In addition, Operation Stonegarden will play a vital role in the increased security. The operation includes agencies working with the Border Patrol, including Tombstone marshals and deputies who will venture into the nearby area in search of illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.

Deputy Travis Williams said that patrols for Stonegarden take place once a week, with the patrolling trek taking them out in a near 15-mile radius, depending on the operational plan. The plan is compiled from information from the Marshal's Office and the Border Patrol in the forms of surveillance and reconnaissance.

"It's a great job though," Williams said. "It's the only job where you never know what you're going to get into every single day."

Williams explained that often "coyotes" will take illegal immigrants into the desert by truck and drop them off, most likely near power lines and washes so that they will have a point of guidance. Then the truck will return to the main road while those immigrants will walk beyond the Border Patrol checkpoint. The immigrants rendezvous with the truck when they're beyond authorities. They will then be shuttled the rest of the way into the state. Williams has discovered tracks nearly three miles away from any road.

"It's a sad thing they pay a lot of money and they do the majority of the work," Williams said.

Despite the added manpower and funding, arrests by the Tombstone Marshal's Office on patrol in relation to Operation Stonegarden are rare. In specific, arrests that occur when officers are undertaking operational patrols are less frequent than when officers are undertaking normal patrol shifts.

"I caught about five immigrants in a truck last week, but that was just on patrol, not on the ATVs," Williams said.

"It's really like looking for a needle in a haystack," said Deputy Marshal J.J. Norris, one of the officers involved with Stonegarden.

"I've caught a lot of immigrants, but never during Stonegarden" Norris said. "It's like it's jinxed.

"You know what they say about police work," he said. "It's 90 percent boredom and 10 percent terror."

The jinx has some citizens concerned about the effectiveness and cost of the operation.

Border watch groups also fear the range of activities under the program and believe that a lack of training blurs the line between state and federal policing.

"It's a recipe for racial profiling," said Jennifer Allen, director of Border Action Network.

"It becomes an officer's own personal biases and assumptions ... here's this multimillion-dollar program and what it really boils down to is officer discretion. Is that what Operation Stonegarden is meant to be?"

With mountainous terrain, uneven deserts, thick brush and an inhospitable climate, it is difficult to see either state or federal authorities having a measure of success.

According to Marshal Larry Talvy, some things authorities look for include fresh tracks, water bottles and clothing. He added that trafficking may increase in correlation with the weather growing warmer.

While Williams says that catching immigrants and drug traffickers is the goal, the presence of law enforcement acts as a deterrent even without arrests.

"They know we're out here and we're looking for them," Williams said.

Despite the presence of the Border Patrol and multiple agencies that are undertaking routine ventures into possible smuggling areas, Williams has said that it does not serve as a universal deterrent.

Such was the case on April 13 when, during a normal patrol, two ATVs, separated by approximately four miles, encountered what Williams called a "load of people traveling between [the two patrol units]."

Williams discovered tracks in a wash as well as several gates that were left open.

After checking with Norris, who was also in the field, Williams determined that a group of people were in the area between the two deputies.

At approximately 5 p.m., Norris spotted two vehicles speeding through the desert. Without a clear path to the cars, Norris maintained his post of observation.

Shortly after, on his way back to the police station, Norris encountered a Border Patrol agent and informed him of the vehicles' presence. The agent placed a call and headed in their direction.

Nobody was apprehended in relation to the event.

This year, Operation Stonegarden will allocate $60 million to county agencies based on risk analysis and anticipated effectiveness. Funding from the operation provides the department with access to all-terrain vehicles for search missions and additional hourly wages for officers.

Identifying a "Drop Off"

1. Fresh tire tracks
2. Fresh footprints
3. Water bottles
4. Toilet paper
5. Clothing
6. Car seats
7. Excess trash