The Immigration Spin Stops Here: What S. 1348 Really Says About Hiring More Border Patrol Agents

Vanity | 5/24/07 | Freespirited

[freespirited]

Proponents of the immigration bill have been giving the impression that it would quickly beef up the Border Patrol. You need to read no further than page 5 to discover that this impression is false.

The bill calls for a gradual increase in hiring: at least 2000 additional agents in fiscal 2007, followed by at least 2,400 additional every fiscal year from 2008 to 2012, subject to the availability of appropriations. Meeting the 2007 mandate would be quite a challenge. Assuming an effective date of September 1, 2007, the Border Patrol would have only a month to hire at least 2000 new agents before FY 2007 ends.

Needless to say, the Border Patrol can't hire more people unless Congress provides the funds. The bill does not appropriate any. Unless funds were quickly appropriated after the bill becomes law, the BP would be in limbo until Congress acts. So the smart money would be on the BP being unable to hire a single new agent in FY 2007.

Moreover, the real issue here is how many agents are needed to do the job. The White House and advocates of the bill are throwing out numbers in the context of how many agents we had five years ago. The proper context is a realistic estimate of how many agents are required to bring the situation under control. Unless we know that doubling the force will be enough to do so, these numbers are not necessarily compelling. And we need to keep in mind that phasing in the increase will take five years.

Finally, let's revisit Michael Chertoff's assurances. He claims that all of the bill's border security measures can be implemented in 18 months, which would then permit the wheels of amnesty to start to turn. The bill gives lie to this: not even half of the additional border agents will have been hired a year and a half from September 1st. We're supposed to believe that he can he secure the border with roughly 9,000 of the new agents still remaining to be hired. Funds permitting, that is.

He probably thinks he could sell us the 14th Street Bridge, too.

[freespirited]

It's a sad day when our leaders lie to us like this.

[teletech]

It's a sad day when our leaders lie to us like this.

And WE pay THEM to lie to us!

[ClaireSolt]

Duncan Hunter says there is a lot of turnover among Border Patrol because they are high quality law enforcement people who get hired away by other forces.

[TLI]

It's a sad day when our leaders lie to us like this.

What is really bad is "when our leaders lie to us like this" it is just an average day.

[AliVeritas]

Sheesh.

FYI,

Mexican Amnesty Activists’ Have A Direct Line to OUR Senators!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1839080/posts

For those of you having difficulty getting thru to your senator, here is the 800 # paid for by the Mexican Amnesty Activists:

800-882-2005

This will get you directly to your senator unlike the #’s available to the US Citizen.

Press 1 when you hear a Spanish message, then Press 1 again to be transferred to your senior senator’s office

OR

Press 2 when you hear a Spanish message, and you’ll be transferred to your junior senator’s office.

You get through immediately and the call is paid for by the enemy!