Watching the border in Texas


Riding along with the Border Patrol
Salena Zito takes a look .

If you ever happen to tag along with the Border Patrol after dark along the El Paso County, Texas, line and Mexico, be proficient in acronyms. And bring your night-vision paraphernalia.

Because once you are at the border, you are briefed about OTMs, MS-13s and SIAs. And you're warned that no lights are allowed since it sort of draws unwanted attention from the federales, armed men with anger issues.

For the acronym-deficient:

An OTM is an illegal immigrant whose background is Other Than Mexican.

The MS-13s are El Salvadorian gang members with the MS, meaning Mara Salvatrucha. Mara stands for "gang" and Salvatrucha is Spanish slang for being alert, vigilant and ready. The 13 comes from the Los Angeles area and demonstrates an alliance with the Mexican mafia, a brutal prison gang.

Finally there are the SIAs (Special Interest Aliens), foreign nationals from countries with a known al-Qaida presence.

Describing them is the easy part; dissecting their intentions is another story.

I got a firsthand look at the comings and goings along the Texas-Mexico border on a recent drive-by viewing with the Texas Border Patrol. Border security is an easy policy issue that cannot rationally be attacked.

This is not "Houston, we've got a problem"; this is a regional occurrence with a national impact.

Texas currently is a gateway for MS-13 into the United States, although their final destination is not always Texas. They are spread throughout the United States. Law enforcement has to deal with them in places like Virginia and our nation's capital. They follow a simple model -- migrate to where you already have a foothold.

The OTMs and SIAs are watered-down versions of the MS-13s in terms of known violence. Their mystery is shrouded in their intent.

I've no idea how to solve this problem. I just know it is getting worse, and it has only been in the last few months that anyone "in charge" showed any interest.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Mon - January 30, 2006 at 04:28 AM  Tag


 ◊  ◊   ◊  ◊ 

Random selections from NeoWayland's library


Pagan Vigil "Because LIBERTY demands more than just black or white"
© 2005 - 2009 All Rights Reserved