The Christmas Spirit is hard to come by this year. Bad things have happened in the country and the world and we have all felt sad.
Still there is much we can, and must, do.
Do any of you know that old children's hymn...Jesus Bids Us Shine? It is one of my favourites...
Jesus bids us shine with a pure clear light
Like a little candle burning in the night
In this world of darkness we MUST shine
You in your small corner and I in mine.
So we had a paw circle and Margaret led us in singing our hymn. With our inner-lights replenished and glowing with determination, we are set to deliver all the hats and scarves we have made to the school in Sasabe, Mexico tomorrow morning.
I downloaded this off the internet to help us to get prepared for tomorrows drive across the border.
As a result, the border officers at the Sasabe port are on high alert for illegal immigrants and drugs headed north and illegal guns and undeclared cash headed south, Gill said.
In addition to all northbound traffic, officers also inspect every vehicle headed south into Mexico, he said.
The increased southbound inspections are part of stepped-up security that began in 2009 along the entire border. The inspections are aimed at helping Mexico's war on drug-smuggling organizations.
The southbound inspections led to a tense moment on a recent morning.
As Gill provided a tour of the port, some of his officers walked over for a routine inspection of a black Volkswagen Jetta headed into Mexico.
A moment later, one of the officers began yelling, "Gun! Gun!"
Two officers handcuffed the driver and escorted him into the building after they spotted a black handgun strapped to his basketball shorts in full view.
The incident, however, turned out to be nothing. The driver told border officers he was not trying to drive across the border with the gun, a loaded 9mm Glock pistol. He said he was dropping off a friend who was headed into Mexico to participate in a Native American walk. At the last minute, the driver said, he realized it was too late to turn around and had ended up in the inspection station. As for the weapon, the driver said he had recently gotten out of the Army and had served in Iraq. Now, he said, "being without a weapon feels funny to me."
After a computer background check turned up no criminal record or outstanding warrants, the border officers let the driver go.
But Gill said the incident showed how, despite the port's lack of traffic, it remains an integral part of national security. '
It's not a vacation spot," he said.
And this from earlier this month:
The incident is the third fatal shooting by a Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent this fall.
'A Border Patrol agent shot and killed a suspected illegal immigrant northwest of the Sasabe port of entry Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The shooting happened after a physical altercation, BP officials said Tuesday.
A BP agent patrolling about 12 miles northwest of the border crossing encountered an unknown number of suspected illegal immigrants in the Baboquivari Mountains on the Tohono O’odham Nation. The agent fired his gun and one of the suspects was killed, spokesman Vic Brabble said in an email.
Six others were arrested, officials said'.
This could be our most dangerous assignment !! We DO NOT have guns...I hope scarves and hats are not illegal!! For sure we are going to be searched....the girls are tense about that. No growling Gang and NO biting border guards! The kids of Sasabe middle school need our presents.
I think we should ask Lucy to come with us....after all she speaks Spanish and she is very street smart...which we are not I might add. What do you think?
We are setting off from the Cow Palace in Amado at 8.30am.
More tomorrow if/when we return.
Still there is much we can, and must, do.
Do any of you know that old children's hymn...Jesus Bids Us Shine? It is one of my favourites...
Jesus bids us shine with a pure clear light
Like a little candle burning in the night
In this world of darkness we MUST shine
You in your small corner and I in mine.
I downloaded this off the internet to help us to get prepared for tomorrows drive across the border.
Busy corridor for smuggling
Although the Sasabe port has hardly any traffic, ironically, it sits in the middle of one of the busiest illegal-immigrant and drug-smuggling corridors on the border.As a result, the border officers at the Sasabe port are on high alert for illegal immigrants and drugs headed north and illegal guns and undeclared cash headed south, Gill said.
In addition to all northbound traffic, officers also inspect every vehicle headed south into Mexico, he said.
The increased southbound inspections are part of stepped-up security that began in 2009 along the entire border. The inspections are aimed at helping Mexico's war on drug-smuggling organizations.
The southbound inspections led to a tense moment on a recent morning.
As Gill provided a tour of the port, some of his officers walked over for a routine inspection of a black Volkswagen Jetta headed into Mexico.
A moment later, one of the officers began yelling, "Gun! Gun!"
Two officers handcuffed the driver and escorted him into the building after they spotted a black handgun strapped to his basketball shorts in full view.
The incident, however, turned out to be nothing. The driver told border officers he was not trying to drive across the border with the gun, a loaded 9mm Glock pistol. He said he was dropping off a friend who was headed into Mexico to participate in a Native American walk. At the last minute, the driver said, he realized it was too late to turn around and had ended up in the inspection station. As for the weapon, the driver said he had recently gotten out of the Army and had served in Iraq. Now, he said, "being without a weapon feels funny to me."
After a computer background check turned up no criminal record or outstanding warrants, the border officers let the driver go.
But Gill said the incident showed how, despite the port's lack of traffic, it remains an integral part of national security. '
It's not a vacation spot," he said.
And this from earlier this month:
The incident is the third fatal shooting by a Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent this fall.
'A Border Patrol agent shot and killed a suspected illegal immigrant northwest of the Sasabe port of entry Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The shooting happened after a physical altercation, BP officials said Tuesday.
A BP agent patrolling about 12 miles northwest of the border crossing encountered an unknown number of suspected illegal immigrants in the Baboquivari Mountains on the Tohono O’odham Nation. The agent fired his gun and one of the suspects was killed, spokesman Vic Brabble said in an email.
Six others were arrested, officials said'.
This could be our most dangerous assignment !! We DO NOT have guns...I hope scarves and hats are not illegal!! For sure we are going to be searched....the girls are tense about that. No growling Gang and NO biting border guards! The kids of Sasabe middle school need our presents.
I think we should ask Lucy to come with us....after all she speaks Spanish and she is very street smart...which we are not I might add. What do you think?
We are setting off from the Cow Palace in Amado at 8.30am.
More tomorrow if/when we return.
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