MCALLEN, Texas -- Border Patrol recently relaxed fuel restrictions for Rio Grande Valley agents, thanks to additional funding from Washington.
Faced with budget problems, the Rio Grande Valley Sector -- where agents have apprehended more than 100,000 illegal immigrants since October, more than any other sector along the U.S.-Mexico border -- started rationing fuel. Border Patrol has been tight-lipped about when the fuel rationing began and how the budget crunch impacted operations.
Some details leaked out.
Agents carpooled to assignments and patrolled the Rio Grande on foot while their trademark green-and-white SUVs sat idle. National Border Patrol Council Local 3307, which represents Valley agents, warned the fuel rationing had allowed more illegal immigrants to escape and reduced border security.
Recently, though, the Rio Grande Valley Sector received additional funding for operations. Fuel restrictions have been relaxed. Budget data, including how much money the sector received, wasn't immediately available Wednesday.
"Yes, we did receive some additional funding for operating costs," said Agent Enrique Mendiola, an agency spokesman. "And that will get us through the remainder of the fiscal year."
The budget crunch forced the Rio Grande Valley Sector to reduce operating costs, including fuel, Mendiola said. Additional funds will help fix the problem.
"We'll be in good shape for the rest of the year," Mendiola said.
Fuel rationing had incensed rank-and-file agents, who started leaking information to reporters. Anonymous Border Patrol agents and leaked documents from the Rio Grande Valley Sector have been cited in reports from The Monitor, The New York Times, KRGV-TV and other outlets.
Apprehensions dropped too.
"And the drop in apprehensions wasn't as a result of tighter enforcement," said Paul Perez, an agent assigned to the Kingsville Station who's also president of Local 3307. "It was a result of nobody being out there to catch them."
From Oct. 1 to May 31, agents assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector apprehended 93,900 people, according to data released Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo. Agents assigned to the Tucson Sector, the second-busiest stretch of the border, apprehended 89,800 people.
Since then, Rio Grande Valley Sector agents have broken the 100,000 mark, Mendiola said.
Copyright 2013 - The Monitor, McAllen, Texas
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
