The burglary occurred March 26 around 7:30 p.m. at 76-year-old Patricia Forrest's residence. According to police reports, Forrest received a phone call from a woman under the guise of a firefighter, who informed her of a reported gas leak in the area.

Melvin, a Tucson Republican, says he is working with Arizona Cattlemen's Association, state Sen. Russell Pearce and others to put the bill together as quickly as possible in light of rancher Robert Krentz's slaying on March 27.

In addition, Operation Stonegarden will play a vital role in the increased security. The operation includes agencies working with the Border Patrol, including Tombstone marshals and deputies who will venture into the nearby area in search of illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.

Deputy Travis Williams said that patrols for Stonegarden take place once a week, with the patrolling trek taking them out in a near 15-mile radius, depending on the operational plan. The plan is compiled from information from the Marshal's Office and the Border Patrol in the forms of surveillance and reconnaissance.

The national Minuteman chapter, the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, was founded as a neighborhood watch program out of Tombstone in 2002, by Carmen Mercer and Chris Simcox. It disbanded March 25, five years after the group became a national movement. However, local chapters of MCDC will continue to work in their efforts to secure the border.

Mercer, the president of the recently disbanded MCDC, is a German immigrant who went through the process to gain her U.S. citizenship. She has lived in Tombstone for 14 years and owns the O.K. Café. She said she was unaware of the problems of illegal immigration until witnessing them first-hand.

"I would come home from Sierra Vista after doing my shopping at night and I would see hundreds of people walking along the San Pedro River, thinking they were tourists," said Mercer. "I met Chris Simcox and told him what I had seen, and he said, 'You can't really think those are tourists. Those were illegal aliens that just broke into our country.'"

When she's not cooking buffalo burgers at her café, Mercer would meet with Simcox and frequently discuss the burgeoning illegal immigration problem. They started a neighborhood watch program in October 2002, and monitored the border. They alerted Border Patrol whenever they saw anything suspicious.

Robert Krentz was found at his ranch on his ATV March 27, shot to death along with his dog, according to reports from the Cochise County Sheriff's office.

Sheriff Larry Dever said that after he was shot Krentz drove away from the scene but soon lost consciousness.

Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, introduced the bill, which passed the Senate in February and is now being debated by the House.

According to the legislature, there are an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants living in Arizona.

The bill would make the first offense of illegal immigration punishable by up to six months in jail, and the second offense punishable by one and a half to three years in prison. The bill will require illegal immigrants to pay a $500 fine as well as any jail fees.

Opponents have criticized the bill because many immigrants don't have money to pay the fees in the first place.

Tombstone Marshal Larry Talvy opposes the bill for different reasons. Talvy is worried that the bill is only being pushed to lessen the workload of federal law enforcement and add to the workload of local and state law enforcement.

Tucson Border Patrol agents hope an alliance with the SSP will further prevent the influx of drugs, humans and weapons into the country by way of the Arizona-Mexico border. Still, many law enforcement agencies, such as the Tombstone Police Department, fear that an alliance with SSP will be tumultuous due to Mexico's allegedly corrupt government.

The Tucson Sector of Arizona Border Patrol posted record seizures of marijuana for fiscal year 2009, but Tombstone still seems to have a steady flow of drugs on its way in.

The 1.2 million pounds of marijuana seized by Tucson Border Patrol last year is the highest amount of marijuana ever seized by any sector in the country, and 48 percent more weight seized than 2008's seizures.

There were also high seizures in other major categories of drugs. Tucson Border Patrol seized 525 pounds of cocaine, 44 pounds of methamphetamines and 137 ounces of heroin – these numbers nearly doubled those from 2008 across the board.

Chinese immigrants have made their mark on the history of the Southwest. With the construction of the railroad in the 1800s, millions of Chinese flocked to the United States, making the cross to ports like San Diego and San Francisco.

The days of the railroad are gone, but the immigrants are still there and looking for a way into the United States. Oddly enough, some are crossing alongside Mexican immigrants via Mexico.

While this is nothing new, there has been an increase in the apprehension of Chinese nationals immigrating illegally.