McDonald's, Pizza Hut among vendors

LUKE TURF

Just as many American families rely on fast food for quick, cheap meals, the Border Patrol has turned to the drive-through to feed illegal immigrants.
Depending on where in southern Arizona an immigrant is held, his meal might come from McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut or, in Sonoita, the Stake Out Deli.

Border Patrol agents in Douglas pick up McDonald's bacon, egg and cheese biscuits to serve for breakfast, said Barbara Rojas, assistant manager of McDonald's there.

For lunch and dinner, agents order between 20 and 200 salads or cheeseburgers. Both meals are washed down with apple juice, Rojas said.

"A lot of cheeseburgers," Rojas said. "What (Border Patrol) would do is try to get the $1 menu."

Mexicans who are caught and returned home quickly, usually within four hours, get crackers and juice, said Gloria Chavez, a Border Patrol spokeswoman in Washington.

But people facing court appearances are often in custody longer, about eight hours, Chavez said. So several Border Patrol stations turn to fast-food restaurants to keep them fed.

"We look for restaurants that can provide large amounts of meals quickly and inexpensively," Chavez said. "Many (immigrants) have gone days without eating being smuggled into the country. At that point, these people are hungry."

The Border Patrol has contracts with various restaurants in southern Arizona ranging from about $2,200 to $42,000 annually depending on the station's size, Chavez said. For the eight stations in the Tucson sector, the agency has budgeted more than $110,000 for immigrant meals for this fiscal year, she said.

In Ajo, immigrants eat Pizza Hut. McDonald's provides meals in at least three of the stations. The Border Patrol in Douglas has ordered up to 200 meals at once, Rojas said.

"They would just send an agent to pick it up, they wouldn't bring the people (immigrants)," she said.

The Border Patrol's relationship with McDonald's goes back at least two years, Rojas said. Each order used to be a quarter pounder with cheese and an orange juice, which costs about $3.50, she said.

In January, the Border Patrol switched to just one cheeseburger per immigrant, Rojas said. But that wasn't enough, so agents bumped it up to two.

The Border Patrol usually uses chain restaurants because local mom and pop stores often can't provide enough meals quickly, Chavez said.

But in Sonoita, where there are few restaurants, the agency uses the Stake Out Deli.

Border Patrol officials couldn't confirm how many meals are served per year.

More than 359,000 people have been caught sneaking into the country in the Tucson sector, which covers all of the border except a small portion near Yuma, since the fiscal year began October 1.
 

200 CHEESEBURGERS TO GO:
Station             Restaurant         '04 funding
Casa Grande   McDonald's       $42,000
Tucson            Burger King       $4,000
Douglas           McDonald's       $42,000
Ajo                 Pizza Hut           $2,500
Willcox           Burger King       $2,500
Sonoita          Stake Out Deli    $2,200
Nogales         McDonald's        $15,000
Naco             unavailable

Source: U.S. Border Patrol