Border Arrests Rise as Fear of Law Ebbs : Word Is Out That ‘There’s Still Jobs Here’ Despite New Rules, Border Patrol Says

U.S. authorities along the Mexican border reported a surge of arrests of illegal aliens in June, a fact that some say may indicate that fear of the new immigration law is diminishing among illegal immigrants.

“Word seems to be getting out that there’s still jobs here,” said Gene Smithburg, assistant chief Border Patrol agent for the San Diego sector, which accounts for more than one-third of border arrests nationwide.

Although the border arrest figures can vary greatly depending on Border Patrol staffing, weather and other factors, officials still regard the numbers as the best measure of illegal entry into the United States. Many experts cited the record 1.6 million border arrests in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 as proof of a veritable “invasion” of U.S. territory and the growing numbers provided impetus for congressional passage of the landmark immigration bill last year.

Arrests Had Plummeted

Since the statute was signed into law Nov. 6, officials say, arrests of illegal aliens along the 1,900-mile U.S.-Mexico border had plummeted by about 40% compared with the same period last year. Experts have theorized that the law--and the fear and uncertainty it has generated among would-be illegal border-crossers--is largely responsible for the drop.

In June, however, the Border Patrol in San Diego County recorded 43,999 arrests--an increase of 51% compared with apprehensions in May and a rise of 25% compared with April; the June figures are also slightly more than the number of arrests in March. The differences are regarded as particularly significant because the March-through-May period--a peak time for field work and other springtime employment--is traditionally busier along the California border than June.

“This tells us that the surge is occurring again,” Smithburg said. “We’re getting back near the numbers that we saw last year.”

June arrest figures are 18% lower than the record number of apprehensions recorded in June, 1986. Nonetheless, the 43,999 arrests make June, 1987, the second-busiest June ever along the border in San Diego.

Situation Varies

Elsewhere along the border, the situation appears to vary from one area to another.

In El Paso, the second-busiest U.S.-Mexico border crossing, arrests of illegal aliens in June also topped the numbers of apprehensions in April and May, but were slightly less than those recorded in March. However, numbers for all months are still down considerably compared to the record numbers recorded in 1986.

George Cronin, a Border Patrol spokesman in El Paso, theorized that the June rise may have been connected to a lessening of fears about the new immigration law among would-be border-crossers. “They’re beginning to realize what the law entails,” Cronin said. “They’re not as afraid of it as they were.”

In McAllen, Tex., however, Border Patrol officials said they had noticed no significant increase in the flow of illegal aliens in June. “We haven’t seen any surge whatsoever,” said Fred Rangel, intelligence agent with the U.S. Border Patrol sector based in McAllen, which covers the lower Rio Grande Valley.