CARLHAYDEN
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« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2006, 08:53:40 AM » |
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Arrest of illegals falls off Clinton pace By Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES May 25, 2006
The U.S. Border Patrol increased at a faster rate and apprehended more illegal aliens per year under President Clinton than under President Bush, according to statistics from a new, unpublished congressional research briefing report. Mr. Bush trails his predecessor on a series of measures of border security, says the briefing from the Congressional Research Service to the House Judiciary Committee, which was based on Department of Homeland Security data. Mr. Clinton increased the number of Border Patrol agents and pilots by 126 percent over his eight-year term, or an average of 642 per year, while Mr. Bush has averaged 411 new agents per year through 2005, for a total increase of 22.3 percent over his tenure. Although Mr. Bush last week said his administration has caught and returned 6 million illegal aliens, that's actually a drop from any five-year period during Mr. Clinton's administration, the briefing says. Meanwhile, the number of alien absconders has grown by more than 200,000 during Mr. Bush's term, reaching 536,644 in fiscal 2005; the number of completed fraud cases has dropped; and, until recently, detention beds hovered at or below the level Mr. Bush inherited from Mr. Clinton in 2001. "The sense of urgency that comes with deploying the National Guard is belied by the administration's consistent opposition to providing the necessary resources that our border security agencies need to do their jobs," said Sen. Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Mr. Byrd has sought for years to get the Bush administration to add Border Patrol agents and detention beds and improve enforcement technology. T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said Border Patrol staffing and spending has increased, but because of "insane policies" that tie agents' hands, they are apprehending fewer illegals. In 1987, each agent averaged 357 apprehensions, but that fell to 110 per agent in 2004, he said. In addition, while the number of aliens being smuggled by criminal organizations has gone up, the number of smugglers being prosecuted is about the same. House Republicans, though, said that they worked within the budget constraints the White House gave them and that if the president had told them he would find more money, they would have done more. Rep. Tom Tancredo, head of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, questioned Mr. Bush's commitment to border security, saying the president had to be pulled "kicking and screaming" to go along with earlier border-security measures. He said he thinks Mr. Bush will say anything to win a guest-worker program. "I'm sorry to say this, but he is not sincere about his desire to secure the border," the Colorado Republican said. "He is sincere in his desire to get an amnesty that will pass, and he will essentially do a Clinton on us -- say anything, promise anything -- but I'm afraid I just don't trust him anymore."
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