House Votes to Protect Border Enforcement in National Heritage Area
Before a final vote was taken on Rep. Raul Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) bill, H.R.324, to create a National Heritage Area in Southern Arizona, the House voted, 259-to-167, to include an amendment that would allow the Border Patrol to continue its normal enforcement operations in the area.
There was a concern that the designation of the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area would prevent the Border Patrol from building communication towers, cameras, sensors and so on. The area also covers Highway 19 where the Border Patrol has established a temporary checkpoint that is scheduled to become a permanent checkpoint.
The Santa Cruz Valley includes much of the illegal entry area that reporter Leo Banks chronicled in his article "Following the Amnesty Trail".
For more information, see our previous story.