TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Illegal Immigrant Arrests Down At Border

ADVERTISEMENT

Los Angeles Times

Published: November 7, 2007

SAN DIEGO - A large increase in Border Patrol agents, additional fencing and expanded prosecution of illegal border-crossers contributed to a 20 percent drop in apprehension of undocumented migrants this year at the U.S.-Mexico frontier, immigration officials said Tuesday.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the figures show progress disrupting illegal immigration - a key in the Bush administration's immigration strategy.

But critics and experts said the border remains dangerously porous and the numbers do not provide a full picture of illegal activity. They also said there is no evidence the buildup is deterring immigrants.

"The federal government has stood by and done little to strengthen our broken borders or enforce our immigration laws," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Tuesday, urging Congress to restore $3 billion in funding for border security that was stripped from a recent defense bill.

On the Southwest border, arrests in the past year fell almost everywhere - most dramatically in Yuma, Ariz., and Del Rio, Texas, where they fell by more than 45 percent. Near Tucson, Ariz., the busiest illegal immigration corridor, arrests fell 4 percent, from 392,074 to 378,239, according to recent data for fiscal 2007, which ended Sept. 30. Overall, arrests fell from 1,071,972 to 858,638, the lowest in five years.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT