Feds plan to act on border problems

USA Today


Homeland security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday that his department is drafting a plan to determine how "once and for all" to deal with illegal immigration, migrant smuggling and gang violence in states along the US-Mexican border.

He said the Department of Homeland Security will be examining patterns of illegal immigration, the availability of jail space, procedures for deporting illegal immigrants, and the use of border agents and equipment. shouldn't they have already been doing this?

Chertoff's plan comes after weeks of criticism from the governors of Arizona and New Mexico, who said the Bush administration hasn't done enough to stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the border.

Chertoff said he wanted to take time to analyze the immigration problem before sending more agents to the border or buying "a lot of newfangled gadgets" without taking a broader look at the problem.

of the 1.1 million border arrests nationwide so far this year, 516109 have been in Arizona.
The Homeland Security Department says that since Sept. 11, 2001, Arizona has seen a 25% increase in the number of federal agents policing its border. Arrests have increased dramatically, the department said.
In his letter, Chertoff said border security is of "utmost importance" at his department and throughout the Bush administration.
In contrast, Napolitano said there's been "no sense of urgency" from federal officials.
"They're in Washington, they're not on the border," she said. "They don't understand how serious the situation is."
This just makes me sick. It has taken individual states to declare a state of emergency to force the federal government to "analyze" the patterns of illegal immigration?