"Former Mexican federal agent returned to Mexico to face drug charges"

Hi Gang:

I have once again turned to the ICE website to search for news releases of interest and came up with what I believe is a significant article.  The press release I am providing to you appeared on the ICE website on April 13, 2011 and announced the arrest and removal of a citizen of Mexico who is wanted in Mexico for his alleged narcotics trafficking crimes.
Here is an excerpt from the press release that summarizes the important facts of this case:
Fausto Perez-Rafael, 42, was transferred to the custody of representatives from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers. According to Mexican authorities, Perez served as an agent for the former Mexican judicial police, the equivalent of this country’s FBI, during the early 1990s. An arrest warrant issued in the Mexican state of Baja California in Feb. 2007 accuses the former federal officer of transporting cocaine. Mexican authorities allege that in Nov. 1995, while Perez was serving as a federal agent, he used a clandestine airfield near La Paz to transport 10 tons of cocaine.
There are a number of important issues you should consider about this case.  First of all, the alien in this case, Fausto Perez Rafael had used his position with the Mexican Judicial Police, an agency the article compares with the FBI of the United States, to facilitate the smuggling of 10 tons of cocaine into the United States.  Certainly this is a significant quantity of narcotics.  Apparently Mr. Perez-Rafael and the cocaine made its way across our nation’s supposedly secure border- at least according to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Surrender, Janet Napolitano the border is now secure- a claim that is often enthusiastically supported by Senator Chuck Schumer and the other usual suspects in Congress and the administration who will, on command, nod their heads with great vigor to show how happy they apparently are with the state of our nation’s borders!
What is amazing is that Schumer is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and also serves as the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship.  I would love to know if he really believes what he says about our border being secure.
Here is a listing of the areas of concern for which the Senate Judiciary Committee is supposed to provide oversight:

Senate Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship, Chair
Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs 
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security                        

In attempting to understand how our “leaders” could make the assertion about the security of our nation’s borders, I thought I should do a bit of research and see how the Merriam- Webster Online Dictionary defines the term “secure.”  Here is what I found:

1se·cure
 adj si-?kyu?r
se·cur·erse·cur·est

Definition of SECURE

1
a archaic : unwisely free from fear or distrust : overconfident b : easy in mind : confident c : assured in opinion or expectation : having no doubt
2
a : free from danger b : free from risk of loss c : affording safety <a secure hideaway> d : trustworthydependable <a secure foundation>
3
: assured 1 <a secure victory>
— se·cure·ly adverb
— se·cure·ness noun

Examples of SECURE

  1. We need to make our network more secure against attacks by hackers.
  2. The children were safe and secure in their beds.
  3. A safe is provided to keep your valuables secure from potential thieves.
  4. You should store your valuables in a secure place.
  5. How secure is your front door?
  6. You are now entering a secure area.
  7. I’m feeling secure about my place in the company.
  8. The company has established a secure foothold in the market.
  9. He believes his job is secure.
  10. They didn’t begin to celebrate until they knew their victory was secure.


In reviewing the definition and the examples that were provided I have to concede that the fifth example provided on the website gave me a bit of a chuckle.  As you can see, it asks, 
How secure is your front door?”

I have often noted that architects understand immigration better than many of our government’s leaders- they provide the front door of people’s homes with a strong lock, a doorbell and a peephole so that the person who lives in that home may be notified when a stranger is seeking entry into that house and then peer through the peephole to determine whether or not to admit that stranger into his home!
Clearly the term “secure” conveys a sense of safety.  How safe is our nation or its citizens when you consider the ease with which unknown millions of illegal aliens have surreptitiously entered our country by evading the inspections process?  The most unsophisticated illegal aliens are almost always able to cross our supposedly secure border if they are willing to be arrested a few times by the Border Patrol.  To these individuals the border is little more than a speed bump and, with nearly all of the focus for DHS on the border, porous as it is, illegal aliens who can head inland from the borders, are virtually home free!
If you doubt this, I would ask that you consider this paragraph I have copied from the news release:
Since April 2009, ICE ERO officers nationwide have coordinated the removal of more than 175 foreign nationals being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder.
As I have often noted, a press release is a document or posting in which the author of the document is crowing about a success.  I am certainly glad that ICE has been able to apprehend 175 foreign national who are wanted in their own countries for serious crimes such as kidnapping, rape and murder.  Certainly they need to face justice for the crimes that they are charged with committing.  Their removal from our country also makes our country that much safer, but I seriously doubt that there have only been 175 such criminal aliens who our government has been asked to apprehend and send home to stand trial.  I would love to know how many such aliens are on a “wanted list” provided to our government by law enforcement agencies from the other countries on our planet and how many personnel at ICE are on the hunt for these dangerous fugitives. 
Another point you should consider is the fact that this issue of transnational fugitives reenforces one of the key points I have made about the nature of illegal aliens who evade the inspections process.  An alien who evades the inspections process to enter our country is most likely excludible for one or more reasons noted in our immigration laws and may, in fact, be a fugitive in his (her) own country or some third country.  
Here is a link to Title 8 of the United States Code, Section 212- these are the grounds under which an alien would be ineligible to be lawfully admitted into the United States: 
This is why it is extremely dangerous to our nation and our citizens when aliens are able to enter our country by running our borders.  They not only evade the inspections process that is supposed to prevent the entry of aliens who presence is harmful or even dangerous to our nation and our citizens, but they also leave no record of their entry into our country.  This facilitates the embedding process of criminal aliens and international terrorists.  Additionally, when an alien is discovered in the prison system, presuming that the politicians of the city in which the aliens are incarcerated, ICE is notified about the incarceration of that alien.  An alien who runs our borders is not fingerprinted when he runs the border and may succeed in making a false claim to being a United States citizen and not be identified to ICE as being an alien who should be deported (removed) upon the completion of his prison sentence. 
A final thought.
Fox News and other news agencies recently reported on a Congressional hearing in which Richard Stana of the GAO (General Accountability Office) about the amount of time that would be required to complete a fence along the Mexican/U.S. border estimated that it might take more then ten years!
Here is a link to the Fox News report that was posted on March 15, 2011 and entitled: 

Official: Technology to Replace Virtual Border Fence Won’t Be Fully Online for a Decade

The obvious question is how could the border be secure without that fence?  Why would it take more than decade to construct that fence?  
At least one of the members of Congress who participated in the hearing seems to “get it.”  Consider this quote from that news report:

Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, balked at the idea that the high tech gear, which he said is already available to the military, would take more than a decade to be deployed. “You are talking 10 to 15 years. It took us a decade to put a man on the moon,” McCaul said. “I don’t understand why it takes so long. You have a crisis going on down there. Everyone knows it. We know how dangerous it is in Mexico, we know how dangerous it is on the border. Why can’t we ramp up this process?” 

Congressman McCaul was certainly about the amount of time it took for the United States to realize the goal that had been established by President John F. Kennedy.  It is also important to note that after the attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 it took about 44 months for our nation, working in close coordination with its allies, to build fleets of ships of all sorts that had not existed before, fleets of aircraft of all sorts that had not existed before, brand new weapons systems, radar installations, even nuclear weapons and win the Second World War.  Back then our nation was not a “Super Power!”  Back then our nation had an unofficial two word motto, “Can do!”
What might have been “Mission Impossible” for the rest of the world was merely “Mission Difficult” for the United States of America!
I do not believe that the nature of the average American has changed, I believe that our nation suffers from a lack of decent and moral leadership!  That is what elections are for!

The effective enforcement and administration of our nation’s immigration laws are, arguably, among the most important of all missions that are supposed to be carried out by our federal government.  
Nothing less than the security of our nation and safety of our citizens hang in the balance!
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!

I

our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!

We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.  
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same.  We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”

The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.

The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!


The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.  I implore you to resolve this year to get involved!
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world.  However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!

If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! 

All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!

We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

-michael cutler- 


Please check out my website:





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April 13, 2011
San Ysidro, CA

Former Mexican federal agent returned to Mexico to face drug charges


Fausto Perez-RafaelSAN YSIDRO, Calif. – A former agent for the Mexican judicial police, who is wanted in his native country on drug trafficking charges, was turned over to Mexican law enforcement officials at the border crossing here Wednesday morning following his capture in the Bay Area by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

Fausto Perez-Rafael, 42, was transferred to the custody of representatives from the Mexican Attorney General’s Office by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers. According to Mexican authorities, Perez served as an agent for the former Mexican judicial police, the equivalent of this country’s FBI, during the early 1990s. An arrest warrant issued in the Mexican state of Baja California in Feb. 2007 accuses the former federal officer of transporting cocaine. Mexican authorities allege that in Nov. 1995, while Perez was serving as a federal agent, he used a clandestine airfield near La Paz to transport 10 tons of cocaine.

Perez’s repatriation follows his capture two months ago in the East Bay community of Pittsburgh, Calif. ICE developed information on Perez’s possible whereabouts after being alerted by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office about the outstanding arrest warrant. Perez was taken into custody Feb. 8 on administrative immigration violations by officers assigned to ERO’s Fugitive Operations Teams. On April 1, an immigration judge found Perez did not have a legal basis to remain in the United States, paving the way for his repatriation to Mexico.

“Today’s repatriation is another example of the outstanding cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico to combat drug-related crime in that nation,” said Timothy Aitken, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in San Francisco. “The Department of Homeland Security’s goal in this case is not only to see justice served, but to protect law abiding citizens on both sides of the border.”

Since April 2009, ICE ERO officers nationwide have coordinated the removal of more than 175 foreign nationals being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423.


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