State of Immigration

This past August, in the wake of Congress’ failure to pass comprehensive reform, the Administration launched a series of major initiatives that are designed to secure our homeland by building on the progress already made against illegal immigration.

Yesterday, I delivered the first of a series of updates on how we are doing on this critical matter.

In previous journal entries, I detailed our work along our Southern Border, from building pedestrian and vehicle fencing to deploying thousands of new Border Patrol agents, along with National Guard members.

As we’ve put more fencing and boots on the ground, we’ve witnessed a 20% decline in cross-border apprehensions from the previous year, indicating that fewer people are trying to come here illegally. Financial remittances to Mexico have also declined, and we’re seeing fewer people in traditional border staging areas.

I want to talk to you now about similar progress we’ve made in interior enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested over 3,500 gang members and their associates this past fiscal year. ICE also added 23 fugitive operations teams, and reduced its fugitive case backlog by more than 35,000 individuals.

ICE has also cracked down on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. In fiscal year 2007, ICE made 863 criminal arrests, 4,077 administrative arrests, and obtained more than $30 million in criminal fines, restitutions and civil judgments as a result of worksite enforcement efforts.

We’ve made remarkable progress through stepped-up enforcement, but an enforcement-only approach does not fully address the illegal immigration problem. That’s why we’re giving employers better tools to verify their workforce and comply with the law. More than 24,000 companies were enrolled in E-Verify (our web-based system that allows employers to check if a worker is authorized to work in this country) this past fiscal year, and today, that number is 30,000.

In addition to providing tools for employers, we must also acknowledge that many of our economic needs are met by foreign workers. We must have effective legal channels for employers to hire temporary workers when American workers are unavailable, especially in the agriculture industry. That’s why we’re working with the Department of Labor to strengthen and streamline the H-2A Agricultural Seasonal Worker Program.

Some critics suggest that the federal government lacks the will to enforce the law. The record shows that criticism is untrue. But what is true is that we’ve had to fight lawsuits and special interests every step of the way, because some business and advocacy groups favor a silent amnesty and the status quo over enforcing our laws. My commitment is that we will not back down.

Thanks for reading.

Michael Chertoff