Officials fear terrorists will attempt to enter before election

Associated Press

Authorities along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border are tightening security amid concerns that terrorists will try to enter the United States before the November presidential election.
 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner said the border is in a "period of increased risk." In July, federal officials said intelligence indicated the al-Qaida terrorist organization hoped to attack the United States to disrupt the elections.

"There have been concerns that terrorists will try to enter the country across our southern border," Bonner said in an Aug. 20 statement. "We have been preparing for the possibility and are taking appropriate actions."

About 200 border agents have been moved to "high-threat" areas, cargo inspections have increased and equipment is being shared with Mexican law enforcement, he said.

Already one incident this summer has called security into questions along the border, which the Sept. 11 Commission's July 22 report called "porous."

A woman was arrested at the McAllen airport with a mutilated South African passport and soggy jeans in her luggage from apparently wading across the Rio Grande. She pleaded not guilty Aug. 20 to three immigration violations. Federal officials would not comment on whether the woman was still being investigated for terrorist activities or groups.

Last week, the U.S. Embassy in Juarez, Mexico, put out a media alert that suspected terrorist Adnan G. El Shukrijumah might try to cross into Arizona or Texas. But rumors he was spotted near the border were unsubstantiated, and FBI spokeswoman Donna Spitzer said reports of an FBI borderwide alert were false.

To beef up the border, U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Mario Villarreal said many agents have been moved to the Tucson, Ariz., sector. It's the most highly trafficked section of the border featuring a network of smugglers and the vast camouflage of desert.

As of Sunday, 453,996 illegal immigrants had been apprehended in the Tucson sector since the start of the fiscal year, with 71,000 caught in March alone.

Border Patrol spokeswoman Christiana Halsey also said more of the estimated 4.5 million trucks that cross the border daily are being sent through drive-through scanners.

Bonner said federal intelligence agencies were improving data sharing with border agents, something the Sept. 11 Commission said was a weakness. Bonner also said "Mexican Liaison Units" are traveling to Mexico to trade information and offer assistance.

Villarreal said some agents in San Diego had given their Mexican counterparts walkie-talkies to communicate across the border.