Los Angeles Times
IMPERIAL SAND DUNES RECREATION AREA, CALIFORNIA -- The dirt bikes and dune buggies swarm the sandy slopes by the thousands, turning these giant dunes at California's southeast border into anthills of frenetic activity.
Smugglers in nearby Mexico can't resist trying to blend into the crowd.
They shoot across the border in souped-up vehicles loaded with illegal immigrants and drugs and elude U.S. Border Patrol agents by playing the part of dune enthusiasts: wearing helmets and decorating their bikes and all terrain vehicles with decals and flags.
The cat-and-mouse game turned deadly recently when a suspected smuggler driving a Hummer ran over an agent and fled back across the border over the dunes. The agent's death focused attention on the federal government's enforcement strategy in this remote corner of the border.
Posted by tyne at March 2, 2008