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This president has done more to handle the illegal immigration problem than any other president in any of our lifetimes

Please read and understand the following statistics taken from the DHS 2004 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. (The analysis is mine.)

Employer Investigation Efforts of U.S. Immigration Authorities:

Fiscal Year	Worksite Arrests	Notices of Intent to Fine
1993	7,630	1,302
1994	7,554	1,063
1995	10,014	1,056
1996	14,164	1,019
1997	17,554	865
1998	13,914	1,023
1999	2,849	417
2000	953	178
2001	735	100
2002	485	53
2003	445	162
2004	159	3

The average annual worksite arrests under Clinton was 9,329 arrests. The average annual worksite arrests under President Bush is 456. This is a 95 percent reduction in average annual worksite arrests under President Bush.

The average annual notices of intent to fine employers of illegal aliens under Clinton was 865. The average under President Bush is 79.5. This is a 90 percent reduction in average annual notices of intent to fine employers of illegal aliens.

And then there is 2004 where, under President Bush, only 3 notices of intent to fine employers of illegal aliens were done. 3!! But that was President Bush's worst year. Let's compare best years then.

Under Clinton his best year for Worksite Arrests was 1997 with 17,554 reported. President Bush's best year was 2001 with 735 worksite arrests reported. This is a 99.7 percent reduction in worksite arrests under President Bush when comparing best years.

Clinton Presidency, Total Aliens Expelled:
1993 1,285,952
1994 1,074,781
1995 1,364,688
1996 1,643,108
1997 1,555,116
1998 1,743,273
1999 1,755,754
2000 1,861,933
Total over 8 years: 12,284,605
Average Annual Total Aliens Expelled: 1,535,575

Bush Presidency, Total Aliens Expelled:
2001 1,432,061
2002 1,084,661
2003 1,076,483
2004 1,238,319
Total over 4 years: 4,831,524
Average Annual Total Aliens Expelled: 1,207,881

The average annual total of aliens expelled under President Bush is 327,694 LESS than the average under President Clinton. That is a 21.3 percent reduction in aliens expelled compared between Clinton and President Bush.

Deportable Aliens located in non-border sectors (interior enforcement):
Clinton presidency, last four years:
1997 44,246
1998 39,096
1999 42,010
2000 32,759
Total: 158,111

Bush presidency, first four years:
2001 30,496
2002 25,501
2003 26,492
2004 21,113
Total: 103,602

Total deportable aliens located in interior sectors during the first four years of the Bush presidency represents a 34.4 percent drop compared to the previous four years - the last four years of the Clinton presidency.

Deportable Aliens Located:
Clinton Presidency first four years:
1993 1,327,261
1994 1,094,719
1995 1,394,554
1996 1,649,986
Total: 5,466,520

Clinton Presidency last four years:
1997 1,536,520
1998 1,679,439
1999 1,714,035
2000 1,814,729
Total: 6,744,723

Bush Presidency first four years:
2001 1,387,486
2002 1,062,279
2003 1,046,422
2004 1,241,089
Total: 4,737,276

Total deportable aliens located dropped by 29.7 percent in the first four years of the Bush Presidency compared to the previous four years - the last four years of the Clinton Presidency.

***Breaking on Drudge right now, source says Bush is planning to move the National Guard to the border.***

I've seen those stats and that is deplorable. I don't know what the answer is or how the administration would defend themselves on that one.

And I think it's important that we start going after employers again. However, it may be that the arrests that were made took so much time by law enforcement, for relatively little effect, because the employers and illegals are using phony documentation. That takes a while for agents to track down that documentation.

I'm speculating, but I'll bet I'm not far wrong and that's why the president's proposal includes a crack-down on the mills that crank out this phony documentation.

Spiff,
This argument has been going around for a while and has one major flaw- causation.

A Clinton era law (INA 274B) made it illegal for employers to ask an employee if the information they provided is 'valid', instead, as long as the employer has an I9, valid information or not, they cannot be prosecuted because they are not responsible for validating the information on the I9.

Basically, if an employer questions an employee 'if they are legal' or if they are providing false ID, they could be sued for 'unfair employment practices'

Sec. 274B. [8 U.S.C. 1324b] (1996)

(a) Prohibition of Discrimination Based on National Origin or Citizenship Status.-

(1) General rule.-It is an unfair immigration-related employment practice for a person or other entity to discriminate against any individual (other than an unauthorized alien, as defined in section 274A(h)(3)) with respect to the hiring, or recruitment or referral for a fee, of the individual for employment or the discharging of the individual from employment-

(A) because of such individual's national origin, or

(B) in the case of a protected individual (as defined in paragraph (3)), because of such individual's citizenship status.

http://www.uscis.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll/inserts/slb/slb-1/slb-20/slb-8468?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm

Like Paul Harvey says, the rest of the story...
Do you want to know why immigration prosecutions dropped drastically in 1999-2000?

Clinton signed the following laws into place.

(INA § 203(b)(2)(B), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2)(B)) - This law allows foreign nationals- even those who entered illegally, to request/obtain green cards as soon as they are 'caught'. What does this mean? It means that if caught and if they haven't committed a felony (remember, entering the country illegally is only a misdemeanor), they can simply say they would like to apply for a 'green card'-
This law was originally intended to help 'highly qualified' foreign nationals who want to get work permits easier, but the loophole is that the alien (legal or illegal) must be given the opportunity to prove they meet the qualification.

No, most illegals don't qualify for this visa waiver, but, by the time this is 'proven' they have fallen off the radar.

Worst of all is the The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA). Under this law, deportation can be suspended if the illegal alien can prove that they have been in the US 'for a considerable period of time' and has 'good moral character'. Illegal aliens who fall under this are given the opportunity to apply for whatever work visa or asylum they may work for.

The trend is obvious, but the reason many attribute to it (President Bush) is incorrect. A lot of people are falling into the old statistical fallacy that correlation equals coordination (ie, Bush was elected in 2000 = drop in immigration enforcement). This is a fallacy of both logic and statistics.

Is this an excuse to why something hasn't been done legislatively- No? this is simply trying to clear up the real causation of this statistical drop in enforcement.

Great catch.