Arizona Sheriff Told Not To Reduce Border Arrests
According to an Arizona sheriff, the United State Border Patrol official informed him numerous times to stop arresting illegal immigrants caught trying to enter the country. He claims he was told as recently as this month to stop doing so. The Sheriff, Larry Dever of Cochise County states that the US Border Patrol told him the federal agencies office in Arizona's southern border region was to reduce the number of apprehensions during specific reporting time periods. According to Dever, the senior supervisor agent told him the mission is not to just scare people back. Rather, he says, the job is just to scare people away, to intimidate people to get them to go back. Dever says that he has had numerous conversations with various federal agents over the last two years on the subject and that he would be testifying about them at the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Denials By Senior Officials
The charges brought forth by Dever have received vigorous denial by the commander with the United States Customs and Border Protection. That commander, named Jeffery Self, says, "The claim that Border Patrol supervisors have been instructed to underreport or manipulate our statistics is unequivocally false." According to Self, the mission does not change as a result of political climate and that enforcing the law is the only thing that the CBP employees do. The goal is to protect the border. Recently, though, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has come forward to state that the Mexican border with the US is now more secure than ever and that recent statistics support those claims.

Other Officials Unsure of Claims
According to a neighboring sheriff of Santa Cruz County, these statements are not true and that it would be more beneficial for Dever to come forward on the sources and to give more information. That sheriff, Tony Estrada, said, "Not knowing who the source is, how reliable that source is, I really don't have much of a position. I've been around a real long time and haven't heard anything like this. By the same token, you learn new things every day." Both of the positions these men hold are elected positions. Dever is a Republican while Estrada is a Democrat. Still, other experts have questioned the conclusions that the border is more secure. One expert, from Real Life Enterprises, a company that does technology integration and security, stated that the methods that Homeland Security uses are flawed and that the numbers provided are very misleading. One of the failings of the report is that it does not provide accurate information about the number of people crossing the border, but rather just the number of people arrested. Further concern is evident in that many believe that no matter what the reports say, the border is still unsecured and thus, those who wish to get into the country are finding ways to do so. According to Dever, "You cannot use your numbers to say it's more secure, but it does not define a sense of safety or well being. You can say it's more secure, but it's more dangerous than ever."