I am the INS work force. How was I diverted?
Illegal immigration is now above pre 911 levels.
No, it's still below 9/11 levels. In FY 2000, apprehensions were at 1.6 million. In FY 2001, apprehensions were down to 1.2 million and then 9/11 happened.
In FY 2002, apprehensions were down to 929,809 and in FY 2003 they drop another 3% to 905,065.
Sorry, but, fewwer folks were crossing in FY 2002 and 2003.
Bush's January 9 pronouncement opened the flood gates That has yet to be determined. January’s apprehensions were well below normal for this time of year, although, I agree that it will increase the numbers and this year, 2004, will be the first year we will see an increase since FY 2000.
Bush's announcement created such a rush that within 6 weeks Ridge had to shore up the border patrol to fight the flood.
Sorry, that program, “the Arizona Border Control Initiative” has been in the making for almost a year. Long before Bush’s proposal.
Did Bush do anything worse than his father or Clinton prior to 911? No. But that's not an excuse for his behavior. Prior to 911 there were symptoms appearing all over the southwestern US that the flood of illegal aliens was sapping the state infrastructures and Bush did nothing.
This is the culmination of almost 4 decades of bad immigration policy. The fault belongs to Ted Kennedy (for his 1965 immigration act) and every President that was in office after JFK.
Post 911 Bush's posture has simply been inexcusable. He has singlehandedly done more, either through implied invitation or inaction that any other US president to accelerate illegal immigration in just 3 short years.
Yes, Bush has failed on the immigration issue, but illegal immigration has not accelerated in the past 3 years. Sorry, but that is the truth. It was in decline from its peak in FY 2000. 9/11 actually helped that decline, but it will be short lived. Will apprehensions ever reach the 1.6 million mark set in FY 2000, I doubt it, but I will bet that they pass the 1 million mark in 2004.
Other than the politically motivated raid on WalMart, there have been no "residential roundups", the most effective tool in our immigration arsenal, since 1987. This is the first program I would have expected a conservative president to reinstate post 911 if for nothing more than its domestic public relations value.
WalMart was a “Worksite Enforcement” action, not a “Residential Roundup”. I can guaranty you will never see a residential roundup by ICE or CBP. Americans and probably you, would be highly upset if we started going door to door in your neiborhood.
And yes, “Worksite Enforcement” is severely lacking and it has been since Reagan, they have done more then just WalMart. They average about 75 each year. Just because it is not in the news, does not mean it is not happening.
If I saw ICE hauling illegals out of houses on MY street, never to return, I think I might be able to get over it.
An attempt to equate apprehension rates with immigration rates is a weak argument at best because apprehension rates are more affected by will and manpower than available targets. Yes, even a blind cat can occasionally catch a bird but if he's being kept indoors his chances are severely reduced.
Of course the apprehension ability of the INS was diminished by 911 because personnel were diverted from other tasks to secure our immediate borders and assist other agencies in their hunt for sleeper cells in the US. Interest in pursuing Mexicans took a distance back seat to preventing further illegal entry/overstay of radical Muslims and ferreting out those members of the domestic Muslim community bent on our destruction.
Any suggestion that programs "long in the works" weren't accelerated by the consequences of Bush's pronouncements are charitable at best and misleading at worst. Ridge's announcement was predicted and expected by many. The fact the he dug into his back pocket and produced an "existing" program to provide political cover surprises no one.
From my perspective Ronald Reagan set the stage in the mid 80's for today's farce. His decision to temporarily decriminalize illegal entry was one of the few regrets that he publicly voiced over the eight years of his administration. That Bush didn't learn from Reagan's publicly professed mistakes is bothersome.
Your response of "worksite enforcement" is an odd but not unexpected response. I'm not talking about "work-site enforcement". I'm talking about "residential sweeps". I'm talking about driving into a neighborhood, based on a citizen's complaint or surveillance, and simply starting a door to door search. I appreciate that in a PC world this procedure would come as a shock to INS personnel ("You can't do that!" Aliens have rights!" etc.) but it was, and still could be the most cost effective tool in our inventory. Aliens would think twice about coming if they knew they were going to subject to harrassment and deportation 24/7.
It was so in the 1950's. It can be so again today. It just takes an administration with core principals and balls. Most agents I know would comply if given the order. They are tired of the wasted cycle of chasing the importers and paying a fond greeting to the import.
The strategy to defend a small strip along the border will never be economically effective unless there is a public willingness and approval to kill men, women and children within that zone. The revolving door of apprehension and repatriation increases the learning curve of the immigrant faster than that of the INS. A system of apprehension and incarceration would be an economic monster that we would all regret.
Our problems today at the borders are being addressed as well as can be expected under the prevailing mood at the federal and state level but the interior is being ignored and the safety of the interior is the lure for illegal immigrants. Deny the sanctuary of the interior and the high risk at the border will extinguish the lust to cross