leave their culture behind them when they come here, they bring their corrupt ways of doing things here with them. That tax money you say the majority of illegals pay with fake social security numbers? THAT"S ID THEFT! That's FELONY! So fine, we won't deport them for being here illegally anymore. We'll deport them for felonious ID theft and fraud. May as well toss in tax fraud too. That's another felony if you're wondering. You yourself should think before writing.
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Vigilantlens 07/28/2011 11:07:00 PM
And next will come capital letters. With exclamation points!!
You bring the brown-skinned salal picking humans here, because you're not out picking salal. Buy fewer flower arraignments at Safeway and the salal picking will end.
I'm not even sure what a s__hole country is...but I bet it's quite a bit like Tenino. Or Asotin.
Cactus spinning interestingly enough, started as a sport with the very tough people who speak Spanish. Perhaps you'd rather I burn in Hell? Like the salal pickers, or Norm Dicks' freedom fighters?
Missing the point is what the shallow end of the gene pool does very, very well. Missing the target is what we did when I was fighting for your freedom to project your fears upon the twelve readers of Seattle Weekly.
Remember patriot, freedom isn't free, it's brought to us at Costco in the form of condoms and cheap diapers. Let it sink in. Try harder or just stay on the PDN.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go burn a flag and tell Dan Savage all about you.
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WadeGraham 07/28/2011 10:57:00 PM
Agree w/ MissRichards. powerful article, tragic consequences for "picking w/out a license" - not exactly the serious criminals we should be focused on dealing with to make our communities safer. plenty of groups around doing great advocacy for immigrants in our community - NW Immigrant Rights Project and OneAmerica - both mentioned in the article - are two to begin with.
Hey Dave, undocumented immigrants pay plenty of taxes, so you may want to think before writing. Sales tax. Duh. I wasn't asked for my papers last time I went to QFC. They're helping keep social security afloat w/ the 7 billion per year they pay into the program (and that's according to the SSA themselves). By the way, they'll never see any of those benefits. A majority, yes a majority, pay income taxes on fake social security numbers. The list goes on. The contributions are staggering. But that reality probably doesn't fit inside your worldview of immigration.
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Jay 07/28/2011 10:54:00 PM
Regardless....that is still less than one agent per mile of northern border. Canada has even looser immigration laws than us. People think the northern border is secure with less than one agent per mile?...and that's if every single one of them works 24/7. How many are there working at any given time with 3 shifts, off days, vacations, sick days, etc. Wake up and smell the illegals people. There is nothing secure about the northern border.
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Jay 07/28/2011 10:46:00 PM
Tell you what...you think the US is so bad? Send me your name and address and I'll buy you a one way plane ticket to Mexico, Afghanistan or any other s___hole country you want. FYI, I've been all over the middle east, central america and countless other places...our immigration laws are MILD and lax compared to mexico's and any other country that likes to ship their people over here.
Sitting around and/or drowning people? Sit and spin on a cactus. Who made that guy enter the US illegally? Who made him pick salal illegally? Who made him jump out of his vehicle and run from the Border agents and the park ranger? Who made him jump into the river when he didn't know how to swim? He did that all of his own free will. What happened to him was his own fault, no one else's!
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Jay 07/28/2011 10:38:00 PM
Oh yea...and for those who don't know, yeomalt is Alex Hepler, who is Lloyd Bonafide. He makes up new names to seem like more people are actually interested in what he has to say.
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Jay 07/28/2011 10:36:00 PM
Do you ever come up with original thoughts? This is the same nonsense you quoted in the peninsula daily news. I specifically remember reading comments in a PDN article about this. See http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011307179996 to refresh your apparently short memory.
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07/28/2011 10:23:00 PM
An increase fro 300 to 2263 is an increase of LESS than 700%.
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07/28/2011 7:46:00 PM
Secret arrests are not a component of a free society.
"The Border Patrol isn't running around arresting US citizens..."
Since the US Border Patrol has dictated a news blackout on Olympic Peninsula arrests- how does the public know who is being arrested?
http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Small-scale-pot-busts-snared-in-Border-Patrol-1291585.php
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Vigilantlens 07/28/2011 7:42:00 PM
Canada is right next door. Mexico used to be, but that was before that other war. It's now right next door to Cali and two funny nations called Texas and Arizona. Pashto is the language spoken by our mortal enemies who had nothing to do with pretty much anything. Obviousness is not what the Border Patrol does, unless you count sitting around and or drowning people. They're hunting terrorists who just happen to look like humans who pick your salal, not the terrorists Norm Dicks made, because that would pretty much negate the whole reason we're in Yemen.
For answers to your Spanish troubles, try asking the DEA, the GEO Group and or Burger King. It is there grasshopper...that you will follow the money and the arrests of the Spanish speakers instead of Pashto speakers.
Or just try changing the channel.
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07/28/2011 7:35:00 PM
Are these local concerns related in any way to the US/Canada border?
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07/28/2011 7:28:00 PM
If arrests are done in secret- how does the US Border Patrol justify a six-fold increase in staff at Port Angeles?
“In 2006, four agents worked in the Port Angeles headquarters, which covers both Clallam and Jefferson counties. That number had increased to 24 by April 2009. By last August, the staff was 25.”
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110606/news/306069996/customs-to-lease-port-space-border-patrol-won-8217-t&frompost=1
We are told the #1 US Border Patrol objective is to stop terrorists- not ILLEGAL aliens. The US Border Patrol explains this objective at a local public forum- this YouTube video covers Border Patrol objectives at 3:50:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbEmRGzR_LQ
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Jay 07/28/2011 6:27:00 PM
blah blah blah. You never have anything interesting to say.
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Jay 07/28/2011 6:26:00 PM
I would think it's obvious that the main reason Border agents speak spanish is because Mexico is right next to us! You really think they should be required to speak pashto?! Look at the numbers! Hell, look around at the people where you live! It's the spanish speaking neighbors to the south that infiltrate our country more than any other country. THAT's the reason they are required to speak spanish.
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Dave 07/28/2011 6:18:00 PM
Are you serious?!?!?! Do you not have a hobby or something important to do? You're worried about making things more fair for illegals? Things are pretty darn fair for the illegals already! They enter our country illegally, don't pay taxes, send their kids to our tax payer funded schools for free, their kids get free lunches at school because the illegal parents can't show any declarable income, if they are arrested for being illegal they are fed and housed in heated and air conditioned buildings and if then deported, given a free flight back to their home country. All at OUR EXPENSE. That isn't fair?! That seems downright unfair to the US citizens!
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Dave 07/28/2011 6:12:00 PM
What is the big deal with the so called secret arrests? The Border Patrol isn't running around arresting US citizens, they're arresting ILLEGAL aliens. Those are people who have committed a crime by entering our country ILLEGALLY! We still give illegal aliens rights even though they are breaking the law by entering illegally and causing us to spend money and time to deal with them. If the media doesn't here about every arrest the Border Patrol makes...SO WHAT!
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Missrichards 07/28/2011 5:30:00 PM
Ms, Shapiro, Thank you for sharing this story. It's so heart wrenching to learn about but so important to know. What do you recommend as the best approach for the 'average citizen' to take to help make things more fair for immigrants?
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Vigilantlens 07/28/2011 5:18:00 PM
Immigrants bring your mother her marijuana. Immigrants process the meat in your burger of freedom. Immigrants picked the grapes that were later removed from your bottle of MD 2020. Immigrants did not take away your health care, that was the two party illegals who work for Boeing. Immigrants didn't rape a child while supervising the Blaine Sector, that was BP Super Agent Joseph W. Giuliano. Immigrants didn't attack us on 9/11, that was Saudi Arabia. We aren't fighting Saudi Arabia, we're attacking salal pickers in Forks. We are not educating our children because of immigrants, we're allowing the Patriot Act to read your stupid emails. The Taliban are not al Qaeda and al Qaeda have nothing to do with debts and or ceilings. Norm Dicks however...does.
Freedom isn't free because we're sheep. The Mariners finally won a game and the immigrants will still pick our food, wash our clothes and make your meat, because we're just not that into getting off the couch. We will though, on a semi-quarterly occasion, hop off our comfy couches of freedom to clean our weapons and rage against whatever it is that we're told to be afraid of.
Fearing gay sex, immigrants and debt ceilings created by old white men who work for Lockheed Martin...speaks volumes as to why Border Patrol agents can speak Spanish...but not Pashto.
For more on all of this, try watching more teevee.
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Jim Buckley 07/28/2011 5:21:00 AM
I would say that reforming our immigration laws would be a start. At least we should not invite people to our country to pick our crops and do other work and then treat them like criminals. I think it's the disproportional consequences that bother me. Yes, it's illegal to overstay your visa or not to have a green card but there is no way to become legal or get a green card short of going to one's country of origin and waiting in line which could take 15 or more years. If your family is all in the US and if you have been in the US since childhood, that's harsh. I think this will eventually get worked out but the people who are more victim than criminal came when immigration laws were much more lax and it was easy to go back and forth across the border. Now it's dangerous and there is no reasonable legal solution for people caught in the middle.
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B0w T0 Th3 R0b0t5 07/28/2011 4:48:00 AM
So what's the solution, Jim? Do we just do away with our borders altogether? The last time I went to Canada, I was required to present identification and comply with the laws of that country. They even made me open my trunk so they could take a look at my private property. Was I treated unjustly? I think we need to make it clear that people are welcome to come here, but to do so they MUST FOLLOW THE RULES. I don't think that's so unreasonable...
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Jim Buckley 07/28/2011 12:04:00 AM
Great article with good background. Those who have commented about deporting immigrants without legal papers - a misdemeanor - probably don't realize that they may have been in the US all their lives and the "crime" was committed by a parent of grandparent who just wanted to keep the family together. Or they were refugees from the killings in Guatemala. Or they were invited here to work. In any case it's a misdemeanor no worse than driving without a license or not paying WA state taxes on something bought in Oregon - hardly worth impounding your car, incarceration and deportation which breaks up families. And all in secret. We must stop this uncalled for selective enforcement before we find we are all living in a secret police state.
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Guest 07/27/2011 10:49:00 PM
Seven more pages of bleeding heart open borders advocacy rhetoric from Ms. Shapiro, whose entire story can be summed up in 5 words: immigrants good, border patrol bad. And as usual, you'll never hear her use the key word in all this debate: ILLEGAL.
It is unfortunate that while attempting to eliminate the problem of ILLEGAL immigration that has gotten completely out of control, some innocent people will be unjustly detained, and the death of Mr. Salinas is certainly a tragedy, but that doesn't excuse the other 12 to 20 million estimated ILLEGALS for being here, or our government for letting the problem escalate to its present state.
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07/27/2011 10:45:00 PM
On at least three occasions, the US Border Patrol has stated that arrests will not be reported out of the Port Angeles station- a Swiss Army Knife of excuses for secrecy:
http://web.mac.com/aleko/iWeb/Site%202/Blog/71055E8F-A69A-41A8-8526-9AA77072A967.html
No such news blackout exists in Whatcom County:
http://web.mac.com/aleko/iWeb/Site%202/Blog/29477347-849E-40C4-A8B8-7DA8B452F33D.html
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Cuse12 07/27/2011 9:26:00 PM
And the Border Patrol is wrong how? The two individuals did not have any documents to be in the US legally. Therefore they broke the law. So this makes to Border Patrol wrong for doing their jobs? And of course Border Patrol gets a bad reputation for this. Because the Border Patrol forced the individuals to run when they saw "La Migra". Enough of the poor baby poor baby stories. It is a shame that someone lost their life, but the individual made that decision on their own. They broke the law and thought they could get away with it. So it is solely upon the individual for what has taken place. Border Patrol is doing their job. It's simply that illegals and smugglers are getting more brazen in their efforts to enter the US, or smuggle their illegal contraband into the US. Good work
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Buyer2000 07/27/2011 7:32:00 PM
The thing is if someone is here illegally they should be deported. That is part of the Border Patrol's job as well as ICE, I have absolutely no sympathy for illegals and support their deportation.
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07/27/2011 3:56:00 PM
The US government is public enemy # 1. There is a law that will criminalize everyone. Survival is NOT to be noticed.
