U.S. Presidential initiatives boost immigration reforms and border security
Surya B. Prasai
February 24, 2008
It is often said in Washington circles that when it comes to reforming U.S. immigration or helping the world in fighting AIDS, President George W. Bush far surpasses the capabilities of many of his predecessors. Again on January 28, 2008, President George W. Bush delivered an important message on strengthening U.S. immigration in his State of the Union Address. While millions of Americans watched, he stated, "America needs to secure our borders -- and with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We're increasing worksite enforcement, deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings. We've effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border, and by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents. Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy. This will take pressure off the border and allow law enforcement to concentrate on those who mean us harm. We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals."
In August 2007, President Bush had announced fresh administrative actions to address border security and immigration challenges within the boundaries of existing U.S. law to better secure its borders, improve worksite enforcement, streamline existing temporary worker programs, and help new immigrants assimilate into American society. Although the Congress failed to address the broken immigration system in the past by not passing comprehensive reform legislation, the Bush administration nonetheless appears committed to take every possible measure to rebuild on the progress made focusing on keeping the U.S. economy well-supplied with vital workers, and helping new American immigrants learn English. President Bush has also praised the works of Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary Gutierrez in implementing many of the reforms, which will improve U.S. security and eventually enrich the Ameican nation.
In support of the U.S. Presidential initiatives taken so far, on August 10, 2007, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez had jointly announced a series of reforms the U.S. Administration would pursue to address border security and immigration challenges including improving border security patrol and immigration within existing law, worksite enforcement, streamlining existing guest worker programs and speeding up the hiring of essential workforce, improving existing immigration services and encouraging cultural assimilation. Comprehensive immigration reforms will certainly continue topping the agenda in the current election campaign, shaping American voters choice and hopefully help solve the problem of US illegal immigrants once and for all.
The Bush Comprehensive Immigration doctrine, in truth, has been supported almost in whole or partially by almost every US Presidential candidate hopeful in the past year which emphasizes the need to make the rule of law prevail, help the American Dream flourish, and uphold legal justice equitably, meaning people still will have to wait in line but their demands will be catered to more quickly with enhanced Department of Home Land Security capability. President Bush had earlier mentioned, "We´re also a compassionate nation that treats people decently, and the two are not in conflict. That's what's important for our fellow citizens to understand. The two are not in conflict". These are important remarks to note in the context of the recent testimony made by Secretary Michael Chertoff in before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security on "FY 2009 Budget Request" recently. According to a 13 February 2008 press release from the Department, Mr. Chertoff emphasized a need to make the most effective and efficient use of U.S. resources and capabilities to protect the homeland and the American people. Mr.Chertoff stated, "While we have had many successes, there are numerous challenges that still remain. I am here today to ask for your partnership and support as we face these challenges. We may not see eye to eye on all issues, but we certainly agree that our interests are best served when we work together to achieve our common goal of securing this great nation". Besides the above proposed areas, it has also been urged in order to take the pressure off the border, a new way be devised for foreign workers to come to the U.S. lawfully, on a temporary basis, and support the national economic drive.
In 2008, DHS is working on strengthening border security with additional personnel, technology and infrastructure. It has made an increment for funding border security and immigration enforcement by 159 percent, including emergency funds since the President took office - from $4.8 billion in 2001 to $12.3 billion in 2008. DHS has also expanded the border patrol from approximately 9,000 agents in 2001 to more than 15,000 agents in 2008. By the end of the year, there will be more than 18,000 agents, doubling the size of the Border Patrol. The Department is on track to complete 370 miles of pedestrian fencing along the southwest border by the end of calendar year 2008, of which 165 miles of is already completed, adding to a total of 290 miles of pedestrian and vehicle fence already in place at the border. The Department envisages 670 total miles of pedestrian and vehicle fencing by end of 2008. The administration has also included a new Southwest Border Enforcement Initiative in its 2009 Budget, which is a comprehensive Justice Department initiative that will provide $100 million to combat rising crime and immigration cases on America´s southwest border. It will increase DHS´s ability to arrest, detain, prosecute, and house violent criminals, drug offenders, and immigration violators along the southwest border. DHS is already operating three Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) along the southern border in support of border security operations. An additional UAS is scheduled to be operational this year.
DHS also saw a reduction of 20 percent in apprehensions of illegal aliens at the Southern border in Fiscal Year 2007, indicating that that stronger border security and enforcement efforts have worked in deterring aliens from illegal border crossing. The Bush administration has now effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" and now detains all removable aliens caught trying to cross the border until they can be removed. In the past, 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, and many aliens just did not show up, slowly blending into U.S. society illegally. The new policy is "catch and return" ensuring that all removable aliens caught will eventually be removed.
Beginning January 31, 2008, the Bush administration has also ended the decades old practice of allowing U.S. and Canadian citizens to enter the U.S. land and sea ports of entry with merely an oral declaration of identity and citizenship. All cross-border travelers must present documents establishing their identity and citizenship. This is a precursor to the Congressionally mandated full implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative in June of 2009, at which time passports or similarly secure documents will be required by all travelers.
The Bush administration is also enhancing Interior And Worksite Enforcement by doing away with the old approach of administrative hearings and fines for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens with a much tougher combination of criminal prosecutions, higher fines and asset and even business license revocation. Although arresting illegals becomes very difficult once they have blended into society, DHS has managed to enforce actions 19 in FY 2001 to 863 in FY 2007 - a more than 45-fold increase. Similarly there were 4,077 administrative arrests in FY 2007, for a total of 4,940 arrests. In 2007, DHS managed to obtain more than $31 million in criminal fines, restitutions and civil judgments as a result of worksite enforcement.
E-Verify is another unique program that helps more than 48,000 companies verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees, and it is making substantial progress with a quadrupling in number of companies enrolled in the past 16 months. It encompasses more than 200,000 American business locations with 2,000 employers being added each week. According to DHS, more than 3.7 million new hires were processed through the E-Verify program in 2007. As more American states such as Arizona require local businesses to use E-Verify, and the Federal government begins to require Federal contractors to enroll in the program, it will become increasingly difficult for those there illegally to find work, thus greatly weakening the magnet that draws so many illegal workers. E-Verify also serves as a valuable U.S. immigration tool to detect immigration fraud and identity theft. DHS has also issued a "No-Match" Employment Eligibility Verification regulation to help employers ensure their workers are legal and help the U.S. government identify and crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, although this useful regulation is being held up by litigation. It is anticipated a revised rule will be finalized and in effect later this year.
Despite repeated media criticism that DHS was not able to remove illegal aliens, in 2007, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE returned or removed almost 1.2 million illegal aliens from the United States. ICE has further increased its enforcement efforts since 2005 by quintupling the number of teams devoted to removing fugitive aliens from the U.S. — from 15 Fugitive Operations Teams in 2005 to 75 of these seven-member teams by the end of 2007. ICE has helped keep American communities safe by arresting 3,302 gang members and their associates in 2007. Similarly ICE has expanded its Criminal Alien Program to identify incarcerated criminal aliens and last year identified for removal 164,296 criminals who were incarcerated in federal, state and local facilities.
In 2008, the administration is training hundreds of State and local law enforcement officers to address illegal immigration in their communities. In doing so, it is maintaining the 287(g) program, which allows state and local officers to enforce immigration law, and expanding other measures that will help them such as broader law enforcement tools, formal task forces, greater use of the ICE Law Enforcement Support Center, and enhanced partnerships to address location-specific threats, such as gangs and criminal operations. Further funding increase for this program in 2009 is already proposed.
To keep the American competitive edge going strong, the Bush administration Is streamlining existing Guest-Worker Programs to help keep the U.S. economy well-supplied with a vital work force. The Department of Labor (DOL) and DHS is prepared to unveil a rule that would modernize the H-2A agricultural seasonal worker program to better provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal workers, while protecting the rights of laborers. No sector of the American economy requires a legal flow of foreign workers more than agriculture, which is experiencing labor shortages. DOL is also working on regulations streamlining the H-2B Program for non-agricultural seasonal workers. DHS and DOL are studying potential administrative reforms to visa programs for highly skilled workers and to also make the application process shorter and smoother, given that other G-8 economies have also started pursuing similar programs to attract the world´s ´best and brightest´.
Most important of all, the Bush administration Is taking steps to help new Americans assimilate In order to keep the nation united . In September 2007, the DHS Office of Citizenship announced a revised naturalization test emphasizing the fundamental concepts of American democracy, basic U.S. history, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. This test ensures fairness by eliminating the wide variations in testing quality between regional offices that plagued the former system. The Office of Citizenship is also providing additional training for volunteers and adult educators who lead immigrants through the naturalization process. The Education Department is working on a free, web-based portal to help immigrants learn English; knowing English is an important and required component of assimilation in the U.S.
As Secretary Chertoff stated recently," It is no accident that we have not suffered a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. It is the result of the President´s leadership, the support of Congress, and the hard work and constant vigilance of hundreds of thousands of men and women – including the employees at DHS – who are working tirelessly both at home and overseas to protect our country. Under the President´s leadership, the Department will continue to effectively carry out its critical mission and will leave a strong foundation for the future". For FY 2009, the DHS is focusing more on being a more efficient and multi-pronged one.
In President Bush´s famous 2007 Nebraska speech, he felt there was little fear for most Americans to think otherwise," The values that made us great is that we're a nation that have been united by common ideals, proud of our history, proud of our flag, understanding of the need to have a common language, and at the same time, a society whose soul has been uplifted constantly by the fact that people have come to our country to realize a dream, the dream of working hard and improving their lot in life; the dream of putting food on the table, and at the same time, hoping the child goes to college; the dream of owning their own businesses. That's uniquely American. It enables me to say to the American people that "one nation under God" means something. And we must never lose that spirit".
Secretary Michael Chertoff, in short, has managed to put in considerable reforms in streamlining the work of Homeland Security in recent past, particularly in cutting down the immigration lines and enhancing the labor pool America needs to sustain her competitive global economic edge within the existing law and guaranteeing everyone an equal hearing . Undoubtedly, the immigration debate will rage on in America, this being a year of Presidential debates until voting day, fueled by the argument that America is a land of immigrants and will always continue being so. The DHS has certainly been able to live up to its promise in helping new immigrants coming to America , avail themselves of its many useful people friendly services readily accessible on-line, thereby fulfilling many of the ordinary concerns on reforming America's immigration system
In August 2007, President Bush had announced fresh administrative actions to address border security and immigration challenges within the boundaries of existing U.S. law to better secure its borders, improve worksite enforcement, streamline existing temporary worker programs, and help new immigrants assimilate into American society. Although the Congress failed to address the broken immigration system in the past by not passing comprehensive reform legislation, the Bush administration nonetheless appears committed to take every possible measure to rebuild on the progress made focusing on keeping the U.S. economy well-supplied with vital workers, and helping new American immigrants learn English. President Bush has also praised the works of Secretary Michael Chertoff and Secretary Gutierrez in implementing many of the reforms, which will improve U.S. security and eventually enrich the Ameican nation.
In support of the U.S. Presidential initiatives taken so far, on August 10, 2007, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez had jointly announced a series of reforms the U.S. Administration would pursue to address border security and immigration challenges including improving border security patrol and immigration within existing law, worksite enforcement, streamlining existing guest worker programs and speeding up the hiring of essential workforce, improving existing immigration services and encouraging cultural assimilation. Comprehensive immigration reforms will certainly continue topping the agenda in the current election campaign, shaping American voters choice and hopefully help solve the problem of US illegal immigrants once and for all.
The Bush Comprehensive Immigration doctrine, in truth, has been supported almost in whole or partially by almost every US Presidential candidate hopeful in the past year which emphasizes the need to make the rule of law prevail, help the American Dream flourish, and uphold legal justice equitably, meaning people still will have to wait in line but their demands will be catered to more quickly with enhanced Department of Home Land Security capability. President Bush had earlier mentioned, "We´re also a compassionate nation that treats people decently, and the two are not in conflict. That's what's important for our fellow citizens to understand. The two are not in conflict". These are important remarks to note in the context of the recent testimony made by Secretary Michael Chertoff in before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security on "FY 2009 Budget Request" recently. According to a 13 February 2008 press release from the Department, Mr. Chertoff emphasized a need to make the most effective and efficient use of U.S. resources and capabilities to protect the homeland and the American people. Mr.Chertoff stated, "While we have had many successes, there are numerous challenges that still remain. I am here today to ask for your partnership and support as we face these challenges. We may not see eye to eye on all issues, but we certainly agree that our interests are best served when we work together to achieve our common goal of securing this great nation". Besides the above proposed areas, it has also been urged in order to take the pressure off the border, a new way be devised for foreign workers to come to the U.S. lawfully, on a temporary basis, and support the national economic drive.
In 2008, DHS is working on strengthening border security with additional personnel, technology and infrastructure. It has made an increment for funding border security and immigration enforcement by 159 percent, including emergency funds since the President took office - from $4.8 billion in 2001 to $12.3 billion in 2008. DHS has also expanded the border patrol from approximately 9,000 agents in 2001 to more than 15,000 agents in 2008. By the end of the year, there will be more than 18,000 agents, doubling the size of the Border Patrol. The Department is on track to complete 370 miles of pedestrian fencing along the southwest border by the end of calendar year 2008, of which 165 miles of is already completed, adding to a total of 290 miles of pedestrian and vehicle fence already in place at the border. The Department envisages 670 total miles of pedestrian and vehicle fencing by end of 2008. The administration has also included a new Southwest Border Enforcement Initiative in its 2009 Budget, which is a comprehensive Justice Department initiative that will provide $100 million to combat rising crime and immigration cases on America´s southwest border. It will increase DHS´s ability to arrest, detain, prosecute, and house violent criminals, drug offenders, and immigration violators along the southwest border. DHS is already operating three Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) along the southern border in support of border security operations. An additional UAS is scheduled to be operational this year.
DHS also saw a reduction of 20 percent in apprehensions of illegal aliens at the Southern border in Fiscal Year 2007, indicating that that stronger border security and enforcement efforts have worked in deterring aliens from illegal border crossing. The Bush administration has now effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" and now detains all removable aliens caught trying to cross the border until they can be removed. In the past, 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, and many aliens just did not show up, slowly blending into U.S. society illegally. The new policy is "catch and return" ensuring that all removable aliens caught will eventually be removed.
Beginning January 31, 2008, the Bush administration has also ended the decades old practice of allowing U.S. and Canadian citizens to enter the U.S. land and sea ports of entry with merely an oral declaration of identity and citizenship. All cross-border travelers must present documents establishing their identity and citizenship. This is a precursor to the Congressionally mandated full implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative in June of 2009, at which time passports or similarly secure documents will be required by all travelers.
The Bush administration is also enhancing Interior And Worksite Enforcement by doing away with the old approach of administrative hearings and fines for employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens with a much tougher combination of criminal prosecutions, higher fines and asset and even business license revocation. Although arresting illegals becomes very difficult once they have blended into society, DHS has managed to enforce actions 19 in FY 2001 to 863 in FY 2007 - a more than 45-fold increase. Similarly there were 4,077 administrative arrests in FY 2007, for a total of 4,940 arrests. In 2007, DHS managed to obtain more than $31 million in criminal fines, restitutions and civil judgments as a result of worksite enforcement.
E-Verify is another unique program that helps more than 48,000 companies verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees, and it is making substantial progress with a quadrupling in number of companies enrolled in the past 16 months. It encompasses more than 200,000 American business locations with 2,000 employers being added each week. According to DHS, more than 3.7 million new hires were processed through the E-Verify program in 2007. As more American states such as Arizona require local businesses to use E-Verify, and the Federal government begins to require Federal contractors to enroll in the program, it will become increasingly difficult for those there illegally to find work, thus greatly weakening the magnet that draws so many illegal workers. E-Verify also serves as a valuable U.S. immigration tool to detect immigration fraud and identity theft. DHS has also issued a "No-Match" Employment Eligibility Verification regulation to help employers ensure their workers are legal and help the U.S. government identify and crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers, although this useful regulation is being held up by litigation. It is anticipated a revised rule will be finalized and in effect later this year.
Despite repeated media criticism that DHS was not able to remove illegal aliens, in 2007, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and ICE returned or removed almost 1.2 million illegal aliens from the United States. ICE has further increased its enforcement efforts since 2005 by quintupling the number of teams devoted to removing fugitive aliens from the U.S. — from 15 Fugitive Operations Teams in 2005 to 75 of these seven-member teams by the end of 2007. ICE has helped keep American communities safe by arresting 3,302 gang members and their associates in 2007. Similarly ICE has expanded its Criminal Alien Program to identify incarcerated criminal aliens and last year identified for removal 164,296 criminals who were incarcerated in federal, state and local facilities.
In 2008, the administration is training hundreds of State and local law enforcement officers to address illegal immigration in their communities. In doing so, it is maintaining the 287(g) program, which allows state and local officers to enforce immigration law, and expanding other measures that will help them such as broader law enforcement tools, formal task forces, greater use of the ICE Law Enforcement Support Center, and enhanced partnerships to address location-specific threats, such as gangs and criminal operations. Further funding increase for this program in 2009 is already proposed.
To keep the American competitive edge going strong, the Bush administration Is streamlining existing Guest-Worker Programs to help keep the U.S. economy well-supplied with a vital work force. The Department of Labor (DOL) and DHS is prepared to unveil a rule that would modernize the H-2A agricultural seasonal worker program to better provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal workers, while protecting the rights of laborers. No sector of the American economy requires a legal flow of foreign workers more than agriculture, which is experiencing labor shortages. DOL is also working on regulations streamlining the H-2B Program for non-agricultural seasonal workers. DHS and DOL are studying potential administrative reforms to visa programs for highly skilled workers and to also make the application process shorter and smoother, given that other G-8 economies have also started pursuing similar programs to attract the world´s ´best and brightest´.
Most important of all, the Bush administration Is taking steps to help new Americans assimilate In order to keep the nation united . In September 2007, the DHS Office of Citizenship announced a revised naturalization test emphasizing the fundamental concepts of American democracy, basic U.S. history, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. This test ensures fairness by eliminating the wide variations in testing quality between regional offices that plagued the former system. The Office of Citizenship is also providing additional training for volunteers and adult educators who lead immigrants through the naturalization process. The Education Department is working on a free, web-based portal to help immigrants learn English; knowing English is an important and required component of assimilation in the U.S.
As Secretary Chertoff stated recently," It is no accident that we have not suffered a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001. It is the result of the President´s leadership, the support of Congress, and the hard work and constant vigilance of hundreds of thousands of men and women – including the employees at DHS – who are working tirelessly both at home and overseas to protect our country. Under the President´s leadership, the Department will continue to effectively carry out its critical mission and will leave a strong foundation for the future". For FY 2009, the DHS is focusing more on being a more efficient and multi-pronged one.
In President Bush´s famous 2007 Nebraska speech, he felt there was little fear for most Americans to think otherwise," The values that made us great is that we're a nation that have been united by common ideals, proud of our history, proud of our flag, understanding of the need to have a common language, and at the same time, a society whose soul has been uplifted constantly by the fact that people have come to our country to realize a dream, the dream of working hard and improving their lot in life; the dream of putting food on the table, and at the same time, hoping the child goes to college; the dream of owning their own businesses. That's uniquely American. It enables me to say to the American people that "one nation under God" means something. And we must never lose that spirit".
Secretary Michael Chertoff, in short, has managed to put in considerable reforms in streamlining the work of Homeland Security in recent past, particularly in cutting down the immigration lines and enhancing the labor pool America needs to sustain her competitive global economic edge within the existing law and guaranteeing everyone an equal hearing . Undoubtedly, the immigration debate will rage on in America, this being a year of Presidential debates until voting day, fueled by the argument that America is a land of immigrants and will always continue being so. The DHS has certainly been able to live up to its promise in helping new immigrants coming to America , avail themselves of its many useful people friendly services readily accessible on-line, thereby fulfilling many of the ordinary concerns on reforming America's immigration system