Volunteers with Arizona Hunters Who Care pick up trash apparently left in the wake of illegal immigrants crossing the Southern Arizona desert. Photo by Dave Sipe

Every Sunday during fall, football players battle between the 20-yard line and the end zone. The way a team plays in the "red zone" often indicates how successful it will be in the win column come Monday morning. It is the make-it or break-it part of the field in which games are won or lost and players can walk away as heroes.

In Southern Arizona, hunters fight a battle in their own red zone. In the 2005 Arizona Hunting Regulations, the unit maps show a new designation for the management units that border Mexico. A dashed red line surrounding these units refers to the warning: "Homeland security issues along the international border may affect the quality of a person's hunt." Clearly, the issue of illegal immigration has infiltrated the hunting world.

For hunters lucky enough to draw a Coues deer tag in Arizona's Red Zone, you'll find the buck of your dreams if you're willing to do the scouting, hiking and glassing necessary to find him. Sadly though, you will also be faced with illegal immigrants, their trash, and their threat to your safety and security.

SUCCESS IN THE RED ZONE
In 2000, my brother Erik and I drew tags to hunt Coues deer during the December hunt in Unit 36B. Everywhere we looked, we found deer. From our high vantage points, we glassed an average of 50 deer each day, which included about 15 bucks. The rut was kicking in and it was just a matter of time until we found the buck we were looking for.

On a windy morning, we glassed the lee-side slopes and spotted a nice buck feeding alone. He soon bedded and as Erik watched through the spotting scope, I backtracked to get the wind and cover in my favor. I snuck within 150 yards and set up to shoot. It was going to be a chip shot; Erik and I regularly practiced at the range out to 500 yards. Two quick shots ensured that my buck never left his bed. The very symmetrical 3x3 grossed 105 inches green. That buck capped off one of the best hunts we have shared.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!
Four years later, I drew another tag to hunt Coues deer in Unit 36B. Due to work commitments and other hunts, I couldn't get down to scout before the season so I returned with my stepfather, Rob, to a few of the places I hunted in 2000. As we headed out to glass areas that I hadn't seen in four years, we astounded by the trash we encountered. Our old hunting grounds had apparently become a major travel corridor for illegal aliens who left trash at every water hole, along trails and especially at resting areas where it piled up like a city dump. The desert had dramatically changed in four years.

One evening late in the hunt, we climbed a high point and faced east to glass away from the setting sun. We searched in vain for deer, but as I turned south to glass the flats, I spotted a line of apparent immigrants walking toward us. Removing my binoculars from the tripod, I replaced them with a spotting scope and then counted more than 40 people. I called the U.S. Border Patrol on my cell phone. The dispatcher said they had a helicopter in the area.