Two illegal immigrants have been charged with being in possession of firearms. Jose Beltran-Bermudez and Yazmin Arvayo-Palafox were arrested in connection with an effort to smuggle 222 rifles and five pistols into Mexico.

There will be some important Amendment votes to help stop illegal immigration and the flood of foreign workers, as well as other votes that will cut enforcement tonight or tomorrow morning. It is imperative that you let your congressman know where you stand.

Tell them to Vote Yes On:

* Amendment No. 199 by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) to defund the Justice frivolous lawsuit against Arizona. This sends an important message that we stand with Arizona and against the Obama administration’s attempt to undermine our immigration laws.

Two Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents were attacked in Mexico, leaving one dead and another injured. The two agents, assigned to the agency's Mexico City office, were between Mexico City to Monterey.

Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa said remarks by a top U.S. Army official this week were "totally unacceptable" and do not reflect the cooperation both governments had been building during the past years.

Espinosa was referring to a statement made by U.S. Under Secretary of the Army Joseph Westphal on Monday that compared Mexico’s drug war to an "insurgency" and suggested that the United States might send troops to Mexico to keep organized crime from taking over the government.

Remarks retracted

Speaking at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Monday, Undersecretary of the Army Joseph Westphal described the situation in Mexico as being an insurgency, echoing Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's comments in September, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Saying Mexico could face "potentially, a takeover of a government by individuals who are corrupt," Westphal described Mexico and Latin America as a "blind spot" in American foreign policy.

SB 1495, which would free up Governor Brewer to activate the Arizona State Guard, has been introduced in the Senate of the Arizona Legislature:

http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/50leg/1r/bills/sb...

If SB 1495 passes, then the Governor would have to do nothing more than to sign the order that would create, fund, and deploy the Arizona State Guard, as authorized under Title 32 of the USC.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode32/usc_sec_32_00000109----0...

Much of Mexico is now under the grip of drug-related violence that has claimed 30,000 lives since president Felipe Calderon declared war on organized criminal gangs in December, 2006. While polls show support for the president's policy, they also show that a large percentage of people believe the government is losing the war.

While crime is a big concern in Mexico City, people feel far removed from what is happening along the northern border or in other violence-plagued areas.

U.S. police say an American missionary was fatally shot in Mexico on Wednesday.

They say gunmen tried to stop the vehicle the 59-year-old woman and her husband were travelling in near San Fernando. The men shot at the car as her husband sped away.

The woman later died at a hospital in the U.S. town McAllen, Texas, which is near the Mexican border.

The couple was returning from a mission near San Fernando when the shooting occurred.

U.S federal agencies are assisting Mexican police in their investigation.

Article by VOA News

Video by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Public Affairs - Visual Communications Division