Illegal Immigration: The Border Patrol Problem

Cross posted from Wake up America

Many that are regular readers know that I stand behind Bush in his stance about Iraq and other things, but I have no problem disagreeing with issues I do not agree with, the latest was the Immigration reform bill.

Now we have seen quite a bit of news showing the administration is cracking down on Illegal immigration in recent days.

Here is a fact sheet from the White House website about improving border security and immigration within existing laws.

BORDER SECURITY

• 1. The Administration Will Continue To Strengthen Security At The Border With Additional Personnel And Infrastructure. We are committed to implementing the following border security measures by December 31, 2008:

• 18,300 Border Patrol agents
• 370 miles of fencing
• 300 miles of vehicle barriers
• 105 camera and radar towers
• Three additional UAVs

We will also work to ensure that 1,700 more Border Patrol Agents and an additional UAV are added in 2009.

• 2. The Administration Will Maintain The Policy Of "Catch And Return" For Illegal Aliens Apprehended At The Border. For years, limited detention space forced the release of many illegal border crossers from nations other than Mexico with nothing more than a Notice to Appear for a hearing before an immigration judge. Many aliens ignored these notices and instead blended into U.S. society. The Administration has ended this practice and instituted a policy of "catch and return," ensuring that all removable aliens caught trying to cross the border illegally are held until they can be removed.
  
  
  • The Administration Will Further Increase Funding For Detention Beds So There Are Places To Detain 31,500 Illegal Aliens Until They Can Be Returned.
    
    
  • The Administration Will Also Press Recalcitrant Countries To Work With The United States To Repatriate Citizens Who Are In The United States Illegally.

• 3. The Departments Of State And Homeland Security Will Strengthen Legal Efforts To Keep International Gang Members Out Of The United States. Gangs are at the root of many U.S. crime problems today, and many of the most dangerous gangs draw significant membership from abroad. The Federal government already denies visas to known members of certain gangs from China, the former Soviet Union, and El Salvador. Today, the President is directing the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expand this list of dangerous organized gangs from other nations and to ensure that members of those gangs are barred from entry into the United States.

• 4. The Administration Will Expand Exit Requirements So Persons Who Overstay Limited-Duration Visits To The United States Can Be Identified.
  
  
  • By The End Of 2008, The US-VISIT Exit Requirement Will Be Underway At All U.S. Airports And Seaports. The Department of Homeland Security will continue to explore effective and cost-efficient means of establishing biometric exit requirements at land border crossings.
    
    
  • The Administration Will Establish A New Land-Border Exit System For Guest Workers, Starting On A Pilot Basis. This will help ensure that temporary workers in the country now follow the mandate to leave when their work authorization expires.

• 5. The Administration Will Require All Travelers To Our Ports Of Entry To Use Passports Or Other Similar Secure Documents. Since January 2007, air travelers have been required to carry a passport for entry into the United States. Because of passport processing backlogs, a temporary accommodation has been made for U.S. citizens traveling in the Western Hemisphere, which will be phased out. Starting January 31, 2008, DHS will phase in a requirement for passports or other secure documents for sea and land ports of entry.

• 6. Beginning This Fall, The Secretary Of Homeland Security Will Deliver Regular "State Of The Border" Reports. These reports will keep the American people informed of the Federal Government's progress in securing the border and hold the Administration accountable for continuing improvement.

With that said, I find another article very disturbing. (Hat Tip to Stacy for the email)

From the Washington Times:

The U.S. Border Patrol is asking for volunteers among its agents to help build fences on the U.S.-Mexico border, even as President Bush is withdrawing half the National Guard troops he sent there last year to build fences.

A memo circulated last week to Border Patrol sector chiefs said fence-building efforts on the Southwest border were going to fall short of Mr. Bush's goal of finishing 70 miles in fiscal 2007, which ends Sept. 30, "so the Border Patrol is now going back into the fence-building business."

The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, called on the chiefs to provide lists of agents who "can and have built fences in the past," adding that the agency was looking for welders, equipment operators and "anyone else with construction experience."

"They are moving quickly on this, so your sector's response will be needed back here by noon tomorrow," said the Aug. 6 memo, which asked that the entire Border Patrol be canvassed for agents qualified and able to work on fence construction.

Rich Pierce, executive vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents the agency's 11,000 non-supervisory agents, said that while the Bush administration "on one hand is trying to convince the American public it is serious about immigration enforcement," it has failed to provide the needed funding and manpower.

Please head over to the Washington Times and read the whole article.

This last paragraph disturbs me the most:

As of June, 13 miles of new border fencing had been built.

Our borders are our weakest point right now. We have shown many instances where it is not only illegal immigrants crossing but members of terror groups as well; this is unacceptable.

From the above link we pointed out these things:

I really do know why they are waiting to deal with our border issue, firmly and decisively, once and for all.

Back in 2004, we knew that Mexico was on the lookout for terrorists trying to cross the Mexican border.

HERMOSILLO, Sonora - As concern rises that terrorists could be hidden among thousands of illegal immigrants heading into the United States through Mexico, immigration officers in Sonora find themselves on the front lines.

Let us not forget that in November 2004, we saw that our Feds feared that terrorists would smuggle nuclear and other types of weapon across our open borders.

TUCSON - Authorities are concerned al-Qaida or other terrorist groups could conspire with smuggling organizations to bring weapons of mass destruction across the Arizona border, an immigration official has said.

Fear that terrorists might attempt to bring in nuclear weapons or other terror instruments was one reason U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks - "to try to combat that type of smuggling that could be used by terrorists as well as other criminals," Michael Turner said. Turner oversees the ICE offices in Phoenix and Tucson.

We have also seen in 2006 that terrorists were learning spanish to be able to cross the U.S./Mexico border as well as working with drug cartels.

The Texas Sheriffs' Border Coalition reports that these Muslim men are likely terrorists who are being assisted by the Mexican military and Mexican drug cartels. Also, CNS reports: “Iranian currency, military badges in Arabic, jackets and other clothing are among the items that have been discovered along the banks of the Rio Grande River.”

November of 2006, we even had reports of an al-Qaeda leader telling us that they were smugging in "dangerous materials" across the Mexican border.

According to the Pakistani reporter, Dawood said Brother Adnan "had smuggled some dangerous materials from the Mexican border to inside the United States of America."

"It's the kind of scenario that worries everybody," says Fred Burton, a former special agent for the U.S. State Department.

Burton spent much of his federal career studying terrorists, predicting their next move. He now does the same thing at Stratfor, a private intelligence agency in Austin.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 asked Burton about the threat.

"I think it has to be viewed credible, until proven otherwise," he says.

The former special agent tells us the U.S. government is well aware Al Qaeda's been working hard to get a dirty bomb into the country, an explosive packed with nuclear materials small enough to carry in a suitcase.

Smugglers have been caught 300 times in the past four years trying to sneak in radioactive material, which could be used to make a dirty bomb.

The examples go one and on and on, so I ask again, why are our borders still wide open and why in hell does the U.S. Border Patrol have to ask for volunteers to get the job done?

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