At night, he sits and waits, occasionally walking along the road, shining his flashlight through the border fence, shaking his head as he looks at the dark expanse of thistle bushes.

"I can't imagine crossing the desert like this, without a light," he said. The illegal immigrants "have got a lot at stake."

Still, Segura says the illegal immigrants broke the law to get here. They could, he said, apply for legal immigration or demand that their president, Vicente Fox, work toward economic reform in Mexico.

Segura's partner, Brian Barton of San Diego, says he has "no ill will toward any illegal immigrant" but the numbers are out of control.

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Coming Friday: At home on the border. What residents have to say about their uninvited visitors and what it's like to live with a problem that crosses their front yards almost daily.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com