Agents arrest border fence climbers

[OldGuy]

https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/agents-arrest-border-fence-climbers/article_d73bf284-9d0b-11e9-b7b2-1b4d1d5ce85a.html?mode=jqm

The Civil Air Patrol on Sunday helped Border Patrol agents track four people who climbed the border fence, leading to the arrest of two accused smugglers.

....

[PHall]

https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/agents-arrest-border-fence-climbers/article_d73bf284-9d0b-11e9-b7b2-1b4d1d5ce85a.html?mode=jqm

The Civil Air Patrol on Sunday helped Border Patrol agents track four people who climbed the border fence, leading to the arrest of two accused smugglers.

....

You need to be very clear here that ALL Civil Air Patrol is allowed to to do is Observe and Report.

[OldGuy]

https://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/agents-arrest-border-fence-climbers/article_d73bf284-9d0b-11e9-b7b2-1b4d1d5ce85a.html?mode=jqm

The Civil Air Patrol on Sunday helped Border Patrol agents track four people who climbed the border fence, leading to the arrest of two accused smugglers.

....

You need to be very clear here that ALL Civil Air Patrol is allowed to to do is Observe and Report.

That is clear. At least to me. Just like our DDR missions, we are the "eyes above", not the arm that cuffs.

[Eclipse]

A - that's not what "DDR" was, you're referring to CD.

B - I would say this is a troublesome PC gray area as the story characterizes them as "tracking" (vs. "observing").
"Tracking" is generally considered an LE action, which this clearly was.

My understanding is that CAP's allowance to "observe and report" is limited to non-specific situations unless it's legit SAR.

Edit: Yeah, after a re-read I would say their actions are problematic at best, at least as is characterized in the story.
The article indicates they followed the vehicle.  That sounds like an LE action to me.

At best, if they happened to be in the area for "other reasons" and accidentally observed this, fair game.  This says they
"responded" and then "maintained a visual".

Text below for posterity...

"Agents arrest border fence climbers
By Mark Reagan Staff Writer (Posted in June 2019)

The Civil Air Patrol on Sunday helped Border Patrol agents track four people who climbed the border fence, leading to the arrest of two accused smugglers.

A criminal complaint against Edgar Ricardo Gonzalez-Soto and Ronaldo Balli-Sanchez, both of Mexico, details events that unfolded at around 8:19 Sunday morning after Border Patrol agents reported observing four people climbing the border fence near Jo Anne Lane in west Brownsville.

That's when Civil Air Patrol responded and saw the four border fence climbers get into a four-door Chevy Cruze on George Wilson Street, court documents indicate.

Border Patrol responded and attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle, which ran from agents while the Civil Air Patrol maintained a visual on it as Border Patrol agents maintained a safe speed, according to the criminal complaint.

The vehicle stopped in an empty lot and the people inside bailed out and ran, but were caught.

Through the investigation and interviews, federal authorities determined that Gonzalez-Soto was the driver of the vehicle while Balli-Sanchez was the guide, according to the criminal complaint.

The men, who made a first appearance on Tuesday, are being held without bond pending probable cause hearings scheduled for Friday at 10:30 a.m. in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan, who granted $50,000 cash bond."

[Pace]

What a journalist writes and what actually happened are often two different things. The border mission is highly regulated with clear ROE. There are things that can be done and things that cannot be done, but discussion of that here violates OPSEC.


We're done here. PM me if you feel the need to further contribute to this thread.


-One of the ICs for this specific mission and location.