Here's a cold dose of facts about the Bush administration's record on illegal immigration.
The U.S. Border Patrol increased at a faster rate and apprehended more illegal aliens per year under President Clinton than under President Bush, according to statistics from a new, unpublished congressional research briefing report.Mr. Bush trails his predecessor on a series of measures of border security, says the briefing from the Congressional Research Service to the House Judiciary Committee, which was based on Department of Homeland Security data.
Mr. Clinton increased the number of Border Patrol agents and pilots by 126 percent over his eight-year term, or an average of 642 per year, while Mr. Bush has averaged 411 new agents per year through 2005, for a total increase of 22.3 percent over his tenure.
Although Mr. Bush last week said his administration has caught and returned 6 million illegal aliens, that's actually a drop from any five-year period during Mr. Clinton's administration, the briefing says.
Meanwhile, the number of alien absconders has grown by more than 200,000 during Mr. Bush's term, reaching 536,644 in fiscal 2005; the number of completed fraud cases has dropped; and, until recently, detention beds hovered at or below the level Mr. Bush inherited from Mr. Clinton in 2001.
Here's what it means, unfortunately. The rationale behind the President's thinking is still a mystery, but the conclusion seems inescapable.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, head of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, questioned Mr. Bush's commitment to border security, saying the president had to be pulled "kicking and screaming" to go along with earlier border-security measures. He said he thinks Mr. Bush will say anything to win a guest-worker program.Posted by Alan at May 25, 2006 07:11 AM"I'm sorry to say this, but he is not sincere about his desire to secure the border," the Colorado Republican said. "He is sincere in his desire to get an amnesty that will pass, and he will essentially do a Clinton on us -- say anything, promise anything -- but I'm afraid I just don't trust him anymore."