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Otero County seeks federal help for border-bred problems.
Otero County is not technically on the U.S.-Mexico border, so it was left out of Gov. Bill Richardson's emergency declaration in August 2005 that sent law-enforcement aid to New Mexico's border counties.
But with just a sliver of West Texas separating Otero County from Mexico and what local lawmen describe as "vast and desolate" areas where coyotes and drug smugglers can roam almost at will, Otero County officials are seeking some $4.5 million in federal money over five years to hire eight new deputies, the Alamogordo Daily News reported today on its Web site.
Capt. Norbert Sanchez of the Otero County Sheriff's Department told the Daily News that the county is being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants coming from the area of Dell City, Texas, which lies just below the Texas state line.
And the "vast and desolate" areas around the Sacramento Mountains to the north and Otero Mesa toward the south are popular with both drug smugglers and illegal immigrants for eluding border checkpoints, Sanchez told the Daily News.
The county has only four full-time deputies to patrol an immense area, while the Border Patrol "goes out there when it can," Sanchez told the paper.
Lack of personnel keeps lawmen in the dark about what's going on and raises concerns about ranchers who live in the remote part of the county, Sanchez said.
And while the department will respond to calls from anywhere in the county, he told the paper, "We'd love to have deputies out there full-time."
Recently, deputies have conducted their own roundups of illegal immigrants -- catching 31 in one recent one-day sweep and another 47 in a roundup that went over several days, Sanchez said.
But on the multi-day roundups, deputies worked only eight-hour days, he told the Daily News.
"It's hit and miss," Sanchez said. "(For) 16 hours, there's nobody out there."
Sanchez also warned, in another article in today's online edition of the Daily News, that the notorious Central American gang Mara Salvatrucha or MS 13 could soon be making inroads into Otero County.
MS 13 cells or "cliques" have begun to move into New Mexico through El Paso and Juarez, and members have turned up in Chaparral, just across the line with Dona Ana County, Sanchez told the paper.
Called by some observers "the most dangerous gang in America," MS 13 has an estimated 10,000 members in the United States and many thousands of members in Latin America, the Daily News said.
The gang began in Los Angeles as a way to protect Salvadoran immigrants there from Mexican gangs, but has grown into a vast and violent criminal enterprise involved in narcotics trafficking, immigrant smuggling and other crimes, according to the paper.
Special Agent Bill Elwell of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque office said the FBI is in touch with local law enforcement agencies about MS 13's activities and is coordinating a multi-agency gang task force, but he declined to comment on any specific investigation, the Daily News reported.
Otero County is not technically on the U.S.-Mexico border, so it was left out of Gov. Bill Richardson's emergency declaration in August 2005 that sent law-enforcement aid to New Mexico's border counties.
But with just a sliver of West Texas separating Otero County from Mexico and what local lawmen describe as "vast and desolate" areas where coyotes and drug smugglers can roam almost at will, Otero County officials are seeking some $4.5 million in federal money over five years to hire eight new deputies, the Alamogordo Daily News reported today on its Web site.
Capt. Norbert Sanchez of the Otero County Sheriff's Department told the Daily News that the county is being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants coming from the area of Dell City, Texas, which lies just below the Texas state line.
And the "vast and desolate" areas around the Sacramento Mountains to the north and Otero Mesa toward the south are popular with both drug smugglers and illegal immigrants for eluding border checkpoints, Sanchez told the Daily News.
The county has only four full-time deputies to patrol an immense area, while the Border Patrol "goes out there when it can," Sanchez told the paper.
Lack of personnel keeps lawmen in the dark about what's going on and raises concerns about ranchers who live in the remote part of the county, Sanchez said.
And while the department will respond to calls from anywhere in the county, he told the paper, "We'd love to have deputies out there full-time."
Recently, deputies have conducted their own roundups of illegal immigrants -- catching 31 in one recent one-day sweep and another 47 in a roundup that went over several days, Sanchez said.
But on the multi-day roundups, deputies worked only eight-hour days, he told the Daily News.
"It's hit and miss," Sanchez said. "(For) 16 hours, there's nobody out there."
Sanchez also warned, in another article in today's online edition of the Daily News, that the notorious Central American gang Mara Salvatrucha or MS 13 could soon be making inroads into Otero County.
MS 13 cells or "cliques" have begun to move into New Mexico through El Paso and Juarez, and members have turned up in Chaparral, just across the line with Dona Ana County, Sanchez told the paper.
Called by some observers "the most dangerous gang in America," MS 13 has an estimated 10,000 members in the United States and many thousands of members in Latin America, the Daily News said.
The gang began in Los Angeles as a way to protect Salvadoran immigrants there from Mexican gangs, but has grown into a vast and violent criminal enterprise involved in narcotics trafficking, immigrant smuggling and other crimes, according to the paper.
Special Agent Bill Elwell of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque office said the FBI is in touch with local law enforcement agencies about MS 13's activities and is coordinating a multi-agency gang task force, but he declined to comment on any specific investigation, the Daily News reported.