| Subject: Mohawk police stretched watching busy, porous border Doing extra work without increased federal resources |
Author:
No name
| [ Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 12:34:02 12/03/01 Mon
Mohawk police stretched watching busy, porous border Doing extra work without increased federal resources
Posted: October 31, 2001 - 11:00am EST
by: Jim Adams / Indian Country Today
http://indiancountry.com/?2756
HOGANSBURG, N.Y. — On a busy Tuesday night in late September, the undermanned St. Regis Mohawk tribal police took six hours from regular duties to track and arrest an illegal crossing the border from Canada.
Although security has peaked on the International Boundary since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the arrest was almost routine for the 13 uniformed officers of the Tribal Police Department. Not only does the force serve the 4,500 inhabitants of the 14,000-acre St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in far northern New York, it provides an indispensable part of the United States watch along a border hot spot.
"We’d be in a deep problem if we didn’t have the cooperation we do," said Ed Duda, assistant chief of the U.S. Border Patrol. "This stretch of border is extremely hard to patrol. It’s got to be the biggest operational challenge for the U.S. Border Patrol."
"We’ve been very concerned about border issues for many years," St. Regis Police Chief Andrew Thomas said. "We’ve had very close cooperation with the U.S. Border Patrol for the past six or seven years."
Yet the tribal police pays for border work out of the department budget, with no extra help from the federal government. Thomas said he has discussed additional funding with federal officials, so far with no result.
The last incident highlighted the popularity of Akwesasne as an illicit point of entry. Another 4,000 Mohawks live on the Canadian portion of the reservation, and many regard the border between two Euro-American entities as an irrelevancy. The nine miles of river and island territory have long seen free movement of Natives and "contraband," but a sinister new element has appeared in the past decade with immigrant smuggling.
"We have a lot of contact with illegal aliens," Thomas said. In spite of the tension over terrorist infiltration, this focus "is not anything new, we’ve been doing it right along."
Duda provided statistics showing the dramatic growth in enforcement. In 1994, he said, the Akwesasne sector produced 67 arrests for illegal border crossings.. In 2000, arrests peaked at 484.
St. Regis police played a role in almost all of them, he said. Since Jan. 1, tribal police have made 68 illegal alien arrests.
The figures vary in the wake of major crackdowns, Duda said. In December 1998, federal agents and tribal police made headlines with Operation Over the Rainbow, which cracked a major immigrant smuggling ring reaching to China and Malaysia. The result of a two-year investigation, it led to 47 arrests.
The smugglers wee accused of planning to bring at least 3,600 undocumented Asians into the country at a going rate of $47,000 each. "That’s $170 million from one operation," Duda said. "It’s big money."
Thomas said that unfortunately, the money attracted some Mohawks. "A few from our community participated with that ring."
Enemies of the Mohawks have used these incidents to portray Akwesasne as a lawless frontier. A series of newspapers ads sponsored last year by casino rival Donald Trump tried to tar the tribal government with the crimes. Trump later paid a record fine to a New York State commission, which ruled that the ads were an illegal lobbying campaign.
Thomas noted that tribal police work on the case won an Inter-Agency Assistance award from the federal Department of Immigration and Naturalization. "We are one of three agencies around the country that received that award. We have a nice plaque hanging in our office."
Duda said the border patrol planned to step up its cooperation with the tribal police, trying ride-alongs with tribal officers. He said the patrol had also begun "cultural sensitivity" training to acquaint its agents with Mohawk traditions.
He also mentioned a suggestion from Mohawk Grand Chief Michael Mitchell, a leader on the Canadian side, to set up a Mohawk border patrol. "I think the Mohawk community would be receptive to that idea," Duda said.
Although border patrol officials are not allowed to discuss security measures since the Sept. 11 attacks, Duda said that Washington would be much more conscious of the Mohawk contribution as a result.
The attacks brought an immediate response from Chief Thomas and the St. Regis Tribal Council. On Sept. 12, they issued a "Special Alert" to all community residents "to report any suspicious people or questionable activity."
"Unrestricted border entry points in Akwesasne have made our community an easy target for terrorist groups to gain illegal entry into the United States or Canada," the alert noted.. "Police authorities have repeatedly warned Akwesasne officials of the criminal activities of dangerous individuals who are unable to enter the United States through proper legal channels and who may travel through our territorial waters, islands and mainland."
The tribal council said it "will not condone such conduct nor support any community member involved and convicted of such activities."
The threat of terrorist border crossings used to be a perception, Duda said, but now it is very real for all enforcement personnel, including the tribal police. "The guys are taking it personally."
©2001 Indian Country Today
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
] |
|
