Air Marshal Doing His Job

wnbubbleboy

Veteran
Aug 21, 2002
944
22
By God Indiana
U.S. agents board plane at RDU, arrest 11


Federal agents met a Southwest Airlines flight at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport and arrested 11 male passengers suspected of illegally entering the United States, authorities said Wednesday.
The 11 men boarded their flight Tuesday by showing federal agents one form of identification -- a Mexican voter registration card that contained a name, age and photo, said Thomas O'Connell, resident agent in charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Raleigh.

Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said the incident was the first time that she knew of that immigration agents boarded a Southwest flight to check passenger identification.

The events leading to the men's arrest began when an air marshal observed a group of men on a flight from Las Vegas to Chicago, O'Connell said. The marshal overheard the men discussing how they were smuggled into the United States.

McInnis would not give the flight number, saying she could not release passenger information.

When the flight landed in Chicago, the air marshal departed from the plane and called a customs agent in Atlanta who then notified O'Connell's office.

The men boarded a second flight, 2340, in Chicago and arrived in Raleigh at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday, according to officials.

The flight's 136 passengers were held on the plane for about 15 minutes while immigration, customs and border agents, along with the RDU police arrived on the scene.

Federal agents boarded the flight and began checking the identification of passengers. Officers detained 11 men who were then interviewed and taken to the Johnston County jail.

After spending another day in the Johnston County jail, the men will go to Charlotte and later to Atlanta for a deportation hearing, O'Connell said.

The men had each paid a smuggler $1,000 to cross the border near Douglas, Ariz., on or about March 22, O'Connell said. After crossing the border, a vehicle took the men to Las Vegas, where they stayed at a "stash house" for several days before boarding a Southwest flight headed for Raleigh.

It was not clear Wednesday how the airline tickets were purchased or how the group got past federal security agents without a passport and using a foreign voter registration card, O'Connell said.
 
The men had each paid a smuggler $1,000 to cross the border near Douglas, Ariz., on or about March 22, O'Connell said. After crossing the border, a vehicle took the men to Las Vegas, where they stayed at a "stash house" for several days before boarding a Southwest flight headed for Raleigh.

It was not clear Wednesday how the airline tickets were purchased or how the group got past federal security agents without a passport and using a foreign voter registration card, O'Connell said.
----------------------------------------
I don't think the title of this thread should be "Air Marshal Doing His Job"

It should be "Southwest allows anyone on using a Matricula Consular - The Mexican Sham ID Card "

WHY was Southwest allowing 11 people on with NO acceptable ID?

This story will not go away.
 
It was not clear Wednesday how the airline tickets were purchased or how the group got past federal security agents without a passport and using a foreign voter registration card
**************

It's pretty clear to me. And unbelieveably illegal.
 
Well, I guess these Mexicans knew a good deal when they saw it.

Although I guess they misinterpreted the commercial: "You are now free to move about the country". Maybe they will sue for false advertising:)
 
Trip Confirmed,

From what I have learned, anyone can be allowed to fly without showing ID so long as they agree to a "more intensive" screening. So maybe this was what happened. Not sure if other airlines have the same policy....

As for needing a passport to travel around the US, with The Patriot Act its not to much of a stretch to see the government resort to that in the future ala The (former) Soviet Union!

Its a sad state of affairs.....
 
continuous ignition said:
Trip Confirmed,

From what I have learned, anyone can be allowed to fly without showing ID so long as they agree to a "more intensive" screening. So maybe this was what happened. Not sure if other airlines have the same policy....

As for needing a passport to travel around the US, with The Patriot Act its not to much of a stretch to see the government resort to that in the future ala The (former) Soviet Union!

Its a sad state of affairs.....
[post="260229"][/post]​

I guess it's ok as long as it's someone else's friends or relatives that get killed by terrorists. Ever traveled or lived in a communist and/or dictatorship country, bucko? I have, and we've got a long way to go before we reach a quarter of the hassle or intimidation there.
 
Every European carries a national id card and can be fined for not having it on his/her person. Wonder if the free pass for Mexicans (I show up without my license, I don't fly) is another result of Bush and Fox triying to keep the borders wide open?
 
[
I don't think the title of this thread should be "Air Marshal Doing His Job"

It should be "Southwest allows anyone on using a Matricula Consular - The Mexican Sham ID Card "

WHY was Southwest allowing 11 people on with NO acceptable ID?

This story will not go away.
[post="260178"][/post]​
[/quote]

Southwest Airlines is not the INS, its not their job to check the legal status of their passengers, their job is to make sure people who board their aircraft are screened properly for weapons and other items that may pose a security threat, and then after they are screened, fly them from point A to point B. Southwest will take anyones money for a ticket regardless of their legal status in this country, if you want to point fingers than maybe the TSA should get some ot the blame, arent they the ones checking ID s and boarding passes at the security checkpoints? They are after all a goverment agency, arent they.
Also you should know that this is not something new, and the INS has knowledge that illegal aliens are allways on commercial flight to the east coast from the west every single day out of PHX, LAX, LAS, ect.....except they dont have the manpower to go after them, so if the goverment is doing nothing about it, than dont expect Southwest or anyone else do anything either, and by the way remeber it wasnt 20 mexicans who hijacked 4 jets on 9/11.

This story will go away
 
AA1B said:
Also you should know that this is not something new, and the INS has knowledge that illegal aliens are allways on commercial flight to the east coast from the west every single day out of PHX, LAX, LAS, ect.....except they dont have the manpower to go after them,

You are so correct. a couple of years ago HP's PHX-ORD redeye was getting to be known as the "wetback special" until 'la migra' (that's the Border Patrol) finally staged a crackdown and nabbed whole groups of illegals attempting to board said flight. Obviously, 'los coyotes' (the smugglers) simply switched to other flights and/or other points of departure.
 
Red Tail Bear said:
Maybe they were on their way to WN headquarters for job interviews.
[post="260567"][/post]​


Well why wouldn't they want to come to work for us? We're the best paid in the industry and are well taken care of by our employer. Can't say the same for the other places I worked in the past.

Could there be a tinge of jealousy in your comment?

Maybe you should apply...
 
continuous ignition said:
Well why wouldn't they want to come to work for us? We're the best paid in the industry and are well taken care of by our employer. Can't say the same for the other places I worked in the past.

Could there be a tinge of jealousy in your comment?

Maybe you should apply...
[post="260571"][/post]​
Oh yeah Im sure that the starting pay is three times what they were making in Mehico. But I doubt they'll be in the country long enough to make it to top pay. But if WN screens future employees like they do passengers they just might have a chance. By the way, How long does it take to reach top pay? 20 years? Not bad!! :p :p :p
 
Red Tail Bear said:
Oh yeah Im sure that the starting pay is three times what they were making in Mehico. But I doubt they'll be in the country long enough to make it to top pay. But if WN screens future employees like they do passengers they just might have a chance. By the way, How long does it take to reach top pay? 20 years? Not bad!! :p :p :p
[post="260601"][/post]​

Well who knows, maybe they just arrived to start on some heavy mx on one of NWA's jets....

20 years to top of scale? Well I highly doubt it. Depends what contact you're under. Not sure about others but for mechanics, have a look for yourself...

WN Mechanic Wages

Tell me this... How many times have you been laid off at NWA? How many times as WN laid off? I rest my case...

I'm not saying we're any more immune than other airlines to financial problems. I just think we have more pro-active management that also thinks about the "human factor" when deciding where to cut costs.

I have nothing but respect for other airline's employees and their employers. I just don't understand why you have to come here and bash our airline when your own company is such a wreck..
 
continuous ignition said:
Well who knows, maybe they just arrived to start on some heavy mx on one of NWA's jets....

20 years to top of scale? Well I highly doubt it. Depends what contact you're under. Not sure about others but for mechanics, have a look for yourself...

WN Mechanic Wages

Tell me this... How many times have you been laid off at NWA? How many times as WN laid off? I rest my case...

I'm not saying we're any more immune than other airlines to financial problems. I just think we have more pro-active management that also thinks about the "human factor" when deciding where to cut costs.

I have nothing but respect for other airline's employees and their employers. I just don't understand why you have to come here and bash our airline when your own company is such a wreck..
[post="260610"][/post]​
I have not come here to bash your airline. I was just having a little fun pointing out that the perfect world you guys like to think you work in isn't so perfect after all. You are all so quick to pat yourselves on the back and to compare your airline to the others when there is no comparison, with the exception of F9, B6, Air Tran, etc. Cutting costs (of airline fares) is what WN is all about. Your management doesn't care much about the "human factor". After all it is your managements cutthroat business model that is responsible for thousands of lost jobs in this industry. And for the record almost 20yrs and 0 times laid-off. I rest my case!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top