Steve Neavling

A van being pursued by the Border Patrol this weekend flipped over and killed five people in southern Arizona, the Associated Press reports.

Authorities found 22 people in the van Saturday between Tucson and Benson, Ariz., the AP reported.

The remaining 17 were rushed to a hospital for a variety of injuries.

Details of the pursuit remained murky Monday.

Steve Neavling

CBP officials warned Congress that failing to prevent the planned sequester Friday would force the agency to cut hours by the equivalent of a quarter of its workforce – or 5,000 full-time workers, the Arizona Republic reports.

That will mean reduced border security and longer waits at airports and border entries, the CBP cautioned.

For now, the CBP plans to give 14 furlough days for every agent, the Arizona Republic reported.

Overtime hours also will be cut.

Union leaders told the Arizona Republican that agents and their families are encouraged to call Congress about the reductions.

Steve Neavling

The environmental group, Sierra Club, has released a video that shows untold damage from Border Patrol roads cut into the desert through the Organ Pipe National Monument and the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona, the Arizona Daily Star reports. 

Activists say the Border Patrol has far more road than is needed.

Off-roading activities are impacting wildlife “on a huge scale” and causing compacted soil and water channeling, the Star wrote.

Customs and Border Protection denied damaging the environment through a statement to the Star.

“The preservation of our valuable natural and cultural resources is of great importance to CBP and we are fully engaged in efforts that consider environmental impact as we work to secure our Nation’s borders.  The Border Patrol complies with all established laws and reporting procedures in place at National Parks and protected wilderness areas. We are committed to responsible environmental stewardship and look forward to working with interested parties and border residents to accomplish our mission while preserving the environment.”

Steve Neavling

An immigration activist who tried to intervene in a traffic stop by Tucson Police on Sunday was arrested and pepper-sprayed after authorities say he crawled under a Border Patrol car, News 4 Tucson reports.

The activist, Paul Ochoa, laid under the car after police pulled over a father of six, News 4 reported.

Several suspects were taken into custody, said Border Patrol spokesman Jeremy Copeland.

Ochoa is known for taking brave stands against immigration enforcement.

The Border Patrol has maintained its agent opened fire on a 16-year-old because he was throwing rocks at authorities from the Mexican border to Arizona.   

But the USA Today is reporting that ten of the 11 bullets that struck Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez in October hit him from behind, according to a report by medical examiners for the Sonora attorney general’s office. 

Border Patrol and the FBI, which is investigating the case, declined to comment.

“The only way I can fathom that report is that he was lying on his face when he was hit,” said Luis Parra, an attorney representing the Elena Rodriguez family.

Since January 2010, Border Patrol has killed 19 people – all but two along the U.S. -Mexican border.

ATF agents shot a pit bull Thursday for attacking their service dog while delivering a state warrant in Arizona, the Arizona Daily Star reports.

Agents were searching a property near Tucson area for firearms and drugs when the pit bull attacked, the Star wrote.

The service dog, Bora, was mauled by the pit bull.

Bora was taken to a veterinary clinic for the wounds.

Agents said they were forced to shoot to save Bora’s life, the Star reported.

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Steve Neavling

The feds are investigating a deadly shooting involving a U.S. Border Patrol agent in the mountains of Arizona, the Arizona Daily Star reports.

Authorities said the unnamed agent shot and killed a man after a confrontation with a group who had crossed the border illegally, the agency told the Arizona Daily Star.

More details of the case are unclear, including the nationality of the man who died.

The death is the third fatal shooting by a Border Patrol agent in a month in the Tucson Sector, the AP reported.

Steve Neavling

 An Arizona man charged with trying to blow up a Social Security Administration Office was researching how to build the type of powerful bombs used by terrorists, the Associated Press reports.

Abdullatif Ali Aldosary, 47, was charged in federal court Monday with maliciously damaging federal property by means of an explosive and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Despite evidence found at his home that suggested Aldosary was building a much more destructive bomb, the explosion was relatively small and injured no one at the Social Security Office in Casa Grande, about 50 miles south of Phoenix, the AP wrote.

ATF handed the investigation over to the FBI.