Border Beat: Spring Break Up, Migration Down & More

Border Beat for May 4, 2012

A Dallas trucker, who had paperwork for transport ammo to Phoenix, makes wrong turn to Mexico and gets arrested; increase in visits to Mexico for spring break, and more

Trucker Arrested for Driving Ammo into Ciudad Juárez

Truck driver Jabin Bogan, who says he accidentally took a wrong turn into Ciudad Juárez, Mexico from El Paso was arrested for transporting 268,000 rounds of ammunition.

His mother and girlfriend traveled to El Paso earlier this week to meet with Carlos Spector, an immigration lawyer, who has been communicating with the American consulate in Chihuahua.

“He was not trying to go to Mexico. He does not have a passport, he did not have a permit, so he was not trying to enter into that country,” said Aletha Smith, mother to Bogan.

Bogan told Spector over the phone that a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent told him he must enter Mexico to turnaround his truck. However Customs agents said they made no contact with Bogan.

Mexican port officials made the discovery of the ammunition and arrested Bogan. He is being held in Veracruz.

“He wasn’t doing anything wrong. The only thing is he had ammunition on the truck and crossed into Mexico. That’s the only mistake he did, is he missed his exit,” said Bogan’s girlfriend, Tanya Davis.

Mexican Immigration to U.S. Hits Low

The number of Mexican nationals immigrating to the United States has reached the lowest number in decades.

Studies done by the Pew Hispanic Center claim immigration has reached a standstill. In fact, more immigrants may be returning to Mexico due to the lack of construction and other labor jobs available in the United States.

Other factors may be the increase of U.S. Border Patrol agents and the risks of crossing through dangerous Mexican border cities.

Reuters reported last week that 11.2 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States; more than half of which are from Mexico.

More Sunscreen, More Tequila

Some good news for Mexico – spring break travel to Mexico grew 7.2 percent this year compared to 2011, despite travel warnings due to cartel violence from U.S. State Department and the Texas Department of Safety.

Over 77,000 young tourists traveled to the country between March 5 and March 30.

Some special guests included the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, who recently made there way to the to Rivera Maya for a calendar photo shoot.

More than 20 million U.S. travelers make Mexico their travel destination every year.