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The magazines “Where to Retire” and “New Choices for Retirement” selected Green Valley which is located in the Santa Cruz Valley as one of the country's
best places to retire.
An area that has more than 300 days of sunshine it it is enjoyed by those who like small-town living but it is not too far for those who want some of the amenities of a larger city. Tucson only 23 miles away has shopping and many cultural activities.
With checkpoints set up on the main roads the smugglers are becoming desperate.
According to Sgt. Jim Murphy, head of the Sheriff's Department’s Border Crimes Unit,
"With the I-19 checkpoint near Tubac and a temporary checkpoint set up on Arivaca Road, immigrant-smuggling “coyotes” are getting “desperate, skirting around the main arteries and increasing their activity at the Canoa rest area and on more remote roadways such as Elephant Head Road."
Murphy added
“The rest areas are kind of like a beacon for some of the illegals coming across, this has been going on for a while, but it's more prevalent now because of the Border Patrol checkpoints.”
Two loads of illegal immigrants were discovered one night last week waiting to be picked up. The pickups are mostly at night and there hasn't been any evidence of the smuggling of drugs in the area.
According to Murphy even though there is little danger to the residents they can let the sheriff's department know if they observe any behavior that looks suspicious.
A U.S. Border Patrol information officer, Robert G. Daniels, says that a lot of planning goes into the setting up of the checkpoints and the areas thart surround them. Rest stops are also included in being checked.
Daniels states that
“We'll utilize horse patrols on trails around checkpoints, or have plain-clothes agents set up near rest stops,” he said. “We’re there working on the problem, even if there’s no Border Patrol vehicle in plain sight.”
Along with the Border Patrol they have the Pima County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Public Safety, working with them.
