BORDER EFFORT AIMED AT SAFETY

Immigration:The program involves cooperation between the INS and Mexican
government.

Washington- Immigration officials don't want people illegally crossing the
border. But they also don't want those intent on doing so to continue to
get severely hurt or to die trying.

So in cooperation with the Mexican government, the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service is starting a three-pronged effort to make the
border safer.

The plan is to catch immigrant smugglers who lead would-be immigrants
through treacherous terrain to cross the border. The INS will beef up its
search-and-rescue operations with on-site emergency medical care. And for
the first time, the INS will help local officials identify people who have
died while trying to cross and contact their families.

"The need for this public-safety initiative couldn't be clearer," INS
Commissioner Doris Meissner said Tuesday. "Almost every week I receive
reports of Border Patrol agents who have rescued immigrants from
life-threatening situations ranging from dehydration to hypothermia to
rising floodwaters."

The INS doesn't know how many people die or are stranded each year. Already
this year, 27 migrants drowned at the All-American Canal near El Centro.

The INS may be reaping the effects of is Border Patrol control successes.
Illegal crossers have been shifted from the easier areas but are still
intent on entering the United States.

The INS will put these plans in place all along the 2,000-mile border with
Mexico, but put special emphasis on those places considered most dangerous,
including east San Diego and Imperial counties in California, south Texas
and the Arizona deserts around Yuma.

Gloria McDonough, executive director of Abrazar Inc. in Westminster, is
skeptical.

"I think enforcement will just become more fierce," she said.

Elements of the plan include:

Posting warning signs in the dangerous crossing areas.

Establishing a hot line people can call if they think a loved one is in danger.

Offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information about inscrupulous smugglers.

Contracting with the Civil Air Patrol to fly over deserts and mountain
areas of California to spot stranded crossers.