24 August 2006
Tougher Border Security Showing Results, U.S. Official Says, August 23, 2006(Homeland security chief says fewer illegal aliens entering United States)
By Jane Morse
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The Bush administration’s drive to secure U.S. borders is succeeding, says Michael Chertoff, secretary of homeland security.
Based on the number of apprehensions, fewer individuals -- from Mexico or other points of origin -- are crossing the southern U.S. border illegally, Chertoff said during an August 23 press briefing.
President Bush has made border security his top priority, according to Chertoff.
The administration implemented the Secure Border Initiative (SBI) less than a year ago, in November 2005. Since then, the effort has produced "real results that mark real progress," Chertoff said. (See related article.)
As part of SBI, he said, the Homeland Security Department set a goal of eliminating its earlier "catch and release" policy, under which apprehended illegal migrants from countries other than Mexico were released and allowed to live in the United States pending deportation hearings.
Virtually all undocumented non-Mexican migrants now are detained until they can be returned to their home countries, Chertoff said, noting that there has been "a real market decrease" in the number of non-Mexicans coming across the border, as measured by apprehensions.
As people from countries other than Mexico increasingly have become aware that they will not be released, "there is really now a change in the incentive process that was previously drawing them in," the secretary said.
In July, large groups of Chinese trying to enter the United States illegally were sent back to China. Chertoff said he found it "encouraging" that a significant number of individuals were returned over the summer.
"It was a positive step in terms of having the Chinese government be able to process the return of illegal migrants from China," he said.
Nonetheless, Chertoff said, such cooperative efforts with the Chinese government are still "a challenge."
"It's still not where we want to be in terms of the speed with which documentation is processed," he said. "But we're working with the Chinese government on that and we're optimistic. … [I]t's something that we need to monitor very carefully to make sure we're continuing to move at a pace that results in a net outflow of illegal migrants rather than a net inflow of illegal migrants."
Chertoff said the successful reduction in illegal entries to the United States could be attributed to political will, the commitment of more personnel and resources, a comprehensive approach to issues such as border and interior security and "the underlying economic forces that drive a lot of illegal migration."
The secretary acknowledged that the criminals who smuggle people into the United States "are not going to walk away from the business."
"I expect that we will see efforts to try to end-run us or push back on us," he said. "And this is not meant to say the job is done or even substantially done. It's meant to say we're seeing progress. We're beginning to be able to test that what we're doing is working. But this is a time to redouble our effort, not to slacken up."
U.S. border security has taken on more urgency after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. The proposed federal budget for the 2007 fiscal year, which begins October 1, continues to emphasize anti-terrorist and border security requirements. (See related article.)
The Bush administration steadfastly has maintained that legal immigrants "should be greeted with open arms."
But in policy documents, the administration has cautioned that, "While we seek to improve the system that welcomes legal immigrants, the United States is a nation of laws and must act to combat illegal immigration."
For more information on U.S. policies, see Chinese Human Smuggling, Immigration Reform and Response to Terrorism.
The transcript of Chertoff's remarks and a fact sheet on the Secure Border Initiative are available on the Department of Homeland Security's Web site.
