NewsMax.com
Thursday, June 9, 2005

The number of OTMs is projected to reach about 150,000 by the end of this fiscal year, which is a 200 percent increase compared to fiscal 2004, according to the Border Patrol.

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Concerns about OTMs from special interest countries - such as Iraq, Syria and Iran - were highlighted in Capitol Hill testimony in February by former Homeland Security Deputy Secretary James Loy:

"Recent information from ongoing investigations, detentions and emerging threat streams strongly suggest that al Qaeda has considered using the Southwest border to infiltrate the United States," Loy wrote. "Several al Qaeda leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico, and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons."

The latest figures and the al Qaeda connection are adding fuel to the argument that fundamental change in U.S. immigration policy is needed.

Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., plan to introduce what they say will be "comprehensive immigration reform" legislation by the end of this month. The bill is tentatively titled the Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act.

"The current border crisis has been years in the making, but it now appears to have reached a critical mass," Kyl said.

Cornyn added: "What we are proposing is we not only enhance border security to deal with people as they come across illegally, but we're also going to provide resources for interior enforcement ... and then we're also going to [create] a workable mechanism for prospective employers to deal with prospective employees who can legally work in the country."

Currently, enforcement of border and immigration law falls to the Homeland Security Department's bureaus of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. CBP is responsible for enforcement along the border, while ICE handles interior enforcement.

Mexican nationals caught illegally trying to enter the country are bused back to the border if they do not have a criminal record. OTMs, however, are sent to ICE detention centers, where they are released into the U.S. public if they do not have a felony conviction and do not pose a threat to national security.

ICE is required by law to release illegal aliens who pose no threat. Those migrants are given a notice to appear in court, but Border Patrol agents call it "a notice to disappear."

To date, according to the GovExec.com report, ICE has released about 1 million illegal aliens into the country. Out of that, about 465,000 never showed up for their court hearing, and about 85,000 have criminal records.

Meanwhile, organizers of civilian border patrols plan to establish citizen camps in all southern border states by this fall, as well as some northern border states. They say they will continue the camps until the government orders the military or National Guard to secure the borders.

Editor's note:
Illegal immigration threatens our security and tears at the fiber of America – Click Here!

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Homeland/Civil Defense

Immigration/Borders