A reader in the Southwest, responding to my item

about John Lehman and the INS, offers this insight:

I can give you my recent observations on an attempt to pass a piece of legislation in Arizona called the Coyote Violence Reduction Act (CVRA). Coyote, of course, is the term used for those persons who smuggle non-citizens across the U.S. border. Because being a coyote is now as profitable as being a drug smuggler, and because there are far fewer laws against alien-smuggling, many drug smugglers are using their existing infrastructure to smuggle aliens for fun and profit. They are also using the violent tactics often used in drug smuggling. They kill people, rip-off other coyote’s loads, abandon their cargo to rot in the desert to save their own skin, etc. The main gist of the Coyote Violence Reduction Act was to give state prosecutors power to disrupt the alien smuggling business through the use of asset forfeiture laws: i.e., removing the financial incentive and the transportation vehicles would make people less inclined to enter into the coyote business. Such laws exist at the Federal level, but did not exist at the Arizona state level. Federal enforcement was minimal. State law enforcement that came into contact with a large van of illegals driven by a coyote with a big ‘ol sack of money really couldn’t do anything if the feds didn’t have the resources or the interest to immediately run right over and take control of the situation. The bill, which would have provided several remedies to all prosecutors in the state, was met with resistance. Hispanic legislators didn’t want to completely end alien smuggling. They longed for the old days of the mom & pop coyote that didn’t charge so much, wasn’t prone to violence and maybe helped a hard working relative or two get into the country to earn a decent wage for honest labor. On the other hand, they did not like the new “corporate” drug smuggling culture coyote that demanded more money, stashed aliens in safe houses by the hundreds, and was more violent and ruthless. Law enforcement was also opposed mostly from the standpoint that the border is a federal issue, the feds have the laws and the personnel, they should take care of the problem. Local law enforcement felt overwhelmed by enforcing state law and didn’t want to have to also be burdened with enforcing what was covered by federal law. Because of these concerns, ultimately what was passed was a watered down version of the CVRA. It gave the Attorney General, but not county or municipal prosecutors, discretion to enforce the law. There was also a mom & pop coyote exemption which essentially said as long as you don’t smuggle too many aliens or make too much money, the law didn’t apply.