Think again - violence that is taking place in Mexican cities can and will happen here if we do nothing to stop it from coming here. We are not immune - we are not bullet proof!! Are we completely blind and stupid not to see this coming our way? We need the fence as well as a good comprehensive immigration policy that is fair for everyone and we need it now.
Keep the faith, the battle is joined!
*Seeking Asylum From Palomas
*By Rene Romo Southern Bureau
Saturday, March 22, 2008
LAS CRUCES— The small Mexican border town of Palomas, ravaged by drug-related violence in recent months, apparently grew too dangerous for its police chief. Officials with the U.S. Border Patrol said Friday that the Palomas police chief, identified as Emilio Perez, went to the Columbus port of entry late Tuesday seeking asylum in the United States, asserting concern for his safety. "He applied for asylum due to the fact he felt that Mexico is not the safest place for him right now," said Chris Mangusing, assistant patrol agent in charge of the Border Patrol's Deming station, which covers the Columbus area.
"My understanding is maybe there were some death threats made." According to Border Patrol officials, the police chief told Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the port of entry that his two officers had fled to parts unknown. Mangusing said the police chief was taken to a Border Patrol processing center in El Paso. Leticia Zamarripa, ICE spokeswoman in El Paso, declined to comment on the case, citing privacy issues.
Typically, refugees seeking asylum are taken into custody for 48 hours until they are interviewed by a federal official seeking to determine whether the applicant has a credible fear of harm if returned to his home country, said Marilu Cabrera, a Chicago-based spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The decision to grant asylum is made by the Executive Office of Immigration Review, an arm of the Department of Justice, Cabrera said. Recently, Palomas, a town of about 8,000, has been beset by border violence. The newspaper El Diario of Juárez reported Friday the discovery Thursday of two bodies wrapped in blankets and dumped along a road near Palomas. Two other people were killed last weekend in Palomas, Luna County Sheriff Raymond Cobos said. And at least four men were shot and killed in Palomas in February in what local officials said is a violent battle for control of the area by rival drug gangs.
"We understand the dynamic of why he requested asylum, given the circumstances of what's going on in the Palomas area," said Doug Mosier, spokesman for the Border Patrol's El Paso sector, which includes all of New Mexico and two western Texas counties. "We, too, have concerns about increasing violence in that area, and we've taken steps to be vigilant to make sure the violence does not spill over onto this side of the border," Mosier said. Cobos said the recent violence, coupled with the departure of Palomas' police chief, concerns him because of the potential for violence to affect people on U.S. soil.
"If they have a complete lack of police presence in Palomas, then obviously that opens the gates to whomever wants to step in and claim authority," Cobos said. "If it's the criminal element, or narcotics-related elements, that's bad for people on both sides of the border. Cobos said his primary concern is the safety of roughly 400 U.S.-born children from Palomas who pass through the Columbus port of entry each weekday to attend school in Columbus or Deming. "I have deputies standing by to provide security as much as they are able and given the environment," Cobos said.
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