Giffords town hall focuses on border

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Monday hosted a telephone town hall for Congressional District 8 residents, which includes Green Valley. Along with a senior U.S. Border Patrol official, a special U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, a Cochise County rancher and veterinarian, they talked about successes and challenges along the border. The recent murder of Douglas-area rancher Robert Krentz was also a major subject of discussion, by her, the three guests and some of the callers. Matthew Allen, the special agent in charge of the Arizona Office of Investigations for ICE, said while he could not speak about specifics involving the case, the multi-agency actions led by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office are making headway. Without going into detail about the investigation into the late-March death of Krentz, Allen said, “There are good, viable leads we (the investigating agencies) are pursuing. I’m hopeful for a successful conclusion (of the case).” However, he said many reports about the investigation that are turning up in the media are not true and are coming from people who do not have the inside knowledge of what is happening. Because of the sensitivity of the case — an unknown illegal immigrant allegedly is the suspect in the shooting death of the rancher — what is known by investigators is not being shared outside of the agencies, Allen said...more