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2 Way radios help remote ranchers report alien invasion

AP via Houston Chronicle:

Kirk Zachek's chili pepper and wheat farm is in the middle of nowhere.

To the north is a winding two-lane, bumpy strip of asphalt known as state Highway 9. To the south is Mexico and the vast expanse of the Chihuahua Desert.

Nearly every day, Zachek spots illegal immigrants crossing his fields on their way north. But calling a law enforcement agency to report them isn't an option, he said. Cell phones don't work in this remote stretch of desert. The nearest land line can be almost an hour away when Zachek is working on his 5,000-acre spread, and even then it might be a long-distance call to reach anyone.

"Sometimes you can get ahold of somebody, and sometimes you can't," Zachek said.

Even when he does get someone, the closest officer is rarely near his property, Zachek said.

Recognizing ranchers' frustration, state and federal officials are now giving two-way, police-style radios to border residents. The direct connection to police dispatchers in three of New Mexico's seven border counties will allow residents to get emergency help or to more easily report illegal activity.

"If you call the ambulance one time the program is a success," said Robert Boatright, a U.S. Border Patrol assistant chief patrol agent in El Paso.

If ranchers and farmers feel comfortable reporting crimes, the radio program could also make volunteer border patrol groups such as the Minuteman group unnecessary, Boatright said.

...

The radio program, made possible with $200,000 in federal funds, was born in discussions at the Southwest New Mexico Border Security Task Force three years ago.

"The rationale was that this was an inexpensive way to better use the manpower, the resources we have on the border," said U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. "These private citizens could contact ... law enforcement agencies very rapidly with these radios and keep them informed as to anything going on."

There are some problems witht he program. The bad guys in Mexico monitor the radios and target the callers. They have a more difficult time targeting the Minutemen. There should be other ways to deal with the monitoring. The US should be able to use RDF to find the bad guys and then find a way to deal with them. It is counter intuitive, but seeking their estradition and arrest would put pressure on Mexico to do something about the illegal activity.