Pubdate: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 1999 Houston Chronicle Contact: http://www.chron.com/ Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html Author: William Branigin, Washington Post NEW CHIEF OF BORDER PATROL TEMPERS ENFORCEMENT WITH CONCERN FOR SAFETY Early in his career with the U.S. Border Patrol, Gustavo de la Vina came across a scene that would haunt him more than two decades later. While patrolling near the Texas border town of Eagle Pass in the early 1970s, he found the campsite of a group of illegal border-crossers. Hidden in the brush was the body of a boy who apparently was robbed, possibly by smugglers who led the group across the border. "He couldn't have been more than 12 or 13 years old," de la Vina recalled. "They cut his throat." The boy was never identified, and no one was ever charged with his murder. Since taking over last year as chief of the Border Patrol, de la Vina, 59, has promoted an initiative to reduce fatalities along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border -- both from violence at the hands of smugglers or bandits and from exposure or accidents that occur as illegal crossers try to sneak into the United States. Such crossings break the law, he said, but the penalty "should not be a death sentence." The stance reflects the compassion that de la Vina wants the Border Patrol to embody along with its enforcement mission. In addition to identifying the most dangerous crossing points and posting warning signs, agents are taking on search-and-rescue roles when illegal crossers venture into deserts or mountains with inadequate water, food or protection from the elements. De la Vina, the first Mexican-American to head the Border Patrol and the highest-ranking Hispanic in federal law enforcement, presides over an agency that has expanded from fewer than 3,000 agents when he started to an increasingly high-tech, well-staffed operation. Infused with cash from a Congress alarmed by the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs across the southwestern border, the agency in the midst of a technological and personnel buildup, acquiring an array of new equipment and boosting its strength to more than 8,000 agents. In discussing the evolution of the border situation, de la Vina betrays a nostalgia for the simpler time two decades ago, when there were fewer illegal crossers and encounters with drug runners were rare. When caught, "there was almost an understanding," de la Vina said. "They would greet us. We would greet them. We'd often share our lunches. "The whole profile has changed," he said. The illegal crossers now tend to be younger, often led by professional smugglers who have much to lose if caught. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea