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.

The postcard Arizona ranch is one of horses, corals and cowboys – not one of snipped-wire fences, trodden-down grass and trails of trash. With the U.S. border a stones throw away from many Arizona ranches, ranchers now have more chores to keep their ranches open and operational.

Roughly two million immigrants are estimated to enter the United States through Arizona annually. With tighter border security in California and Texas, Arizona has become the principle gateway into the U.S., according to a 2007 study conducted by the University of Arizona’s Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics.

“There’s a lot of garbage out there… backpacks, shaving cream, toothpaste and coats. It’s absolutely amazing the amount of garbage out there and ranches do get there fences cut and there gates left open a lot,” said Kim McReynolds, extension agent in natural resources for the UA Arizona Cooperative Extension.

The marshal’s office is going into its fifth year as part of Operation Stonegarden with a $40,000 boost. The boost, part of $1.5 million given to Cochise County, is part of the $7.2 million given to Arizona to help state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies fight border crime as part of the operation.

The boost for Tombstone accounts for 62 percent of next year’s funds, which go into aefect Oct. 1 for Stonegarden.

As the hot summer months come to an end, Mexican drug lords have dollar signs in their eyes. Marijuana growing season is over and thousands of pounds of pot will be cultivated and shipped to the U.S. for illegal sale.
In August alone, Border Patrol agents seized 1,200 pounds of marijuana in Cochise County.

Cities along the U.S.-Mexico border like Tombstone are no strangers to drug trafficking. However, county officials are shocked at the high level of marijuana illegally coming across the border this year. Tombstone Marshal Larry Talvy said a reported 47,000 pounds have been seized in and around the town since November of 2008.  Talvy said confiscating the drug has been a tireless task. With cultivation season coming up in October, “Mexico still has an overabundance of marijuana that needs to be shipped out.”

The Migrant Resource Center recently expanded its humanitarian aid efforts by opening an over-night shelter in Naco, Mexico.

The shelter, 780 Juarez St., houses around 40 immigrants.

It was opened in December in an effort to give recently deported Mexican Nationals a place to rest before journeying back to their homes.

“We just decided it was necessary,” said Cecile Lumer, the volunteer director at the Migrant Resource Center. “When people are returned from the Border Patrol, they are in bad shape. We think it is the humanitarian thing to do.”

Of the various concerns that stem from the thousands of people who illegally enter the county each month, one issue is often overlooked – litter.

“People don’t realize what illegal immigrants are doing to the countryside out here,” said John Smerekanich, a solid waste inspector for Cochise County. “There are some real good size dump sites. Tons of trash can accumulate.”

The agency only makes collections in the wilderness a few times per year, but up to four tons of garbage have been removed from single sites in the county, Smerekanich said.

Other agencies see evidence of illegal border crossing in the form of litter almost daily.

Alex Howe, a conservation associate at the Sierra Vista branch of the Bureau of Land Management, said the majority of his job consists of picking up trash left by illegal immigrants.

“I easily fill up the truck bed until it’s overflowing each day I go out,” said Howe, who collects trash along the San Pedro River, a known travel corridor for illegal border crossers.

The Secure Border Initiative is a reality in much of Arizona. Border Patrol is nearing the completion of the large fence separating the U.S. from the Mexico border, with approximately 230 miles of the anticipated 252-mile barrier complete.

The Tucson Border Patrol Sector, the busiest in the nation, shares 262 miles of border territory with Mexico, most of which will have fencing when the project is complete

Congress approved the fence in 2005 and has since spent $2.7 billion building it, which is an estimated $3.9 million per mile.

 “Almost 230 miles of different styles of fence have been built in the Tucson sector including Douglas and Nogales,” said Mario Escalante, an agent with the Tucson Sector Border Patrol. “There is pedestrian fence, vehicle barrier fence, permanent and temporary fence. This is part of our tactical infrastructure and we build infrastructure where we need it. The whole border does not need to be fenced.”

The areas of the border that will not receive fence are those that have land barriers such as mountains. Escalante said that it is too difficult to build effective fencing on that terrain.

The new pedestrian fence near the Nogales border towers over the old fencing, which can still be seen in parts of the town. The new fence is 14 to 16 feet tall and goes four to five feet into the ground.

“It is effective in the sense that it slows people down,” said Michael Scioli, a border patrol agent. “Each of the poles has cement in them and the area underground is buried in cement. The fence is also see through now, which helps us a lot to anticipate what is on the other side.”

The old fence was made up of panels and wire fencing.