Wall Street Journal
By Kristina Peterson, Laura Meckler, and Ana Campoy
July 21, 2014
Republicans
grappling with the surge of Central American migrants entering the
country this year have lined up behind a common goal: ratcheting up
security along the Southern
border.
Both
on and off Capitol Hill, Republicans have called for a more muscular
approach to border security in response to the recent influx of
migrants, returning to a top
priority during the broader debate about rewriting immigration laws. On
Monday, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said he would deploy as many as 1,000
state National Guard troops to try to deter criminal activity by Mexican
drug cartels and human smugglers in South Texas.
"I
won't stand idly by while our citizens are under assault and little
children from Central America are detained in squalor," said Mr. Perry
in announcing an action applauded
by Republican lawmakers.
Democrats
and some policy specialists say the GOP, in focusing on border
security, isn't directly addressing the current crisis. Most of the
unaccompanied children and
families entering the U.S. aren't trying to elude authorities, but are
quickly turning themselves in under the belief that they will be allowed
to stay in the country.
"Many
of us believe that the border is more secure today than it has ever
been," said Muzaffar Chishti, director of the New York office of the
Migration Policy Institute,
a nonpartisan think tank that employs scholars from both political
parties. "Enforcement is not the answer to everything."
The
number of Border Patrol agents has more than doubled in the past
decade, and apprehensions have fallen since the heyday of illegal
immigration more than a decade ago.
Even without new border-security measures from Congress, the current
flow of migrants from Central America appears to be decelerating.
Since
October, more than 57,000 unaccompanied minors have been apprehended
crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. But in recent weeks, the number
apprehended has fallen, according
to figures provided by the White House. During the week of June 22,
there were 1,985 crossers. That fell to 1,260 the following week and
then to 977 during the week of July 6. The figure hit 672 for the week
that ended Saturday.
Josh
Earnest, the White House press secretary, said the administration
believes the decline is due to its "efforts to work with Central
American leaders to publicize the
dangers of the journey and reinforce that apprehended migrants are
ultimately returned to their home countries,'' as well as seasonal
changes in border crossings.
House
Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) has for weeks called for the National
Guard to be deployed to the border. A group of GOP lawmakers, preparing
legislation in response
to President Barack Obama's call for emergency funding to deal with the
influx of unaccompanied minors, also are expected to recommend sending
in the National Guard to help free up Border Patrol agents who are
caring for and processing the migrant children.
"The
Border Patrol can't do the job they were on the border to do because
they're taking care of children," Rep. Kay Granger (R., Texas), head of
the GOP working group,
said in an interview.
Sheriff
Omar Lucio of Cameron County, which borders Mexico, said he doesn't see
the need for the National Guard deployment, adding that his agency and
others in the area
are doing a good job of keeping crime at bay.
"They're
trained in warfare," Mr. Lucio, a Democrat, said of the National Guard
troops. "I don't know what they're really going to be doing."
The
House GOP legislation also will recommend that the Border Patrol be
allowed to apprehend people on federal lands, Ms. Granger said.
Currently, environmental and other
restrictions sometimes limit Border Patrol access.
A
2010 Government Accountability Office report found that some Border
Patrol agents cited delays in accessing federal land for activities like
installing surveillance
equipment. Most said that access issues hadn't changed the overall
security status of the areas they patrol.
Senate
Democrats are likely to introduce legislation fully granting Mr.
Obama's request for $3.7 billion to deal with the border crisis. House
Republicans have said they
probably won't approve the full amount because their bill is expected
to make changes aimed at hastening the process of returning children to
their home countries. They are likely to include less than the $1.8
billion requested for the Department of Health
and Human Services, which is charged with sheltering the children while
sponsors in the U.S. are found for them.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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