Dever had been asked to represent Arizona Sheriffs at the ACTT, an intelligence-sharing and operational alliance of more than 60 law enforcement agencies throughout Arizona that includes Mexican agencies as well. After attending just a few meetings with other members of the ACTT, though, Dever removed himself from the group.

Though the scene would not be out of place in Ortega's home state of Guerrero, Mexico, it plays out in New York City's East Harlem neighborhood, whose Mexican immigrant population has exploded in recent years. Many of the Mexicans who live here, began the journey through Southern Arizona.

Ortega, who crossed the border with her husband in March, arranged the journey from her hometown of Tlapa de Comonfort. The two took a bus from Guerrero to Mexico City, and from there caught a flight to Hermosillo.

Metal birds fly high over the cacti and brush, and trucks mounted with radar, track anything that moves. Along the border, technology is key.

Last year, the agency began construction on the first of 27 metal towers in the Arizona desert, said Eric Cantu, an agency spokesman. The "remote video surveillance systems" are electronic watch posts with two types color video for day and thermal imaging for night. The cameras can distinguish between a person and an animal from six miles away, while a laser range finder can gauge distance and pinpoint location, Cantu said.

Solar panels, rechargeable batteries and diesel generators provide the system with enough power to run off the power grid. Agents can pan and tilt the cameras from the Tucson Sector building, and when they see suspicious activity, they send out field agents.

While the towers are the largest of the high-tech tools available, souped-up battery-powered binoculars are some of the smallest. About the size of a shoebox, the Recon III boasts dual LCD screens with both heat-sensing and color cameras, a laser range finder, a digital magnetic compass and a GPS that can pinpoint a target's location.

For the third time in six years, the federal government has commissioned an evaluation of the agency's interior checkpoints.

The University of Arizona and the University of Texas at El Paso will each receive $500,000 to evaluate checkpoints' effectiveness and efficiency in a study set to begin next year. Organizers are still working out how they will conduct the study.

The open house – one of 23 around the country – drew some 520 people, said Eric Cantu, an agency spokesman. The agency is hiring 2,200 new agents – 1,200 to replace those lost through attrition, plus 1,000 additional agents to be stationed along the border.

"Most of (the additional agents) will be sent to the Tucson Sector," he said, declining to give specific numbers.

The Tucson Sector has about 3,000 of the total 20,200 agents, and if it gets even half of the additional agents, the number in the sector will increase by 17 percent.

Besides the boost in manpower, the sector will get additional equipment: roughly 10 mobile surveillance systems and 10 scope trucks, and some 50 heat-sensing binoculars, he said.

In August, Congress mandated $600 million for agents and equipment along the border. Although apprehensions of illegal immigrants have declined in recent years, flaring violence in northern Mexico and the unsolved shooting of a Cochise County rancher have thrust border security into the spotlight.

Cantu said the agency hopes to have all 2,200 hired by Oct. 1, though it would probably be more than a year before the agents are out in the field.

Can you tell me what “comprehensive immigration reform” means to you?

I think immigration reform is code language for two things, “amnesty” and “we don’t know what to do with this, so we’ll call it comprehensive immigration reform.”

My suggestion is, let’s take the right to vote out and citizenship out of the equation. If you broke into this country, we may be able to sit down and have a discussion about how you can make amends for that and be a legally recognized worker, but you’ll never be a citizen and you’ll never have the right to vote.

Was there a particular moment that really got you more involved in border issues?

Really, it’s kind of the perfect storm, and I hate to capitalize on a terrible, terrible tragedy in one sense, but it was a significant event when Rob Krentz was murdered.

Right at the same time that SB 1070 was being debated, the they had an event or two down in Texas, it all sort of came together. The ACLU sued, along with MALDEF, and then, lo and behold, the Department of Justice sues. I’m still angry about it. They took it to a place that no policymaker, no one in a position of influence can run and hide.

When he began his college career 40 years ago, Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever had little interest in law enforcement.

He had planned to teach high school English literature. But because of what he describes as a “perfect storm,” Dever is now arguably the most vociferous advocate lobbying for tighter border security.

 Just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, drug cartels fight each other for territory and clientele. This side of the border, politicians fight each other for elected office. The result? National Guard troops from Texas to Arizona.

The first wave of Arizona National Guard troops hit the Arizona borderlands in late August, installing about 30 of 560 troops to help out the Border Patrol along the Arizona-Mexico border.

Among other things, the bill — SB 1070 — will enable law enforcement officers to detain anybody who is unable to prove lawful residence in the United States and requires police to make a "reasonable attempt" to determine immigration status on the fly.

The burglary occurred March 26 around 7:30 p.m. at 76-year-old Patricia Forrest's residence. According to police reports, Forrest received a phone call from a woman under the guise of a firefighter, who informed her of a reported gas leak in the area.