Press Release
05/15/06Third Way, Leading Dems Blast Bush on Immigration Enforcement Record
Washington: As President Bush prepares for tonight’s address to the nation on the issue of immigration and as the Senate begins a new round of deliberations on the issue, Third Way today helped unleash what is shaping up to be a new line of attack on Bush—his record on enforcement of immigration laws. In A Heck of a Job on Immigration Enforcement, Third Way found a huge drop in enforcement rates under Bush.
Upon examining the Third Way report, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said: “We need a balanced immigration policy, but when the White House can’t even perform the rudiments of enforcement well, it reduces both the credibility of the President’s speech tonight and, more importantly, his ability to accomplish this serious goal politically.”
Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM), Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, said: “It is the federal government’s job to secure our borders, but under the Bush administration the issue of illegal immigration has only gotten worse. America needs a national immigration policy that is tough, fair, and practical. That policy should start with the federal government living up to its responsibility of securing our borders. It must then be followed by a practical strategy for dealing with the 11 million illegal immigrants who are already here by providing a fair path to citizenship. I urge our elected leaders in Washington to take action.”
A Heck of Job makes a number of findings about immigration enforcement:
- Few Apprehensions: Despite a doubling of border agents over 10 years and massive illegal crossings, apprehensions of illegal immigrants have dropped under Bush by 30%.
- Few Criminal Convictions: The Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) Office of Investigations opened more than 58,000 investigations in FY 2004 (into crimes like human smuggling, illegal employment, etc.) and won only 4,007 convictions.
- Almost No Enforcement in the Nation’s Interior: The number of deportable aliens located in states other than TX, NM, AZ and CA declined by 36% under Bush, reaching an all-time low of 21,113 in FY 2004.
- Employer Sanctions Rarely Enforced: Audits of employers suspected of using illegal immigrants have dropped from 8,000 under Clinton to less than 2,200 in FY 2003, and only 46 employers were convicted of illegal immigrant employment in FY 2004.
Report co-author Jim Kessler, Vice President for Policy at Third Way, noted that “under the Bush DHS enforcement rate, it would take 228 years to apprehend all of the illegal immigrants currently residing in the non-border states.”
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Contact: Matt Bennett (202) 775-3768 x212