Guests - Arron Stevenson, Dave Smith, Ross Teeple, Brian Parker

Border Security and Cartel Response to New Policies

On St. Patrick's Day, Kathleen Winn discussed critical border security issues with intelligence analyst Aaron Stevenson. The conversation followed news that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem had visited Arizona's border, where plans are underway to complete a seven-mile stretch of border wall that was halted during the Biden administration.

Stevenson highlighted how the Trump administration's renewed border policies have had immediate effects: "The legal migration part as a whole... that was an overnight correction. They hit that out of the park, and that's evident by the numbers that literally dropped off a cliff."

According to Stevenson, while human trafficking may be decreasing, cartels are likely to pivot their focus: "The cartel's big profit now is going to be driving off of, I think, solely on drugs. They made almost 20 years of profit in four years on human trafficking and human smuggling trade."

This shift makes physical barriers all the more important: "The walls are going to be critical because even if you can't wall off the entire border, you can deny access to a lot of it. Thereby, you can funnel and focus where they could cross, which leaves enforcement operations a lot easier."

Stevenson stressed that the administration's focus on deporting the most dangerous individuals first is the right approach: "I want to focus my limited resources on getting the worst bad guys out because that's the most detrimental to public safety. The rapists, the child traffickers, the murderers—those actually cause harm."

He expressed particular concern about child trafficking, noting that while progress is being made, it remains a critical focus area. Stevenson also praised the administration's classification of cartels as terrorist organizations, explaining that this designation changes how information can be collected, shared, and analyzed by federal agencies.

Despite the progress, Stevenson cautioned that the problems created during the previous administration would take significant time to address: "They're going to be running uphill probably for four straight years because that's how bad the last four years were... This is a thing that's going to be a generation problem, I think."

The conversation also touched on a recent drug seizure in Phoenix, where DEA agents seized 700,000 fentanyl pills hidden inside roofing shingles. Two individuals, Carlos Rene Montes of Tucson and Miguel Angel Cessma, a legal U.S. resident from Mexico, were charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

International Space Station Crew Update

In other news, four astronauts arrived at the International Space Station aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon, finally providing a way home for two NASA astronauts who have been stranded there since June 2024. Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams had been on the ISS for nearly 10 months after what was originally planned as an eight-day mission.

The crew that just arrived includes NASA's Ann McClain and Nicole Ayers, along with Techno Onsi of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. They were welcomed by the current ISS crew.

NASA deemed it too risky for Wilmore and Williams to return aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which returned to Earth uncrewed on September 7, 2024. The agency identified helium leaks and issues with the thrusters of the Starliner spacecraft as it approached the space station.

A caller to the show, Charles, noted that problems with the heat shield on the Boeing Starliner had been largely unreported by mainstream media: "NASA has just absolutely buried that...that's why they didn't want the crew on the Starliner when it came back."

Wilmore and Williams are scheduled to return to Earth no later than March 19, 2025, while the newly arrived crew will spend the next six months conducting scientific research and testing.

Crime Trends and Law Enforcement Challenges

Dave Smith, a law enforcement trainer and former officer known as "Buck Savage," joined the show to discuss violent crime and border security issues. He emphasized how narcotics trafficking adapts to enforcement efforts: "Drugs are like electricity. They seek the path of least resistance."

Smith explained that despite border security improvements, smugglers will adapt: "If you block, if you build a wall, they're going to go to the boats. They did that before." He stressed the need for constant adaptation: "You've got to have an administration that constantly is ready to adapt and deal with the different innovations. Criminals are clever and they find a way."

The conversation turned to the recent murder-for-hire case in San Bernardino, California, where five men were charged in connection with the shooting death of a 44-year-old businesswoman in a parking lot. Smith used this as an example of how society must confront evil: "We almost never talk about evil. It's in our humanity and we have to fight it. And the way to fight it is certainty of punishment, law enforcement, courts that support classical punishment."

Smith expressed concern about the judiciary's impact on immigration enforcement: "The ability for a singular judge in San Francisco to shut down nationwide enforcement of immigration laws is just absurd on its face. That makes that judge a king or queen over our society."

A caller named Bunker offered a different perspective on the fentanyl crisis: "When the cartels started sending them up here, what they were doing basically was sending bullets. That's 700,000 bullets they sent up here. It's war." Smith agreed, adding that "drugs are essentially a weapon of war" and that "Sun Tzu would be definitely proud of his Chinese descendants who are using drugs to cripple the American economy."

On a positive note, Smith and Winn discussed recent enforcement successes, including the federal indictment of more than 50 violent gang members and drug traffickers in Massachusetts and the seizure of nearly 200 kilograms of fentanyl.

Pinal County Sheriff's Perspective on Border Security

Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple joined the show to discuss the impact of the border wall and immigration policies. He confirmed that human smuggling had decreased dramatically since the election: "It went down the day after he won the election. There was a clear shout out to the rest of the worldwide community that they recognized that they were no longer allowed to come here and make false claims of asylum."

Teeple highlighted the stark difference in border crossings: "From a daytime high of 11,000 people crossing our southern border to 21 the other day. That's just a remarkable difference."

The sheriff also shared his experience of recently visiting Washington D.C. at the invitation of Congressman Juan Ciscomani to meet with newly elected congressmen from around the country whose constituents were concerned about border security. During this trip, Teeple had the opportunity to attend the State of the Union address.

Regarding law enforcement in Pinal County, Teeple expressed satisfaction with the collaboration between his office and County Attorney Brad Miller: "The county attorney is all about law and order and locking up the truly bad people so they cannot victimize society. And we're right in alignment with that."

Law Enforcement Career Reflections with Brian Parker

Former police officer Brian Parker, who served with both the Pima County Sheriff's Office and Tucson Police Department over a 21-year career, joined the show to discuss his experiences and his current podcast, "Choir Practice Podcast."

Parker explained how he transitioned from corrections to patrol: "I worked at the Arizona Department of Corrections briefly. It didn't take me long—I was there for about seven or eight months—to realize that it was not for me." After working in the Pima County jail for 18 months, he became a deputy sheriff and later transferred to the Tucson Police Department in 2000.

He retired from TPD in January 2019, just before the COVID pandemic and the George Floyd incident that dramatically changed policing. Parker reflected on the timing of his retirement: "I don't miss the work. I only just miss the people."

Parker discussed how his law enforcement experience shaped his parenting style: "At some point my two children are going to want to know why I was a helicopter parent. Why when their friends were running around like wild animals in the neighborhood, I always had to have line of sight of my children." This motivation led him to keep a journal throughout his career, which eventually became his book, "My Rookie Memoir: A Father's Legacy."

The conversation touched on the challenges facing law enforcement agencies in recruitment and retention. Parker noted that when he started with Tucson Police in 2000, the department had nearly 1,200 officers, but now has only around 700-800 officers despite population growth and steady or increasing crime rates.

Parker's podcast features interviews with fellow law enforcement professionals sharing their experiences, which he describes as therapeutic for many of his guests: "They get emotional because like you said, there's some things that I do believe is a post-traumatic stress. And they authentically share, and I can't tell you how many times I've had my guests get up out of the chair at the end and like, 'This was really therapeutic. Thank you.'"

He emphasized that officers often develop a "crusty outer shell" as a defense mechanism because "you're constantly facing the worst of the worst that they have to offer." However, Parker encourages current officers to remember that "there are people from the community that still strongly support their law enforcement and like us and love us and love to see us out there doing our jobs."

Parker concluded by explaining his podcast's mission: "I love to talk with people who put the service of others over self. I think that they absolutely deserve a platform to record a permanent legacy to talk about their careers."