The U.S. Border Patrol is moving to halt a revolving-door policy of sending migrants back to Mexico without any punishment.

The Border Patrol now feels it has enough of a handle to begin imposing more serious consequences on almost everyone it catches, from areas including Texas’ Rio Grande Valley to San Diego. The “Consequence Delivery System” — a key part of the Border Patrol’s new national strategy to be announced within weeks — relies largely on tools that have been rolled out over the last decade on parts of the border and expanded. It divides border crossers into seven categories, ranging from first-time offenders to people with criminal records.

The top-ranking House Republican on border issues is pushing the Obama administration to extend the National Guard’s presence along the U.S.-Mexico border and possibly deploy the U.S. Army to help stymie violence from the drug cartels.

Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), the chairwoman of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on border and maritime security, told The Hill that it would be a 'serious mistake' if the White House failed to re-authorize the deployment of National Guard troops to the border region beyond their end date on June 30.

KYL: ...what I did say is that the conditions for immigration reform no longer exist. The consensus that existed before does not exist. And among other reasons, because the administration -- this current administration has not done what's necessary to secure the border and enforce the law. We just saw the tragic death of a rancher down on the border, presumably from drug smugglers or illegal immigrants, that simply illustrates once again the fact that we have not controlled the border. And until that's done, I think it's going to be very difficult for Congress to support legislation that would be as comprehensive as that I supported three years ago.

Despite Mr. Obama's promises that the stimulus plan would be transparent and free of politics, the government is handing out $720 million for border upgrades under a process that is both secretive and susceptible to political influence. This allowed low-priority projects such as the checkpoint in Whitetail, Mont., to skip ahead of more pressing concerns, according to documents revealed to the Associated Press.

It wasn't supposed to be that way. In 2004, Congress ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create a list, updated annually, of the most important repairs needed at checkpoints nationwide. But the Obama administration continued a Bush administration practice of considering other, more subjective factors when deciding which projects get money.

Rep. Heath Shuler has again introduced the Secure America through Verification and Enforcement Act to combat the costly dilemma of illegal immigration in the U.S.


Since President Obama and this Congress are unlikely to achieve anything bigger, Congress should pass Shuler's bill.

A series of Senate floor votes this week seeking to toughen immigration enforcement is giving the Obama administration its first real taste of the chilly climate for overhauling immigration laws.

On Thursday, the Senate approved a measure that would effectively overturn an immigration-enforcement decision announced one day earlier by the Obama administration. The Department of Homeland Security had said Wednesday that it would rescind a Bush administration program aimed at forcing employers to fire workers who are unable to resolve discrepancies in their Social Security records.

Judging from recent reports by the National Drug Intelligence Center, you could come to the conclusion that Mexican drug cartels can do something the U.S. government cannot: control border crossings.

The cartels maintain "gatekeepers" -- their own sort of Border Patrol.

"Gatekeepers regulate the drug flow from Mexico across the U.S.-Mexico border into the United States by controlling drug smugglers' access to areas along the border," says identical language in NDIC reports on southern Arizona and West Texas. "Gatekeepers collect 'taxes' from smugglers on all illicit shipments that are moved through these areas, including drugs and illegal aliens. The taxes are generally paid to the DTO that controls the area; the DTO then launders the tax proceeds."

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case that questioned whether the federal government could supersede state and local laws blocking a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

The case tested the constitutionality of a provision in a broad 2005 law that created national standards for state driver’s license requirements. The provision in question would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to waive local legal requirements that stand in the way of the 700-mile border fence.

EL PASO -- Agents with the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) arrested 25 people who allegedly used the Gateway Hotel Downtown to harbor illegal immigrants.

Amongst those arrested are Song U.Chon, the owner of the hotel and two Gateway Hotel managers.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today began collecting biometrics—digital fingerprints—from non‑U.S. citizens departing the United States as part of a pilot program at Hartsfield‑Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Since 2004, biometrics have helped DHS prevent the use of fraudulent documents, protect visitors from identity theft and stop thousands of criminals and immigration violators from entering the United States.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 64% of Likely U.S. Voters feel that when it comes to immigration reform, gaining control of the border is more important that legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in this country.

63% of Americans feel that securing the border is more important than providing amnesty for the nation's illegal aliens.

The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it is halting funding of the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border, but 59% of Americans believe the United States should continue to build that fence.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 26% of adults disagree and think the building of the fence should be stopped. Fifteen percent (15%) more are not sure.

A Gallup poll released on August 5, 2009 shows that 50% of all Americans believe that immigration should be reduced.  This number is 11 points higher than the figure from an identical poll conducted last year.  Only 14% of Americans say immigration should be increased (down from 18%) and 32% say immigration levels should remain the same (down from 39%).

Fifty-one percent of Arizona voters say it is more important for Congress to pass immigration reform than health care reform.

By a 65% to 20% margin, Arizona voters believe enforcing the borders is more important than legalizing the status of those already living here. Half of the state’s voters (50%) think it is possible to put an end to illegal immigration, while 34% do not.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll reveals that 74% of Americans think the United States is not doing enough to prevent illegal crossings at the borders. The poll was conducted in connection with Pres. Barack Obama's 100th day in office and asked respondents questions on social issues ranging from immigration to gay marriage to the legalization of marijuana.

A new Rasmussen poll shows that 66% of likely voters believe that the government should improve border enforcement and reduce illegal immigration.  However, only 32% of America's "Political Class" agree.

The poll also shows that 77% of likely voters believe that illegal aliens should not be able to receive driver's licenses and 73% of Americans believe that police officers should automatically check to see if someone is in this country legally when that person is pulled over for a traffic violation. 

In a Washington Post/ABC Poll released just before Barack Obama's inaguration, respondents ranked immigration No. 10 on a list of priorities for the administration. The economy, Iraq War, foreign policy and education were all ranked ahead of immigration. Twenty-one percent said that it was the highest priority, 48 percent said it was high priority, while 29 percent said it was low priority.

When asked about what governments should do to address illegal immigration, 83% of respondents supported stronger border controls, 74% supported cracking down on employers, and 68% supported deportation.

Only 32% of Obama voters considered his support for amnesty as a factor in their decisions to vote for him. 67% said it was either not a factor at all, or they voted for Obama in spite of his stance on amnesty.

60% of voters said reducing illegal immigration and cracking down on employers who hire them is important to them, while only 21% supported "legalizing or creating a pathway to citizenship" for illegal aliens.

57% of voters stated that amnesty would harm American workers and further strain public resources, while only 26% believe amnesty would aid economic recovery and ease public burdens.