U.S. CITES RISE IN VIOLENCE ALONG BORDER WITH MEXICO

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Mexican criminal syndicates are stepping up
their attacks on American agents patrolling the border as officials
of the Homeland Security Department intensify efforts to stem the
flow of immigrants and drugs into the United States, American
officials said this week.

In recent months, scores of Border Patrol agents have been fired upon
or pelted with large stones as well as with cloth-covered stones that
have been doused with flammable liquid and set ablaze. Since October,
agents have been attacked in more than 190 cases, officials said on Thursday.

Most of the attacks have occurred along the Mexican border near San
Diego, but shootings have also been reported along the border in
Texas near the cities of Laredo and McAllen. In the fiscal year that
ended on Sept. 30, there were 778 attacks on agents, up from 374 in
the previous fiscal year, Homeland Security Department officials said.

One stone struck an agent in the eye; a gunshot hit an agent in the
leg. The officials could not say precisely how many officers had been
injured in the attacks, which have originated from both sides of the border.

"This is what we're facing," said David V. Aguilar, the Border Patrol
chief, who played a videotape at a news conference on Thursday that
featured a patrol car riddled with bullets and agents scrambling for
cover as stones rained down on them. "This is a very serious type of
situation."

The homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, who led the news
conference, said officials planned to continue their efforts at
securing the United States-Mexico border.

This week President Bush asked Congress to increase the Homeland
Security Department's budget by nearly 6 percent. The Border Patrol
would receive an extra $459 million to hire 1,500 new agents,
bringing the total force to about 14,000. An additional $410 million
would be allocated to add 6,700 beds for detainees so fewer illegal
immigrants would have to be released before being deported. Another
$100 million would be spent on cameras, sensors and other detection technology.

Mr. Chertoff said the department planned to focus on illegal
immigrants from countries other than Mexico, who have typically been
released after apprehension because of shortages of beds. Last fall,
he expanded the use of summary deportations, a process known as
expedited removal, in which illegal immigrants from countries other
than Mexico are detained and then deported without seeing an immigration judge.

But officials have struggled to find space for family groups and
remain unable to process illegal immigrants from El Salvador because
of a court ruling from the 1980's, when civil war wracked that
country, that requires officials to allow Salvadorans to see judges
before deportation.

Nationwide, 18,207 illegal immigrants from countries other than
Mexico, nearly 60 percent of the total apprehended, were released on
their own recognizance in the first three months of this fiscal year.

Officials of the Homeland Security Department said they were making
headway in detaining and deporting these illegal immigrants. They are
also working on finding more space for families and battling to
change the rule regarding Salvadorans.

As for the violence on the border, the officials said Mexico had
deployed 300 federal officers along its side of the border to help
out. But many of the Mexican gangs remain entrenched.

Last week, immigration officials announced that they had seized a
cache of weapons, including materials for 33 explosive devices,
assault weapons and machine gun assembly kits, in Laredo. Officials
believe the weapons were intended for criminals in Mexico.

"These are very sophisticated, hardened criminals who will use
violence to protect their criminal businesses," Mr. Chertoff said.
"We've got to be prepared to deal very decisively with any violence
directed at our Border Patrol agents."