Created by Congress in 1972. the Shadow Wolves operate on the Tohono Oodham Indian Reservation in southern Arizona. which has 76 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border running through it. That reservation has historically been a major conduit for drug smuggling. and the Shadow Wolvesall of them Native Americans who combine modern technology with traditional. Indian tracking techniquesare responsible for stopping the smuggling of drugs. illegal aliens and other contraband between the ports of entry within the 2.8 million acres of the Tohono Oodham Nation. Just since January of this year. the Shadow Wolves have interdicted over 15.000 pounds of illegal drugs that otherwise would have been sold on the streets. The Shadow Wolves have also assisted numerous Federal law enforcement agencies with enforcement issues on the reservation. Despite being one of our most successful antismuggling investigative units. however. the Shadow Wolves are about to disappear altogether. After the formation of the Department of Homeland Security. the Shadow Wolves were taken out of their historic location at the Customs Office of Investigations and arbitrarily assigned to the Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol. This arrangement has been unworkable. because the mission and tactics of the Shadow Wolves (who are more like investigators than patrolmen) simply do not fit the organizational model of the Border Patrol. The Shadow Wolves have already lost nearly a quarter of their personnel due to attrition and to date there have been no qualified replacements. H.R. 5589 fixes this problem by transferring the Shadow Wolves back to the Office of Investigations. now located within ICE. Once again. the Shadow Wolves will be able to do what they do best: find. follow. and bust major drug and alien smuggling rings. in cooperation with their fellow Immigration and Customs investigators. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5589. and help the Nation take yet another major step in regaining control of our borders. Madam Speaker. 1 reserve the balance of my time.
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illegal aliens Border Patrol Immigration