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Two truck drivers charged with smuggling migrants

Two truckers were arrested and a "drop house" was raided in immigrant smuggling cases in the El Paso area this week, an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman said on Friday. On Wednesday morning, the Border Enforcement Security Task Force, or BEST, stopped two 18-wheelers on Interstate 10 near Vado after agents spotted the drivers letting two men into one cab and another man into the other cab at a truck stop, ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said. The three immigrants, found hiding in the sleeper sections, told investigators they each paid $1,800 to be smuggled to Los Angeles. Truck drivers Julio Cesar Cazabal Gutierrez, 34, and Javier Nolasco Sanchez, 26, were arrested on charges of conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Now thank goodness Byron Dorgan (D) (with a B+ on his immigration report card) has offered this legislation...

WASHINGTON – Mexican trucks could have to wait longer than anticipated to haul freight deep into the United States.

The Bush administration in February announced that it would soon allow 100 Mexican trucking companies to travel beyond the current 20-mile limit for a one-year pilot project.

But a Senate panel on Thursday voted to delay the plan by requiring the administration to publish details about it and giving the public time to comment on it. The action came as part of a supplemental spending bill to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The administration is rushing to open the border to Mexican-domiciled trucks without assuring their safety and enforcement of the law of the U.S.,” said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. “They can’t go rushing forward in opening the border without having explained what their pilot project is.”

The Transportation Department said it is committed to moving forward with the program and will work with lawmakers to address their concerns.

“The Mexican trucking demonstration program will bring real benefits and real dollars to the American economy while maintaining all U.S. safety and security standards,” the department said in a statement.

Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Dianne Feinstein of California and Patty Murray of Washington sponsored the amendment.

“There still remain very significant safety issues,” Dorgan said.

He also criticized the Bush administration for opening the border to Mexican trucks before Mexico opened the border to U.S. trucks. “They were going to implement these plans for Mexican long-haul trucks in a way that was at odds with how the Mexicans were going to treat American truckers,” Dorgan said.

Thank you president Bush for working hard every day to make Americans less safe! Thank you!

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