Port Townsend, Washington: Recently, the Border Patrol set up five checkpoints on the North Olympic Peninsula, including one on state Highway 104 in Jefferson County near Hood Canal Bride and another on U.S. Highway 101 and Discovery Bay.
Since the checkpoints were established, 15 immigration-related arrests were made, 10 of which were turned over to other agencies due to suspected criminal backgrounds.
Now, Port Townsend residents are objecting to the increased number of Border Patrol Agents in their area. About 50 local residents attended a forum hosted by the Jefferson County Democrats and attended by Border Patrol agents Cmdr. Todd McCool, Deputy Cmdr. Jason Carroll, and Chris Dyer, public affairs officer.
One Port Townsend resident, Dave Woodruff, directed his sentiments to the Border Patrol: "If you are here to protect us from foreign terrorists, that's one thing, but if you are just trying to pe
rpetuate your agency that's another," Woodruff said. "Don't try to scare us and tell us about the bogeymen . . . tell us how you are here and how you are interdicting terrorists."
rpetuate your agency that's another," Woodruff said. "Don't try to scare us and tell us about the bogeymen . . . tell us how you are here and how you are interdicting terrorists."Libby Palmer talked of living in the "Red scare" in the 1950s and 1960s. "Many of us remember that era, when everybody was a communist living under everything around us. That fear was spread in order to perpetuate aspects of the policy at the time and it was intense."
Deputy Cmdr. Carroll said he would prefer that agents worked off the Peninsula's mainland, in the surrounding waterways, even on the other side of the border, so as not to upset residents.
Two audience members objected to the agents showing up carrying sidearms, but Officer Dyer explained it was just a part of the uniform, like a shirt. He added that they were no different than police officers showing up at a function carrying weapons."This is our uniform," he said.
Chimacum resident John Cantlon asked why the Border Patrol appeared to be applying the southern border strategy to the northern border, by adding agents."I don't have a problem with the Border Patrol," Cantlon said. "But to take the southern strategy at the southern border and move it up here is completely mind boggling."
Carroll said the extent of the Border Patrol's staffing now amounts to 19 agents on actual patrol "working the border."The number of agents for the entire Peninsula's shoreline border was "a drop in the bucket, but that helps with the deterring effect," he said with a smile."We analyze our strategy," Carroll said. "The threat up here is terrorists. Canada is an easy country to get asylum."
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28 comments:
I found it interesting the Border Patrol acknowledged the protection on the northern border was to thwart Terrorists. While obviously at the southern border it's to prevent workers from coming in.
Yet the BP calls the incoming workers "criminal aliens" and the nativists label them as terrorists.
Fear is a tool to control the weak. The uneducated and under-educated are easy prey for the fear tactics of the BP.
Fear and dehumanization. Our government at its worst.
Still hoping for change.
Welcome Rocky.
I agree.
I too am hoping for CHANGE!
We will see soon. The Hispanic Caucus is meeting with Napolitano today.
Sounds like a bunch of village idiots. As FDR said, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." These residents are making something out of nothing. They should be happy the BP is there on duty. They should be stopping all illegals and sending them packing. Who knows which one is a terrorist or drug smuggler?
You forgot the part about those workers coming in from the southern border are illegal aliens and have no right to work here. They are coming in against our immigration laws. Terrorists can also enter from our southern border along with criminals.
Anon,
As the Border Agent suggested, history tells us the terrorists come from the Canadian borders.
I think it is a good idea for the BPs to finally protect the Canadian border. It has been lax for far too long.
I agree with Ultima. The local residents should not be so abusive to the BPs.
Incorrect! There is no real "history" of terrorists entering through our northern border illegally. Besides, are you naive enough to think that terrorists will pick one border and always enter that way onlY?
Of course there is history from Canada. Google it yourself. Additionally, the Border Agent acknowledges it himself.
Besides, why should terrorists risk the rough terrain of the Mexico deserts when they can come in via a visa or through Canada, as the anthrax traveller did.
Both borders must be protected against people entering this country illegally. It doesn't matter what their reason for entering this country is, no illegal entry plain and simple. Are there some legal workers being blocked at the southern border? I don't think so.
Wrong Wrong Wrong.
The traffic through the southern border has been reduced to practilly nill.
I do agree that we do need to have BP on all borders, ports and terminals protecting us from terrorists.
If you read the article, there were already 15 stopped and 10 potential terrorists stopped on the roads of Port Townsend, WA, all in only a couple of weeks.
They have not begun the effort to ask for ID on buses. That is what the residents were complaining about.
We should have equal protection from terrorists on ALL borders, ports and terminals. I am far more worried about them coming from the North, where they have come from in the past and where the borders are so lax.
My friend is writing a screenplay about terrorists entering this country across the US/Mexican border. I've read most of it and it is very interesting as it shows how easily a terrorist can blend in with the illegals crossing the border. It shows different views, the illegal crossing, the border patrol agent, people dealing with the garbage left behind by the illegals and their effect on this country. In the end, the terrorist
makes his way in and well you will have to see the movie to find out if we have another 9/11 in our future.
Right. Right. Right.
12 million plus later-Both borders must be protected. NO ILLEGAL ENTRY for work or any other reason.
If I were a terrorist, and I could blend in with the illegal traffic from Mexico, I definitely would cross the border into the U.S. through Mexico. You yourself have said the terrorists like to enter across the Canadian border.How do you know for sure who is crossing the U.S./Mexico border? The answer is, you don't.
I said there was no history of terrorists entering thru our Canadian border "illegally". I said nothing about visas.
Anon,
What a stretch.
The facts are, the majority of those that do terroristic harm to our country come in through Canada or through terminals/ports. We ALL know that!
Your speculation is just that.
Most terrorists have no need to go through the excrutiation pains of the deserts.
Prove those so called facts then that we have had many terrorists come through our northern border "illegally".
If they came through our northern border or ports legally then that doesn't count. We cannot stop anyone who comes here legally. Same thing at our southern border. We cannot stop anyone who comes through there legally.
Ha Ha Anon.
You do NOT make the rules here.
We ALL know the 9-11 terrorists came in LEGALLY through Canada.
They came in with LEGAL visas.
That is the ENTIRE Problem. We cannot allow our focus to be misdirected upon workers trevailing the trepidous deserts.
The TRUE TERRORISTS are coming in OTHER ways!! They are coming in via Canada or via legal paths through airlines or other terminals.
Make sense man!!
ALL OF US AMERICANS want to STOP the Terrorists! But they are NOT coming in through Mexico!!
Terrorists well enter whatever way and opportunity is available to them. They will come both legally and illegally from either border or by sea or airspace. One has to be pretty naive not to think so.
Anonymous said...
"If I were a terrorist, and I could blend in with the illegal traffic from Mexico, I definitely would cross the border into the U.S. through Mexico"
Anon, you show your true colors with this statement.
LMJ,
I am curious to know what you meant to anonymous by stating you showed your true colors. He/she is right. One of the easiest ways to get here is to blend in with the high numbers of illegal traffic from the south. If millions could get here that way, why couldn't a terrorist do likewise?
Sonny,
Since Anon was responding to me in LMJs reference, I will respond to your question.
The answer is obvious if you knew the comment history of the "bad anon". He/She rants and raves about the Mexican border and illeeegals from Mexico.
Look at what Anon said, "If I were a terrorist I would blend in with the illegal traffic from Mexico." He is profiling terrorists ASSUMing all are brown skinned/brown haired blending in with brown haired/brown skinned Mexicans. He cares NOTHING that NONE of the 9-11 terrorists came in through Canada (legally or otherwise).
Look at his other references saying terrorists didnt come in illegally through Canada.
Sheesh!
RACIAL PROFILING and Anon's ASSUMPTIONS of Terrorist Profilings are not only ludicrous and racist, they are DUMB!!
So I agree with LMJ. His comments do show his "true colors."
I disagree with your analogy of anonymous's remarks. Why not just take it at face value instead of inserting personalities into it? It is true that a terrorist could easily blend in with the high traffic of illegals coming in through our southern border. That isn't happening at our northern border. As I said however, terrorists will enter anyway or anywhere they can, whether it be legally or illegally to get here.
I don't care either that the 9/11 terrorists came through Canada because they came with visas and they could just have easily came that way through our southern border also with a visa. It was just a choice they made at that time. So that proved nothing about what they may do the next time.
Well those from terrorist countries do tend to have brown hair and skin because they are desert countries for one thing. That is just a fact. Of course we have our own home grown kind that are white and have light skin also.
In summary what happened in the past does not shed light on what could happen in the future.
Sonny,
Disagree all you will. It doesnt change the FACTS.
NO TERRORISTS came in from Mexico. So much for your Racial Profiling.
The 9-11 terrorist came in from Canada. Evil Anon's point is that they had legal visas vs illegal. A ludicrous point.
I do not condone Racail Profiling as you and evil Anon do. You definitely have a problem in that regard.
You also forget Timothy McVeigh and BTK, home grown terrorists, looked just like you and Anon. Should we racial profile you?
I agree with you Dee that protecting the border is important. But, if I may add my two cents, what is happening in the Olympic Peninsula with the border checkpoints, is nothing but racial profiling. They aren't making us safer from terrorists, and only have led to traffic in the area and harassment of all brown-skinned people. Plus, they are not adequately staffing the Port of Port Townsend of the Jefferson County Airport, the two actual international ports of entry in the area, and instead they want to put more border patrol agents inland? It makes no sense, and is wasteful spending of resources. It makes sense to put the agents AT the border, not inland, where they are pulling over and interrogating innocent people that "look" like migrant workers, or migrant workers themselves.
HAH that Anonymous person sure is a TRIP! This is my first time on this site and I am baffled by his logic. To say that the 9/11 terrorists were okay because they came in legally is laughable. No mention that the reason they got in is because security is so LAX on the northern border. Of course they wont come in from the south...that place is crawling with border patrol and minutemen trying to act heroes. Terrorists are just brown ya know ;D!
I work in immigration law enforcement, and I started in the Border Patrol. I can assure you that a good majority of those crossing the southern border every day are 15-30 year old wannabe gang bangers setting up in every town in the U.S., committing crimes, and tagging our dumpsters with the usual MS-13/Sureno?latin Kings graffiti. I see them every day, and there are way too many to arrest given our current number of officers. The biggest threat to our country right now is that we are being overrun by criminal aliens, many working for cartels.
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