[ravingnutter]

First there are complaints of no enforcement, now there are complaints that they are finally doing enforcement. Sheesh...they can't win with y'all. Here's a chart for you:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) dramatically enhanced its efforts to combat the unlawful employment of illegal aliens in the United States since its creation in March 2003 {in case you forgot, they are still a relatively new group}.

Under this new strategy, ICE is targeting unscrupulous employers of illegal aliens, seeking to initiate criminal prosecutions and cause asset forfeitures.

The best measure of this new strategy lies in the number of arrests ICE has made for criminal violations in worksite enforcement investigations. Those arrested include a variety of persons–corporate officers, employers, managers, contractors and facilitators. These arrests also include illegal aliens charged with criminal violations. Aliens have been charged with possession and/or distribution of fraudulent documents, re-entry after deportation or entry without inspection.

In the past, administrative fines often proved to hold little deterrence value for violators. Many employers came to view these fines as simply the “cost of doing business.” Administrative fines were ignored, not paid in a timely matter or mitigated down over several years.

In criminal cases, ICE is often pursuing charges of harboring illegal aliens, money laundering and/or knowingly hiring illegal aliens. Harboring illegal aliens is a felony with a potential 10-year prison sentence. Money laundering is a felony with a potential 20-year prison sentence. ICE has found these criminal sanctions to be a far greater deterrent to illegal employment schemes than administrative sanctions.

[dirtboy]

First there are complaints of no enforcement, now there are complaints that they are finally doing enforcement.

Of course, I'm sure that it's just a coincidence that the big spike that started in 2006 happened right around the time Bush started pushing to get immigration "reform" passed.

Not.

And since Bush is only executing on enforcement to get his way on amnesty, why on Earth should we believe he will continue enforcement once he gets his way with amnesty?

Do you and Bush really think freepers are that stupid to fall for this song-and-dance routine?

[skeeter]

Where’d this info come from?

[JeffAtlanta]

Your own chart betrays you. Why were there so few arrests in 2002 and 2003. That is right after 9/11 when we were supposed to be securing the country.

Look, would you be impressed if you had an employee that does absolutely no work but then when he wants a raise he suddenly generates a spurt of work?

[skeeter]

ICE has found these criminal sanctions to be a far greater deterrent to illegal employment schemes than administrative sanctions.

I'd like to know by what measure does ICE judge the effectiveness of their 'new approach', given that the numbers of illegal crossings and their subsequent employment are at unprecedented levels.

IMO the only thing they seek to deter is criticism of their lack of effectiveness.

[donna]

If these are such good enforcement numbers, then we don’t need any new laws, do we?