It is always moving to hear a city come to a standstill. 

The state of Virginia observed a moment of silence at noon today.  Seeing it on television never quite captures the emotion of the moment. 

The NBC News work area is in the Holiday Inn that's just across the street from the Virginia Tech campus.  Just before noon, I stepped outside the hotel and found the entire hotel staff gathered in the front parking lot. They proudly wore T-shirts with Virginia Tech colors.  For them, this wasn't an "event." This was perhaps the first time they've all looked each other in the eyes and reflected on the horrific event that has changed their community.

At exactly noon, they all bowed their heads.  Some said a silent prayer, others stared at nothing in particular, lost in the briefest moment of reflection.  In the distance, church bells sounded and a nation's heart quivered... not sure whether to break a little more or to finally begin to heal.

Then it was over. Time for the staff of the Holiday Inn to go back to work.  Time to once again be overwhelmed by everything but thoughts of the tragedy.  Maybe that's a good thing.

Mourners gather in Blacksburg, Va., wearing their "Hokie" colors.Photo by Don Teague

Ask just about any U.S. Border Patrol agent what the most frustrating part of their job is, and they'll tell you it's the long-standing policy of "Catch and Release." 

In a nutshell, most undocumented immigrants caught crossing the border from Mexico are simply sent back across the border. Agents sometimes catch the same people two or three times within the span of a week, and there's little to discourage the undocumented immigrants from trying again, until they reach their destinations within the U.S.

Along one stretch of border near Eagle Pass, Texas, the policy has changed. It's a pilot program for the Border Patrol called "Operation Streamline." When illegal aliens (that's the officials Border Patrol term) are caught in the Del Rio Sector, which includes some 200 miles of border, they are charged with misdemeanors and prosecuted under existing law.

But Operation Streamline goes even further. The immigrants are then given mass trials, where they are generally convicted or plead guilty. A judge sentences each of them to a minimum of two weeks in jail, with sentences of up to six months for repeat offenders.
    
Tonight on Nightly News you'll see Operation Streamline in action. We ride along with agents as they make several arrests near Eagle Pass. They say word has gotten out about the strict new policy. The number of immigrants attempting to cross illegally in the sector has dropped dramatically, as immigrants fear going to jail if they're caught.

Agents say with few arrests, they have more time to concentrate on finding illegal drugs.  Drug busts, both cocaine and marijuana, are up more than 100 percent in the sector. But there are also critics of the program. They say the immigrant's rights are being violated, and the mass trials deny them due process. You'll hear from them as well, as we take a closer look at "Operation Streamline."

Editor's note: Don reported this story on Wednesday's hour-long edition of Nightly News. If you missed it, you can watch his report here. I asked him to give us an additional sampling of what the troops he talked to said about Secretary Rumsfeld.

If you ask America's fighting men and women, they'll tell you that changes at the top often take a long time to trickle down to them. On a day-to-day basis, an Army private is much more concerned with decisions made by their platoon leader or company commander, than the secretary of defense. That said, most of the troops we spoke with, at bases across the U.S., had more than just a passing interest in Donald Rumsfeld's retirement. 

They all expressed surprise... particularly since President Bush had publicly endorsed Rumsfeld less than a week before the election. Many also say they respected Rumsfeld, knew that he had made some difficult decisions, and was doing an excellent job. Most were also optimistic, hoping that Robert Gates would be as committed to victory as they are, and might offer some new ideas to bring that about.

Here's a sampling of what we heard from the soldiers and Marines we met at Fort Hood, Fort Drum and Camp Pendleton.

"Whoever disagree with him and who wasn't completely in accordance with his views is probably going to feel relieved," said Sgt. Efren Vega. "Bottom line, we are soldiers and we do our job."

"With the Democratic party taking over in the House, there's going to be some changes economically and definitely throughout the military," said Lance Cpl. Jadd Joseph. "I'm about to go back over to Iraq, so hopefully Bush was talking about a new perspective on what's going to be going on. I hope it's for the better."

"We're always trained to adapt," said Pvt. Tim Hartman. "We'll just have to change, adapt and follow our new secretary of defense in whatever he tells us to do."

"I really have no negative feelings towards him," said Sgt. Chris Kelleher. "He's the defense secretary, he's not the president. He has our loyalty either way, no matter what he does."