[de Buillion]

You are right- something does not add up. You are claiming that 534 additions in AZ are NEW HIRES? I did not see that in your reference- just that 534 were being added in AZ, I did not see where they were being pulled from.Check this out: "Border Patrol hiring ripped By Jerry Seper THE WASHINGTON TIMES Senate Democrats yesterday challenged President Bush's decision to hire 210 new Border Patrol agents for next fiscal year, saying he reneged on a promise to add 2,000 agents when he signed the intelligence overhaul bill in December. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, West Virginia Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the Bush proposal, submitted as part of the Homeland Security Department's $41.1 billion budget, "ignores the stark reality of the resources needed to secure the homeland." At a meeting of the Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, Mr. Byrd said the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act signed Dec. 6 by Mr. Bush authorized the hiring of 2,000 new agents in each of the next five years, and in a letter that day to Congress, the president called the bill "an important step in strengthening our immigration laws by ... increasing the number of Border Patrol agents." Democrats have made the Border Patrol funding an issue in the past month, arguing that it shows that the president's priorities are misplaced — both on border security and on the broader issue of immigration reform. Last month, House Democrats tried to block a Republican-backed bill to crack down on illegal immigrants' use of driver's licenses and limit asylum claims, arguing that Mr. Bush should first fund the promised number of Border Patrol agents as a way of proving that he is serious about homeland security. "( This is an excerpt from Mar 3, 2005, Washington Times)

And, yes, something else doesn't add up. I was incorrect- the congress authorized 2000 per year, Bush hired 210.

[Racehorse]

Sorry, did not provide url . . .

Much thanks for the March 2005 article!

The good thing about discussion is we gather a lot more information than we started out with.

You are claiming that 534 additions in AZ are NEW HIRES?

I'm not claiming anything.  I quoted the article.  From whence came the 534 "new' border patrol agents?  I don't know.

And, yes, something else doesn't add up. I was incorrect- the congress authorized 2000 per year, Bush hired 210.

Maybe he hired more than 210 and maybe 534 went to Arizona.

An April 2005 Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs press release;

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Thursday applauded Senate approval of additional funding for border security.

Lieberman co-sponsored an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2005 supplemental spending bill by Senator Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., to increase by $390 million what the federal government will spend on border security. The funding represents an advance payment on the increases in border agents and detention beds authorized for FY 2006 spending by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.

“Right now, we have a finger-in-the-dike approach to protecting our borders,” Lieberman said. “With just under 11,000 agents protecting 6,000 miles of border, thousands of people enter our country illegally every day. The new Border Patrol agents hired and trained because of this amendment will improve immigration enforcement and strengthen our hand in the war against terrorism.”

The Byrd amendment, which was approved by the Senate late Wednesday, would pay for 650 Border Patrol agents, 250 Immigrations and Customs Enforcement investigators, and 168 enforcement agents and detention officers.

An additional $10 million would be spent on unmanned aerial vehicles on the Southern border. And $66 million would pay for an additional 2,000 detention beds, allowing the government to house 20,500 aliens at any one time.

The Byrd amendment begins to fulfill border security requirements of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, authored by Lieberman and HSGAC Chairman Susan Collins, R-Me., which authorized the hiring of an additional 2,000 border agents each year for five years, an additional 800 ICE investigators each year for five years, and the creation of 8,000 additional detention beds each year for five years.

 If 2000 were authorized for 2005, why didn't the Senate provide money for 2000?