HOLIDAY SEASON MOSTLY ROUTINE FOR BORDER PATROL

Except for the last 10 days, the holiday season has been pretty slow for
the Marfa Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol.

According to Public Affairs Officer Bill Brooks, a man and woman from
Missouri tried to smuggle 1,940 lbs. of marijuana through the checkpoint
south of Marfa Monday. The drugs were hidden in various compartments of a
travel trailer. Last Saturday, agents at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint
seized 682 lbs. of marijuana from an El Paso citizen driving an 18-wheeler.
The same day, Alpine agents found 65 lbs. of marijuana hidden in the spare
tire of a car driven by an Odessa woman. The drugs were worth a total of
about $2.1 million.

Brooks said drug seizures are down for the month of December, but up from
November.

"It had been pretty quiet for the last couple of months until the last 10
days, " he said, adding that late summer through fall is the Mexican
harvest season for marijuana, which is then packaged and stored in
warehouses along the border until it can be smuggled to the U.S.

Through Dec. 16, the Marfa Sector has apprehended 10,283 Mexican nationals
trying to enter the country illegally.

"This time of year, a lot of Mexicans go back to Mexico," said Brooks.
"They stay with their families and will try to enter the U.S. again in a
couple of months. They don't get checked going back by U.S. officials.

"Generally, apprehensions of people coming into the U.S. during the holiday
season are going to be down," he said.

Not all Mexicans are in the U.S. illegally, however. "It's a busy period in
both directions," said Roger Maier, public affairs officer, U.S. Customs
and Border Protection.

He said traffic is busy at the ports of entry this week, and will pick up
again for about 10 days after Christmas.

The Customs website, www.cbp.gov, gives travel tips for those going and
coming, including budgeting extra travel time, especially on weekends and
during rush hour, ending cell phone conversations before arriving at the
inspection, area and keeping gifts unwrapped for inspection.

"It's important that people have their documents ready, and anything to
declare," said Maier.