Desert Invasion - U.S.
Pictures of illegal immigration invasion on the road to Sasabe, Arizona
See road map.
Sasabe is a small town on the Arizona-Mexico border. Drug runners and illegal aliens both travel north from Sasabe, along the Altar Valley and through the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, parallel to Highway 286.
The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge itself is severely impacted. A few years ago, 45 cars were abandoned on the Refuge near Sasabe and enough trash that a volunteer couple filled 723 large bags with 18,000 pounds of garbage over a period of two months in 2002. (See article).
The Altar Valley is also known as Cocaine Alley and OTM Alley - meaning Other Than Mexican Alley - because of the large number of non-Mexican illegal aliens historically apprehended in the area.
On the road to Arivaca and Sasabe, driving south on Highway 286 from Highway 86 along the Altar Valley. Looking west, Kitt Peak Observatory can be seen in the background.
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Cocaine Alley. This corridor for illegal align and drug smuggling traffic leads from Sasabe, on the Mexican Border up to the Three Points area at Robles Junction. Looking west, Kitt Peak Observatory can be seen on top of the far left peak.
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Sky Tower - mobile Border Patrol observation post along Cocaine Alley. The corridor is also known as OTM Alley (Other Than Mexican Alley) because of the high number of non-Mexican illegal aliens apprehended in the area.
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Portable observation posts are stationed throughout Southern Arizona by the Border Patrol. Still, thousands of illegal aliens and drug runners enter undetected into the U.S. every day.
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The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge lies along Highway 286 and is an integral part of the major drug and illegal alien corridor.
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Looking east into Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.
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Water jug used by drug smugglers, near Sasabe. The jug has been painted black to help avoid detection by the U.S. Border Patrol.
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A lone bicycle was found in the brush along the desolate road to Sasabe. A former Supervisory Border Patrol Agent stated that he had encountered groups of 20-30 illegal aliens bicycling north from Sasabe in the middle of the night on stolen bicycles.
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Sasabe port of entry on the Arizona-Mexico border. This isolated
outpost protects 50 miles of our southern border from illegal entry.
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Next - pictures of Arivaca, taken over by drug runners.
Photos 2004 Fred Elbel
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