Illegal Immigration Said to Be Declining
Suzanne Gamboa, AP, Mar. 30
WASHINGTON — Illegal immigration appears to be declining as the United States takes better control of its borders, the head of the Customs and Border Protection Bureau said Tuesday.
Arrests of illegal immigrants have been declining in recent years, and those figures generally serve as a measuring stick for estimating illegal entries, said Commissioner Robert Bonner.
“We are, I believe, getting control over our border,” Bonner told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee for homeland security.
His depiction of border security contrasted with the view of Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who said illegal immigration is out of control.
“We are losing the war against illegal aliens,” Shelby said.
Last year, the Border Patrol logged 931,557 arrests. That compares with 955,310 arrests in 2002 and 1.3 million arrests in 2001.
Bonner said the “marginal decline” in illegal immigration has resulted from increased enforcement along segments of the Texas and California borders and better equipment to help agents detect illegal migrants.
Since October, however, arrests have been rising, to 502,000 over roughly the past six months, compared with 426,853 during the same period a year ago, said Gloria Chavez, a spokeswoman for the bureau, part of the Homeland Security Department.
When Shelby asked whether the challenge of controlling illegal immigration is too great, Bonner responded, “We can do this.”
President Bush has requested $64 million to develop and obtain more technology to assist with border protection. Another $10 million has been requested to develop and deploy unmanned aerial vehicles, essentially drones, that would look out for illegal border crossers.
By late spring or early summer, the agency hopes to deploy some of the drones along the Arizona border, where arrests have risen recently.
Bonner said Bush’s proposal for a temporary worker program could relieve some of the illegal immigration pressure on the border.
Bush has proposed allowing legal and illegal immigrants to work in the country under renewable three-year permits. The legislation is given little chance of being enacted in this election year.