INS CONFIRMS BORDER INCIDENT WITH MEXICO

Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.,
accused the Mexican army Tuesday of staging a "military incursion"
Friday night into southern Arizona that ended with Mexican soldiers
firing shots at a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle. Lori Haley, an
Immigration and Naturalization spokeswoman, confirmed that an
incident occurred in a remote area near Ajo, Ariz.

A U.S. agent spotted three Mexican soldiers in a Mexican Humvee on
U.S. soil and was attempting to leave the area when the rear window
of his vehicle was apparently shattered by gunfire, she said. The
agent was leaving the area "in an effort to avoid a confrontation"
with the Mexicans, she said.

"Because of the seriousness of the incident" Haley said, U.S.
authorities launched a formal investigation and are asking Mexican
authorities to do the same.

The Mexican government previously has rejected Tancredo's charges
that Mexican police and military units frequently cross the border.
Tancredo, who leads a group of lawmakers opposed to liberalizing
immigration laws, has said U.S. officials believe the incursions are
related to drug trafficking.

The Republican from Littleton said he fears gunplay between U.S. and
Mexican authorities unless officials stop the incursions. "Unless we
open our eyes and recognize that what's happening along the
U.S.-Mexico border is real, one of our guys is going to get killed,"
he said.

The INS confirmed the incident, but Tancredo's version differed
somewhat. He said 10 soldiers were involved and the shot damaged more
than the Border Patrol's rear window. He also said the Mexicans came
10 miles into the U.S before they were spotted.

Tancredo said U.S. agents believe the shots were fired because
Mexican authorities were pursuing drug dealers into the U.S.

"They are saying they had interdicted a huge shipment of drugs," he
said. "Therefore everyone was antsy."

But "regardless of the circumstances, they had happy trigger fingers," he said.

The U.S. vehicle was "clearly marked" and should have been
recognizable, he said.

The agent told him, " "As far as I am concerned, that (incursion)
should be an act of war,' " Tancredo said.

On May 3, Tancredo wrote Mexican President Vicente Fox demanding that
he halt "incursions" by Mexican law enforcement officers into the U.S.

Fox didn't respond.