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| Non-Mexicans Arrested at U.S. Border Nearly Doubled |
| 2005-07-15 |
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of people from countries other than Mexico arrested trying to cross the U.S. southern border has almost doubled this year, the head of the U.S. border patrol told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday. In all, the border patrol has detained 919,000 illegal immigrants so far this year, of whom 119,000 were non-Mexicans. The largest single number -- over 12,000 -- came from Brazil. U.S. officials believe the increase stems from non-Mexican illegal immigrants knowing they will be released even if they are caught crossing the border. Mexicans caught by U.S. border patrols trying to enter the country illegally are usually immediately returned to their native land... But Mexico accepts only Mexicans, so any non-Mexicans are checked against government watch lists as a potential security or criminal threat. If their names do not appear, they are normally released on their own recognizance and told to appear at a deportation hearing often months in the future. Some 85 percent fail to show up for the hearing and are never seen again. [Chief of the Border Patrol] Aguilar said that last year the border patrol detained 644 people from "countries of concern" and had stopped some 500 this year. They were subjected to intense interrogation and investigation. Immigration bills being submitted to Congress seek to increase the detention space at the border, which currently stands at just under 20,000 beds. Aguilar said the best way to deter people from crossing the border illegally was to increase the number of those detained. Leonard Kovensky, acting director of detention and removal operations at the Department of Homeland Security, told the subcommittee his department deported 85,000 illegal aliens with criminal records last year and had already removed over 45,000 in the first four months of this year. At a separate subcommittee hearing on alien smuggling across the Mexican border, Indiana Republican Rep. Mark Souder criticized the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for only devoting 7 percent of its investigative hours last year to the problem. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #7 LOL! Indeed, DPG |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-15 16:02 |
| #6 "Aguilar said that last year the border patrol detained 644 people from "countries of concern" and had stopped some 500 this year." Embrace Diversity! |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2005-07-15 12:17 |
| #5 Detain them for a year while we sort out who they are and who they paid to help them cross. They can live in a tent city jail like the one in Arizona. Once word gets back that these guys are not only not getting paychecks but not going home for a year the flood will slow to a trickle. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2005-07-15 12:10 |
| #4 In all, the border patrol has detained 919,000 illegal immigrants so far this year,.. Good heavens. If this isn't evidence that things have already gotten out of hand down there,.... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-07-15 10:17 |
| #3 Start shooting these invaders and watch the numbers of illegals start dropping off. Tough times, tough measures. |
| Posted by: Rightwing 2005-07-15 09:15 |
| #2 I don't know about you guys but I'm shocked, simply shocked, that someone arrested for illegally sneaking into the US would further compound their crimes by not voluntarily showing up for their deportation hearing. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2005-07-15 02:22 |
| #1 any [of the 119,000 thus far this year who were] non-Mexicans are checked against government watch lists as a potential security or criminal threat. If their names do not appear, they are normally released on their own recognizance and told to appear at a deportation hearing often months in the future. Some 85 percent fail to show up for the hearing and are never seen again. [Homeland Security] deported 85,000 illegal aliens with criminal records last year and had already removed over 45,000 in the first four months of this year. Does this process seem counter-productive to you, too? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-07-15 02:09 |