May 2013
1 post
3 tags
April 2013
5 posts
2 tags
Would more technology make the border more secure...
“Many of my colleagues say, ‘Why do we need to do anything more on the border?’ and we do. We should do more. … What I learned today is we have adequate manpower, but not adequate technology.”
– Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, while visiting the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona on March 27.
Sen....
Is the prospect of immigration reform doubling the...
“We’ve seen the number of illegal aliens double, maybe even triple since amnesty talk started happening.”
— Unnamed Border Patrol agent to Townhall, July 20, 2012
The past few months have seen several claims that the possibility of immigration reform providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented migrants would result in a significant increase in migrants seeking to enter the...
3 tags
Are citizens who leave water in the desert...
“[Tucson Sector Border Patrol Agent Colleen] Agle said smugglers often lie to immigrants, telling them they’ll only walk a couple of hours when they actually walk for days. Even so, the agency discourages water stations for crossers because authorities say it encourages people to risk the journey.”
— Amanda Lee Myers and Julie Watson, “Migrants say Arizona worth risk of crossing,” Associated...
3 tags
Is "Operation Streamline" being carried out in a...
“Operation Streamline, a fast-track program, resolves a federal criminal case with prison and deportation consequences in approximately two days or less. This program can serve as a deterrent against future illegal immigration in existing Border Patrol sectors.”
— Sen. Chuck Grassley, May 17 2011.
Captured migrants who are sent to “Operation Streamline” enter the federal criminal court...
5 tags
How common or rare is abuse of migrants in U.S....
How common or rare is abuse of migrants in U.S. custody?
“The Department of Homeland Security claims that only three complaints were lodged against Border Patrol detention conditions for the entirety of 2010 (the most current data), a year when agents apprehended more than 463,000 individuals. Only 10 complaints were filed for ‘abuse of authority’ that year and 13 for ‘discrimination.’ …...
March 2013
4 posts
4 tags
Does deporting migrants far from where they were...
“ATEP [the Alien Transfer Exit Program] is an ongoing program whereby the Office of Border Patrol, in collaboration with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), moves Mexican nationals apprehended in one Border Patrol Sector to another ERO Area of Responsibility before removing them to Mexico. ATEP breaks the smuggling cycle by repatriating aliens into regions further east or west of...
4 tags
Are most deportees recent arrivals with criminal...
“My instructions to the Department of Homeland Security have been that we have to focus our attention, our enforcement, on people who genuinely pose a threat to our communities, not to hardworking families who are minding their own business and oftentimes have members of their family who are U.S. citizens — because that’s a — that’s a priority in terms of limited enforcement resources. … So...
3 tags
Are border drones too costly to fly?
“I was surprised, and frankly disappointed, to learn that the Border Patrol has four drones deployed in Arizona but only has the resources to fly two of them — and even then they cannot fly them every day of the week.”
— Sen. Tom Carper (D-Delaware), chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, at a March 14, 2013 hearing.
The Facts:
Perhaps even more...
3 tags
February 2013
2 posts
2 tags
Is illegal immigration "rising steadily?"
Illegal immigration has risen steadily since the 1980s. While our research shows that new illegal entries have slackened somewhat since 2007, there are signs that the tide could be shifting again. According to numbers just released by CBP, in 2012 southwest border apprehensions, which the agency has used as an indicator of the number of illegal crossings, went up by nine percent.
— From the...
4 tags
January 2013
2 posts
2 tags
Is only 44 percent of the border "secure?"
In late 2010, DHS reported that it could respond to illegal activity along only 44 percent of the Southwest border, leaving 7,500 border miles inadequately protected.
— Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management, November 15, 2012.
The Facts:
The 44 percent statistic comes from a February 2011...
3 tags
Cross-border terrorism: does "evidence to compel"...
Last November, the Republican Party majority of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management issued a report on border and hemispheric security. A Line in the Sand: Countering Crime, Violence and Terror at the Southwest Border alleges, among several other claims, that the U.S.-Mexico border is vulnerable to infiltration by Islamic...
November 2012
1 post
2 tags
What does it mean to "secure the border" before...
“It’s simple to me to fix it. I think you control the border first. You create a pathway for those people that are here — you don’t say you’ve got to go home. And that is a position that I’ve evolved on. Because, you know what, it’s got to be resolved. The majority of people here, if some people have criminal records you can send them home, but if people are here, law-abiding,...
October 2012
3 posts
Is firing bullets at rock throwers a justified use...
Rocks are weapons and constitute deadly force. If an agent is confronted with deadly force they will respond in kind. No agent wants to have to shoot another human being, but when an agent is assaulted and fears for his life then his hand is forced.
—Border Patrol Union statement, “Rock Assaults are Deadly Force”
On Wednesday, October 10, 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez was...
3 tags
Does the administration "cook the books" on...
“[T]he Obama administration is cooking the books to achieve their so-called “record” deportation numbers for illegal immigrants.… There are no penalties or bars attached when illegal immigrants are sent by via ATEP and they can simply attempt re-entry.”
— Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas)
In late August, Lamar Smith, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, accused the Obama...
3 tags
Was a Border Patrol agent's death tied to "Fast...
“There’s no way to know at this point how the agent was killed, but because of Operation Fast and Furious, we’ll wonder for years if the guns used in any killing along the border were part of an ill-advised gunwalking strategy sanctioned by the federal government.”
– Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), in a statement on the October 2 shooting death, under circumstances that remain unclear, of a...
September 2012
1 post
3 tags
Families are already being separated, at record...
“The truth is that he would separate families that have been here for generations.”
– Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas), in his September 4 Democratic Convention speech, predicts what Mitt Romney would do if elected president.
The Facts:
It is true that Governor Romney, through his support for “self-deportation” and opposition to the DREAM Act (except for military personnel), has espoused...
August 2012
5 posts
Do terrorists use the U.S.-Mexico border to enter...
“Just last year… if I remember correctly, there were 25,000 people that they were able to apprehend other than Mexicans. That includes Chinese, Middle Easterners. If you know Middle Easterners, they look Mexican or like a lot of people in South America, and they mix in. … And those people, their only goal in life is to cause harm to the United States. … They have found prayer rugs, they have...
2 tags
A budget-busting proposal in the Republican...
“The double-layered fencing on the border that was enacted by Congress in 2006, but never completed, must finally be built.”
— The Republican Party’s 2012 platform, according to language obtained by Politico.com.
The Facts:
The Secure Fence Act of 2006 (PDF) called on the Homeland Security Department to “provide for at least 2 layers of reinforced fencing,...
5 tags
Is Arizona suffering "increased crime and drugs"...
“Washington has failed miserably when it comes to securing our borders. While the federal government refuses to protect our borders, Arizona taxpayers continue to pay the price in the form of increased crime and drugs in our communities.”
– Campaign website of Wil Cardon, one of two main Republican candidates competing in Arizona’s August 28 Senate primary election.
“[T]he situation...
3 tags
Should we be "highly concerned" about closing 7...
“We are highly concerned that these closures will undercut proven methods to intercept drug smugglers, human traffickers and illegal immigrants in corridors that they use extensively north of the U.S.-Mexico border. We urge you in the strongest terms to rescind the decision.”
— 12 Republican Representatives’ response to a June 22 announcement that the U.S. Border Patrol would be closing seven...
4 tags
Are terrorists crossing the border "from time to...
“[T]here have been [terrorists crossing our southern border with the intent to do harm to the American people] from time to time.”
— Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
This “time to time” quote was Secretary Napolitano’s response to a question from Rep. Ron Barber (D-Arizona) at a July 25 hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee. The full exchange was as follows:
...
July 2012
2 posts
2 tags
Are migrants routinely abused by Customs and...
“We do not tolerate abuse within our ranks, and we fully cooperate with any criminal or administrative investigations of alleged misconduct by any of our personnel, on or off duty.”
— CBP spokeswoman Jenny Burke
The Facts:
As is highlighted in PBS’ new Need to Know report “Crossing the Line”, allegations of abuses by Border Patrol agents are widespread, and those responsible are...
4 tags
June 2012
4 posts
2 tags
3 tags
There already are more undocumented children,...
“[Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe] Arpaio believes there will be an increase in Mexicans entering the United States illegally after hearing Obama’s new policy.
“‘I suspect that this is politics to get the Hispanic vote,’ Arpaio said. ‘It’s sad to use the kids as a political tool to get a certain segment of our society’s vote.’
“The sheriff said his deputies arresting child suspected of...
3 tags
Does the new anti-tunnel law matter?
“For too long, criminal cartels have been able to construct and use illegal cross-border tunnels to smuggle weapons, drugs and people across our border, without facing adequately harsh consequences. This bill is an important step in our efforts to secure our Southern border.”
— Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Arizona), in a statement upon the passage of the Border Tunnel Prevention Act...
2 tags
Jumping to conclusions on "spillover" violence
“Thanks to all our Homicide detectives who are investigating this alarming 5 person murder and the torching of the vehicle (likely in an effort to destroy evidence). All information is pointing that this is connected to the violent drug cartel smuggling in this high smuggling area….
The border is NOT more secure than ever Ms. Napolitano!”
— A June 2 post to the...
May 2012
2 posts
2 tags
2 tags
Iran and the Zetas?
“I don’t know if everyone remembers but obviously there was a plot that the United States government alleges was put forth by the Iranian government using an Iranian-American in Texas who was hiring a Mexican drug cartel to commit an assassination that would have killed civilians right here in Washington, D.C.”
— CNN Host Erin Burnett, May 14, 2012.
The facts:
...
