U.S.-Mexico border increasingly violent

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- State and local border patrol officers on duty at the U.S.-Mexico border said they are outmanned and outgunned by illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.

"They've got weapons, high-tech radios, computers, cell phones, Global Positioning Systems, spotters and can react faster than we are able to," Shawn P. Moran, a 10-year U.S. Border Patrol veteran, told The Washington Times.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement task force said its officers seized a large weapons cache in February, including 1,280 rounds of ammunition, five grenades and two explosive devices.

Moran said the escalation of violence targeting border patrol officers was reflected in the doubling of alien and drug smuggler attacks over the past two years.

ICE, which is the investigatory body of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a report this year that violence along the border underwent "an unprecedented surge" over the past three years.

Despite pledges by the Homeland Security Department to increase manpower for border patrol, many view their positions as "expendable" as many are assigned to "non-border activities," the Times said.