New Documents Detail Mexican Government Border Incursions

Records obtained by Judicial Watch from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) document 226 incursions by Mexican government personnel into the United States between 1996 and 2005.

Leslie Drahos

Sept. 12, 2006

Released on Aug. 28 in response to a Nov. 1, 2005 FOIA request, the records consist of annual intelligence summaries of "Mexican Government Incidents," compiled over a 9-year period. They were designated as "limited official use" by the DHS, requiring "special protection against unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure."

The intelligence summaries provide detailed maps of the incursions, along with descriptions of other documented "incidents" involving Mexican government personnel and Border Patrol agents.

The records describe incidents involving shots fired on both sides of the border, unmarked helicopters invading U.S. airspace, drug smuggling, and confrontations between U.S. Border Patrol agents and armed members of the Mexican military.