Border Arrests Decline Again Weak Economy and Tighter Security Dissuade Illegal Entrants; Drug Seizures Jump
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The Obama administration will use evidence of tougher border enforcement as part of its strategy to win support for a congressional overhaul of the U.S. immigration system next year. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is scheduled to give a speech about the administration’s plans Friday at the Center for American Progress, a Democrat-affiliated think tank in Washington.
Some state and local officials along the U.S.-Mexico border, including Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have said federal enforcement needed to be tougher. Mr. Perry recently said he would send teams of Texas Rangers to beef up security along the frontier.
The U.S. has nearly doubled the number of border-patrol agents in the past five years and uses a combination of patrols, fences, electronic sensors and pilotless drone aircraft. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, is expected to release its 2009 data this week.
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