Frontera NorteSur, August 1999

by Kent Paterson

Straddling the U.S.-México border, the tiny town of Columbus, New Mexico had its fifteen minutes of fame back in 1916 when the forces of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa stormed the settlement. Since then, the village has become a commercial hub for the local ranching and agricultural industries, as well as the primary gateway for the tons of Mexican-grown chile flooding the U.S. market. Lodged in the trailer homes that make up area colonias, many of Columbus' residents struggle to make a living topping onions or picking chile and other vegetables. But lately, a new alarm is being raised around town about what some Columbus residents view as the latest invading force: the United States Border Patrol.

At 63, lawyer Carlos Ogden certainly doesn't fit the stereotype of a drug smuggler or coyote who ferrets undocumented workers throughout the mesquite-laced desert that envelops Columbus and Luna County. But when he was a few years younger, even when he served as mayor of Columbus, Ogden was frequently stopped by Border Patrol agents on the streets and highways of Luna County. One incident, in particular, in which he was briefly detained in the center of Columbus, is etched into Ogden's memory.

"And I asked for an officer's badge number and he says, And who the hell are you? For one thing, I'm the mayor of the town," Odgen recalled saying. "And he says that don't cut no ice with me. And to me, that's the Border Patrol welcoming committee to Columbus, New Mexico."

For many years, Luna County had a small Border Patrol detachment. Then came Bill Clinton, Janet Reno, and the escalations in the war against drugs and illegal immigrants. Subsequently, the number of Border Patrol agents assigned to Luna County rose to 82, with the number planned to increase to 105 sometime by the end of 1999 or in 2000. With drugs continuing to make their way past the phalanx of Border Patrol units deployed along this section of the border, Luna County has recently
been in the media spotlight. To hear Albuquerque television station KOAT-TV script it, the Border Patrol expansion in Luna County has done little to stem the narcotics flow, nor have the roving patrols of Mexican soldiers cruising around the few blocks that constitute Columbus' tiny sister town of Las Palomas, Chihuahua, a place KOAT labeled as "infested" with drugs and drug dealers.

What has Ogden and some other Columbus residents ticked off, though, is the Border Patrol's practice of questioning the comings and goings of U.S. citizens and residents at roadside checkpoints or during seemingly random highway stops. Other complaints are heard about rookie agents speeding through town like teenage drag racers. Since the rapid expansion of the Border Patrol under U.S. Attorney General Janet, rookies now constitute a large percentage of agents. "They're stumbling over each other to the point that if you're traveling a country road you might be stopped every three or four miles by Border Patrol agents and asked the same set of dumb, rude, intrusive questions," said Ogden. "I make jokes around town that we have an army of occupation, and somehow, because its the head of a funnel from México, we tend to have hordes of federal officers: Customs, Border Patrol, DEA, you name it. We are saturated. You drive down the street at night and a Border Patrol officer stops you. He's supposed to have a some reason, but it's because you're out at night."

Ogden's complaints were echoed by 19-year-old Estevan Martínez, an activist with the Tucson, Arizona-based Indigenous Alliance Without Borders. Martínez charged that people of color in southern Arizona are singled out for stops and harassment by the Border Patrol, adding that he himself recently was stopped twice in one week. Alliance organizer Jose Matus contended that the age-old traditions of free crossings by several indigenous groups living in the border region,
including the Yaqui and Tohono O'odham, are routinely violated by different U.S. government agencies.

"On top of that you have DEA stopping Tohono O'odham citizens and questioning them about where they're going. You're talking about residents living near the border. In some cases, they've been abused by the Border Patrol also. Again, involving the enforcement of drug laws," said Matus. "So all that in combination -- as far as the military is concerned and the DEA and the INS -- is really giving the Indian nations a militarized and police state, police nation if you will, imposed by the United States government, all in the name of drugs."

In conjunction with the Human Rights Coalition, Matus' group is organizing a national march against current U.S. border policies in Tucson on December 11, 1999.

Asked to explain under what circumstances the Border Patrol is allowed to stop and question people, the U.S Attorney's office in Las Cruces referred this reporter to U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Ron Lopez in Albuquerque. Lopez in turn deferred to a letter earlier sent to Albuquerque radio station KUNM-FM that was signed by U.S. Attorney John Kelly. The letter stated that several decisions in the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals support the right of Border Patrol agents to halt and interrogate citizens. For instance, in United States vs. Massie (1995), the ruling judge declared that Border Patrol agents may stop, detain and question any individuals at fixed checkpoints, such as the one that exists on Interstate-25 just north of Las Cruces, N.M. The decision gave agents broad leeway in the scope of their questioning.

In the case of roving patrols, the Kelly letter said federal courts have outlined eight factors that could justify a stop, including the appearance of the vehicle, proximity of the area to the border and information about recent illegal crossings or smuggling activity on the highway. A weighted down station wagon driving between Columbus and Deming in Luna County might be very suspicious in the eyes of the Border Patrol. However, in the absence of a search warrant, the Border Patrol must have a vehicle owner's permission to conduct a search.

Nevertheless, some Columbus residents maintain that the frequent pull-overs and probing interrogations at checkpoints are a violation of their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Last spring, a group in Columbus formed Citizens United for Rights on the Border (CURB) and organized two public meetings attended by several dozen community residents, Border Patrol officials and local law enforcement authorities. While Latino activist groups have long protested the Border Patrol, the CURB meetings revealed that people who had never had an axe to grind with the Border Patrol were openly expressing discontent. Among them were Anglo ranchers and "ex-hippies," a cross-section of the population. CURB member Victor Zizumbo said his group is not against the Border Patrol, but wanted agents to treat residents "with respect, with class."

El Paso Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier, whose sector includes Columbus, said his agency is willing to hear complaints against agents, which can be filed with any local Border Patrol supervisor. Mosier said that the last Columbus meeting, which was attended by El Paso Border Patrol Chief Luis Barker, was productive as a "sounding board" in airing concerns and establishing a two-way between his agency and the locals.

"There were some concerns, you know, about the speed traveled by the agents in and around the area and we felt like those were very legitimate concerns," said Mosier. "We wanted to hear those things, and of course we can't address those problems until we hear about them."

Mosier added that the Border Patrol in Columbus will increase its public outreach efforts in a bid to smooth the ruffled feathers of community members by sponsoring, among other events, health fairs and public safety workshops. "We also have some community liaison programs that are being mapped out and conducted," he said. "Agents actually meet on a daily basis with Columbus residents and business leaders to discuss various issues, and that's going on right now."

What's more, continued Mosier, his agency will bring in a community policing expert to provide more training to agents. The Border Patrol spokesperson contended that his agents have a grueling, often thankless job, but that some locals recognized this reality by giving their "heartfelt thanks" at the last community meeting on what the Border Patrol was doing in their locality.

In Victor Zizumbo's view, the behavior of some Border Patrol agents has improved since the last two community meetings. Instances of speeding, he noted, have decreased. CURB, meanwhile, plans to continue as a Border Patrol watchdog. Members have said they will run a 1-800 hotline to handle citizen complaints, conduct rights workshops, assist in filing complaints, and post informational signs around Luna County.