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Photos: Courtesy of Heath Hansen
Editor’s Note: Many of our readers will remember Heath Hansen. He’s posted several pieces for us in the past during some of his deployments with the 82nd Airborne Division. This is another piece by Heath from when he deployed in the U.S. along the southern border.
Thanks again to Heath, much appreciated. SB
“I sent the grids; we’ll be heading out by noon on Thursday,” Tim Foley informs me over the phone before I hit the road. Foley is a grizzled former paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division and leader of the volunteer group Arizona Border Recon (AZBR). For over a decade, AZBR volunteers have assisted Border Patrol by sharing intelligence concerning the movement or location of illegal immigrants crossing the international border. In the weeks before, I coordinated calls and emails between Foley and his men to ensure the proper paperwork and background checks were complete. Now, I can partake in their training regimen exec
Volunteers at the Border: Training With Arizona Border Recon
by
Heath Hansen
“I sent the grids; we’ll be heading out by noon on Thursday,” Tim Foley informs me over the phone, before I hit the road. Foley is a grizzled former paratrooper of the 82
nd Airborne Division, and leader of the volunteer group Arizona Border Recon (AZBR). For over a decade, AZBR volunteers have assisted Border Patrol by sharing intelligence concerning the movement or location of illegal immigrants crossing the international border. In the prior weeks, I have coordinated calls and emails between Foley and his men to ensure the proper paperwork and background checks are complete. Now, I can partake in their training regimen executed in the mountains of Southern Arizona. Staying true to their motto: One Hill At A Time, these guys will be training in the same hills they patrol during operations. Years ago, I learned of AZBR while watching a documentary about drug cartels south of the border. Now, I
the border illegally. and says it s harder than he imagined. but on the other side, a legion of border patrol agents cameras barricades, ground sensors are waiting. even some private citizens working on their own to stop migrants like jesus garcia from getting across. this is the scene in the matrix. in tim s world, borderlands are a threatening, dangerous place. this is what the world looks like. foley leads a volunteer group called arizona border recon that patrols the border on the town on the u.s./mexico border. i ve been called everything in the book. the southern poverty law center which monitors hate groups in the u.s. says foley s group is made up of native extremists. foley sees the flow of drugs, undocumented migrants and the wide-open spaces of the border
on the ore e side a legion of border patrol agents, barricades, ground sensors are waiting, even some private citizens working on their own to stop migrants like jesus garcia from getting across. this is the scene in the matrix. reporter: in tome foley s world, the border lands are a threatening, dangerous place. this is what the world really looks like. reporter: he leads a volunteer group called arizona border recon that patrols the border around a town in arizona on the u.s.-mexico border with less than a hundred people. i ve been called everything in the book, a domestic extremist. reporter: the southern poverty law center which monitors hate group in the u.s. says foley s group is made up of, quote, native extremists. he sees the flow of drugs, undocumented migrants and the wide open spaces of the border as the country s biggest threat. along the nearly 2,000-mile u.s./southern border there is already about 700 miles of fencing and barricades already in place. here i
he started here in honduras, made his way across guatemala, here to this little town and this is where he crossed into mexico. he says he hasn t been able to cross. he left home november 7th of last year and he s tried three times already to get across, but he hasn t been able to. reporter: garcia says it s the first time he s ever tried crossing the border illegally and says it s harder than he imagined. he says, if i made it this far, i ll keep trying. on the other side a legion of border patrol agents, cameras, barricades, ground sensors are waiting, even private citizens working on their own to stop migrants like jesus garcia from getting across. in tim foley s world the border lands are a threatening dangerous place. this is the red bill, this is what the world really looks like. reporter: he leads a volunteer group called arizona border recon that patrols the