Border agents unevenly spread but Yuma Sector still effective

The Border Patrol has nearly five times more agents per mile near the California coast than along Yuma County's border with Mexico, but the Yuma area remains efficiently covered, a patrol spokesman says.

An Associated Press analysis of Border Patrol staffing shows that the San Diego Sector, with the shortest section of border and fences covering half the boundary, has four times the number of agents per mile than west Texas does and three times as many as most of Arizona.

That is the case even though the Tucson Sector in Arizona has been the busiest spot for illegal crossings for years, and El Paso sits next to a Mexican city that has seen a surge in drug-cartel violence so severe that Mexicans are pleading for asylum in the U.S.

Compared with San Diego's 37 agents per mile, the patrol's Yuma Sector employs 870 agents to monitor 118 miles of border between Yuma-Pima County line and Imperial Sand Dunes in California, said Eric Anderson, a public information officer for the sector. That works out to about seven agents per mile in the Yuma Sector.

That compares with 11 for most of Arizona and nine for the Rio Grande Valley and west Texas, based on head counts given to the AP in July.

Anderson insisted that local staffing and agent dispersal is dependent upon field intelligence as well as knowledge of the traditionally favored crossings in a sector.

The scale is not comparable to places like San Diego but in the 3-1/2 years Anderson has been assigned to Yuma Sector, a huge decrease in activity has been evidenced.

"Three and a half years ago we would catch 800 people a day. Yesterday we caught seven plus one other in Wellton."

Anderson added that technology also empowers what staff each sector has and enables them to work more efficiently and create a deterrent against future crossings.

Still, some critics see politics at play.

Border Patrol officials defend the staffing levels, saying San Diego's transportation routes and year-round balmy weather make it an attractive spot for smugglers.

Others suggest, however, that members of Congress who most embrace the agency's push are rewarded with more agents.

"In many cases, they're very political, " said T.J. Bonner, president of the agents union. "Congress giveth and taketh away, so you can't just thumb your nose at Congress and say, 'We're going to make these decisions based only on our enforcement needs.'"

The 60-mile San Diego Sector is at the southern end of a county with roughly 3 million people. It has two major northbound highways and easy access to food, water and communication - all of which make it inviting to smugglers and illegal immigrants.

But the sector is already heavily reinforced: Two-thirds of the border is blocked by fences or vehicle barriers. The most populous part of the boundary has nearly 10 miles of double-layer fences with stadium lights.

The border in Arizona and Texas is more wide open and more rural in many places, which can make it harder to guard. It also includes major interstates and sizable population centers where recent arrivals can easily blend in. The Rio Grande forms the border in Texas, but in many places it is possible to swim, wade or float across it.

Arizona has long been the busiest and deadliest section of the border, recording hundreds of deaths in recent years among immigrants who fell victim to the rocky terrain and the fierce desert heat and cold.

Borderwide, staffing has increased dramatically in the past five years as political pressure to prevent illegal immigration has mounted. On the southern border, there are roughly 15,000 agents, up from 9,500 in 2004.

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Sun staff writer Erin Orozco contributed to this report. She can be reached at eorozco@yumasun.com or 539-6849.