[mlc9852]

How do all the OTMs get into Mexico to begin with?

[samcgwire]

Thank you El Presidente Jorge!

My tagline says it all (with ongoing thanks to SteveMcKing for letting me snag it).

At least the USD should be our new North American Union currency, and not the Looney or Peso!

Surreal, so-called "Compassionate Conservativism".

[John Jorsett]

"Border Patrol agents are the front line of defense when it comes to the war on terror," he said. "And border security has been enhanced since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."

And yet anyone in a position to know concedes that at least 2 out of 3 illegal crossers get through. That's not what I'd call effective.

[samcgwire]

"In the past six months, 57,312 non-Mexican migrants - commonly referred to as OTMs, for "other than Mexican" - were apprehended by Border Patrol agents in the United States, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Of those, 52,644 were caught along the southern border, said Salvador Zamora, spokesman for the department.

Compared to the six-month period from October 2004 to March 2005 - when 54,207 non-Mexican migrants were arrested, 49,828 of them along the southern border - apprehensions of non-Mexican migrants is up 5.7 percent, Zamora added."

What Global freaking War? ???

[samcgwire]

"Homeland Security Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's promise of ending the "catch and release" practice still hasn't come to fruition. The department contends that there is limited bed space and facilities to hold the non-Mexican migrants who are not able to return to their country of origin."

Chertoff = Arbusto's sock puppet.

[Supernatural]

Catch and release?

We have the same rules in PA on some fly-fishing streams.

[samcgwire]

"We are working to see if we can address this (issue of OTMs) through the courts," Chertoff said in March. "We're also working for prospective legislation that would address this issue and allow us to begin the process of expedited removal for all categories of non-Mexicans."

Considering what past POTUS' have gotten away with during war, this is an absolute non-starter, copout line of bovine scatology.

[samcgwire]

"Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center For Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based immigration think tank, said ignoring border security to focus on a guest-worker program may have damaging future consequences."

Unfortunately, the Chief Executive and his RINO cohorts in the Senate disagree. To all our peril.

[taxed2death]

"James, who resigned from the Border Patrol two months ago, said his job, like those of his colleagues, was little more than a sham. Enforcing the law was the last thing the Department of Homeland Security wanted, he said."

Our tax dollars at work.

The buck stops WHERE?

[Marine Inspector]

Old news.

[yldstrk]

I guess Homeland Security figures you can walk around the desert in the US all you want. They will guard NYC and Wash DC on site. :^)

[I Drive Too Fast]

James, who resigned from the Border Patrol two months ago, said his job, like those of his colleagues, was little more than a sham. Enforcing the law was the last thing the Department of Homeland Security wanted, he said.

I think this says it all.

[little jeremiah]

Did you all see this?

[JustPiper]

BTTT for this find Norm!

[nicmarlo]

In 2004, 644 migrants from Middle Eastern countries - including Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan - were apprehended at the border, according to Border Patrol data. The number for 2005 was similar: 649.

Since October, 205 people from Middle Eastern nations, some with terrorist ties, have been apprehended, according to the data.

Have you seen this article?

FYI:

This is from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report For Congress entitled: Border Security: "Apprehensions of "Other Than Mexican" Aliens, September 22, 2005 (PDF file).

The number of OTM apprehensions remained relatively stable from 1998 to 2002, averaging almost 37,000 a year over the six-year time period. Apprehensions increased by 33% from FY2002 to FY2003, and 52% from FY2003 to FY2004. Roughly three-quarters of the way into FY2005, OTM apprehensions have increased by 58% from FY2004. Indeed, over the last three years OTM apprehensions have more than tripled, increasing by almost 220%. This trend is in stark contrast to apprehensions of Mexican aliens, which have remained relatively stable over the same period.

Breakdown of the top 25 OTM nationalities*

Country	FY2002	FY2003	FY2004	thru 7/11/2005	%Change FY02-FY05
Honduras	9316	14491	24420	36118	288%
Brazil	3100	5240	8859	27396	784%
El Salvador	7036	9602	16974	27317	288%
Guatemala	6021	7728	11628	14866	147%
Nicaragua	581	765	1460	2498	330%
Cuba	1541	1303	1406	2144	39%
China	688	576	1096	1653	140%
Ecuador	664	521	679	989	49%
Dominican Republic	1183	2057	2023	969	-18%
Costa Rica	233	382	450	700	200%
Canada	1836	1611	1497	697	-62%
Peru	312	366	370	388	24%
Colombia	347	368	335	308	-11%
India	345	316	378	235	-32%
Jamaica	287	269	215	162	-44%
Bolivia	48	59	140	161	235%
Albania	167	115	117	155	-7%
Argentina	207	252	168	138	-33%
Haiti	295	324	165	131	-56%
Poland	228	205	231	122	-46%
Romania	42	58	85	103	145%
South Korea	143	218	161	98	-31%
Pakistan	167	228	164	91	-46%
Venezuela	69	126	132	88	28%
Israel	103	109	91	68	-34%

*Source: CRS Analysis of CBP Data.