Jeanfromfillmore
05-10-2010, 07:10 PM
Visa violators almost half of illegals
PHOENIX, May 10 (UPI) -- Visa violators, not border crossers, allegedly make up almost half of the 11 million people in the United States illegally, authorities say.
Michael W. Cutler, a former senior agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which became Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said: "It's not that we have too much emphasis on the border. We still need enforcement on the border. The problem is not enough attention to the other issue," The Arizona Republic reported Monday.
The number of Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico line has doubled, to more than 20,000 people in the past five years up to the highest level of staffing in the Border Patrol's 85-year history, the newspaper said.
And while Arizona Sens. John McCain, Jon Kyl and Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Ann Kirkpatrick have asked for help from the National Guard, there has been no call for help to ramp up the search for those whose visas have run out.
"We allow this because it is good for the country. We want tourists to come here. We want students to come," said Jeffrey Passel, senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center who studies the undocumented population. "But even if 99 percent turn around and leave," he said, a significant number remain.
"There are things we need to do at the border, but we need to get serious about interior enforcement," said Jena McNeill, a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/10/Visa-violators-almost-half-of-illegals/UPI-53571273530681/
PHOENIX, May 10 (UPI) -- Visa violators, not border crossers, allegedly make up almost half of the 11 million people in the United States illegally, authorities say.
Michael W. Cutler, a former senior agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which became Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said: "It's not that we have too much emphasis on the border. We still need enforcement on the border. The problem is not enough attention to the other issue," The Arizona Republic reported Monday.
The number of Border Patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico line has doubled, to more than 20,000 people in the past five years up to the highest level of staffing in the Border Patrol's 85-year history, the newspaper said.
And while Arizona Sens. John McCain, Jon Kyl and Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Ann Kirkpatrick have asked for help from the National Guard, there has been no call for help to ramp up the search for those whose visas have run out.
"We allow this because it is good for the country. We want tourists to come here. We want students to come," said Jeffrey Passel, senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center who studies the undocumented population. "But even if 99 percent turn around and leave," he said, a significant number remain.
"There are things we need to do at the border, but we need to get serious about interior enforcement," said Jena McNeill, a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/10/Visa-violators-almost-half-of-illegals/UPI-53571273530681/