Border protection funds steady as illegal immigration stalls

Border protection funds steady as illegal immigration stalls
by Erica L. Green
Oct 09, 2008
WASHINGTON--On the heels of a vote by Congress to provide a steady flow of funds for beefing up immigration enforcement, a new study shows that the number of immigrants illegally crossing the border into the United States has actually stalled.


The study, released by the Pew Hispanic Center, showed that between 2000 and 2005, about 800,000 illegal immigrants entered the U.S. each year. But between the years of 2005 and 2008, an average of 500,000 entered annually, with a year-to-year slowdown.


The study, based on Census data, also found that while undocumented workers still make up 4 percent of the U.S. population--a 40 percent increase since 2000--more immigrants are looking to come into the country through legal means.

Amid the findings about the apparent slowdown, Congress last week approved a 2009 budget of nearly $40 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, with significant amounts going into immigration enforcement and deportation services.

The budget prompted some immigration policy analysts to decry what they deemed a continuation of “dead-end enforcement and deportation-only approaches” to funding Homeland Security, as opposed to the necessity of identifying immigrants who are actually a threat to national security.

“The more attention we spend on people who are really trying to make a living, is less attention that we’re spending on people who are criminals or don’t merit the right to be here,” said Mary Giovagnoli, an advocacy director at the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration think-tank in Washington, D.C.

The Homeland Security budget includes staff increases for Customs and Border Protection, a $775 million outlay for fencing along the border with Mexico, and a near $254 million increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Money was also designated to increase the number of detention beds for illegal immigrants rounded up in workplace raids.

“We need to make immigrant communities feel comfortable enough to come forward so that we can root out the ones who engage in criminal activity or who are making immigrant communities unsafe,” Giovagnoli said.

Giovagnoli cited a discontinued program started just last summer by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement--“Operation Scheduled Departure”--which gave illegal immigrants a chance to turn themselves and others in for a penalty-free deportation. Despite low participation, she said it was a step in the right direction.

“It was essentially a failure so they said, ‘Fine, we’ll just step-up the deportation enforcement even more.”

According to ICE, only eight people turned themselves in to the program, indicating a need for more enforcement.

“It was a pilot program in which we were looking to meet some of the criticisms that we weren’t working with families to make their transitions easier, but even when families had the opportunity to comply, they chose not to,” said Cori Bassett, a public affairs officer of ICE. “We have seen increased enforcement in the last year, and there’s always more to do and more resources to work with,”

While the Pew Hispanic Center report acknowledged there was not conclusive evidence explaining the illegal immigrant slowdown, a survey that it released last month showed that heightened enforcement and immigration laws were prevalent concerns among immigrants.

The September survey, which concluded that Hispanics in the U.S. see their situation deteriorating, found that 57 percent of Latinos worry about deportation, and 63 percent said they felt that there had been an increase in immigration enforcement targeted at undocumented immigrants. One-in-ten respondents in the poll said they had been stopped by authorities and questioned about their status.

But Homeland Security officials said even with the slowdown, there’s still a need for increased funding for immigration enforcement.

“We have been committed and have fought for immigration reforms, some of which have failed” said Laura Keehner, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. “But we are forced to enforce the laws that are on the books and carry out the wishes of the American people to protect our border.”
WASHINGTON--On the heels of a vote by Congress to provide a steady flow of funds for beefing up immigration enforcement, a new study shows that the number of immigrants illegally crossing the border into the United States has actually stalled.


The study, released by the Pew Hispanic Center, showed that between 2000 and 2005, about 800,000 illegal immigrants entered the U.S. each year. But between the years of 2005 and 2008, an average of 500,000 entered annually, with a year-to-year slowdown.


The study, based on Census data, also found that while undocumented workers still make up 4 percent of the U.S. population--a 40 percent increase since 2000--more immigrants are looking to come into the country through legal means.

Amid the findings about the apparent slowdown, Congress last week approved a 2009 budget of nearly $40 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, with significant amounts going into immigration enforcement and deportation services.

The budget prompted some immigration policy analysts to decry what they deemed a continuation of “dead-end enforcement and deportation-only approaches” to funding Homeland Security, as opposed to the necessity of identifying immigrants who are actually a threat to national security.

“The more attention we spend on people who are really trying to make a living, is less attention that we’re spending on people who are criminals or don’t merit the right to be here,” said Mary Giovagnoli, an advocacy director at the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration think-tank in Washington, D.C.

The Homeland Security budget includes staff increases for Customs and Border Protection, a $775 million outlay for fencing along the border with Mexico, and a near $254 million increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Money was also designated to increase the number of detention beds for illegal immigrants rounded up in workplace raids.

“We need to make immigrant communities feel comfortable enough to come forward so that we can root out the ones who engage in criminal activity or who are making immigrant communities unsafe,” Giovagnoli said.

Giovagnoli cited a discontinued program started just last summer by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement--“Operation Scheduled Departure”--which gave illegal immigrants a chance to turn themselves and others in for a penalty-free deportation. Despite low participation, she said it was a step in the right direction.

“It was essentially a failure so they said, ‘Fine, we’ll just step-up the deportation enforcement even more.”

According to ICE, only eight people turned themselves in to the program, indicating a need for more enforcement.

“It was a pilot program in which we were looking to meet some of the criticisms that we weren’t working with families to make their transitions easier, but even when families had the opportunity to comply, they chose not to,” said Cori Bassett, a public affairs officer of ICE. “We have seen increased enforcement in the last year, and there’s always more to do and more resources to work with,”

While the Pew Hispanic Center report acknowledged there was not conclusive evidence explaining the illegal immigrant slowdown, a survey that it released last month showed that heightened enforcement and immigration laws were prevalent concerns among immigrants.

The September survey, which concluded that Hispanics in the U.S. see their situation deteriorating, found that 57 percent of Latinos worry about deportation, and 63 percent said they felt that there had been an increase in immigration enforcement targeted at undocumented immigrants. One-in-ten respondents in the poll said they had been stopped by authorities and questioned about their status.

But Homeland Security officials said even with the slowdown, there’s still a need for increased funding for immigration enforcement.

“We have been committed and have fought for immigration reforms, some of which have failed” said Laura Keehner, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. “But we are forced to enforce the laws that are on the books and carry out the wishes of the American people to protect our border.”
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© Medill Reports, Northwestern University. A Washington publication of the Medill School.