Bush denies Congress on Immigration Reform

If not for the Iraq war, immigration would be the main policy issue dividing this country. People want to see results, there are many issues that must be sorted out and there is no easy answer, yet. One thing is clear, its the immigrants that benefit the most from loose policies and not the U.S. economy.

CNN reported the following:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Immigration arrests under President Bush are “stagnant and unimpressive” despite massive increases in Border Patrol agents and other immigration enforcement measures imposed since 2000, a report found.

Bush promoted border enforcement successes this week while pushing Congress for a comprehensive immigration policy overhaul. But the centrist private group Third Way questioned his record in a study released Thursday. It found that arrests and deportations are down almost 30 percent since the Clinton years.

“The decline in immigration enforcement has been steady, dramatic and long-standing,” said Jim Kessler, the group’s vice president for policy and a co-author of the report. “This may not be the cause of our illegal immigration crisis, but it has certainly contributed to it.”

The report suggests part of the reason for immigration failures is that after September 11, 2001, the Border Patrol was assigned to guard against terrorists as well as illegal migrants. It also points out that enforcement efforts have targeted immigrants but largely failed to punish the employers who hire them.

The report also found the following:

1. Apprehensions on the Southwest border have declined by 350,000 per year, almost 30 percent from the Clinton years.
2. The number of deportable aliens found at the northern border and border locations other than the Southwest has dropped by almost 40 percent.
3. Although the number of immigration-related arrests at the workplace has risen each year since 2003, 84 percent of those are workers rather than employers.

Report’s Conclusion There is no realistic chance of solving the immigration crisis without a comprehensive and new immigration policy.

Download the Third Way immigration report

Fred Soto is an Attorney and Entrepreneur from the Silicon Valley.
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