1 Record numbers of illegal immigrants were caught trying to sneak into Arizona from Mexico last month, an influx some believe is driven partly by the fall of the peso.
2 Arrests of alleged illegal immigrants around the state's biggest border crossing at Nogales topped 19,000 in January, nearly double the number in January 1994. Elsewhere along the border, arrests were up 25 percent in El Paso, Texas, but down 13 percent in San Diego.
3 'There is a growing number of impoverished Mexicans, and as that number increases . we will see pressures to come to this country,' said Isabel Garcia, an attorney and activist here.
4 The Mexican peso began sliding Dec. 20, and had lost 45 percent of its value against the dollar as of Monday. The currency rallied Tuesday after President Clinton offered to double the U.S. credit line to Mexico, but the long-term effect on the Mexican economy was unclear.
5 The peso devaluation might push tens of thousands more Mexicans to seek jobs in the United States, said Jack Martin, research director for the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies. He said perhaps 150,000 illegal Mexican immigrants find long-term jobs in this country each year.
6 In January, 19,426 suspected illegal immigrants were arrested in the Tucson sector, an area that includes the Nogales crossing and 240 miles (385 kilometers) of border. That's up from 9,903 in January 1994, and also tops the one-month record of 18,012 set in May 1994.
7 January is typically a busy time for illegal immigration, as Mexicans who live illegally in this country return from Christmas visits to their homeland, said Ed Pyeatt, deputy chief of the Border Patrol's Tucson sector. But that doesn't explain the huge increase in arrests over last January, he said.
8 In El Paso, there were 9,106 border arrests in January, up from 7,256 for the same month last year.
9 Officials there believe the peso's fall has contributed to the problem, though they haven't been able to prove it, said Doug Mosier, a Border Patrol spokesman in El Paso.
10 Arrests of illegal immigrants declined last month in San Diego, the nation's busiest Border Patrol sector and the scene of a much-publicized crackdown on illegal immigration.
11 There were 38,871 arrests there in January, compared to 44,696 for the same month in 1994.
12 The passage of California's Proposition 187, which cuts off most state services to illegal aliens, was intended to slow illegal immigration.
13 But the law has been put on hold because of pending court challenges, and Marco Ramirez, a Border Patrol spokesman in San Diego, said the measure doesn't seem to be affecting illegal immigration.
14 Even before the peso began its plunge, arrests were on the increase along the Arizona-Mexico border. The reason most often cited: Attorney General Janet Reno rushed new agents to the border in Texas and California in a crackdown that funneled immigrants to the less heavily defended border in Arizona.

Arrests of alleged illegal immigrants around the state ' s biggest border crossing at Nogales topped 19 , 000 in January , nearly double the number in January 1994 . Elsewhere along the border , arrests were up 25 percent in El Paso , Texas , but down 13 percent in San Diego .
crossing at Nogales topped 19 , 000 in January ,
Why are the numbers getting bigger?