A report released by retiring Sen. Tom Colburn, R-Okla., found that fewer than 3 percent of illegal aliens were likely to face deportation in fiscal year 2014, and that over 700 miles of the southwestern border are unsecure. The oversight report prepared by Sen. Colburn’s Homeland Security Committee staff also said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hides important information from Congress and the public and wastes time on non-critical matters.
The report said the border was not secure because there is “little to no deployment density or aviation surveillance coverage” to find illegal aliens, smugglers or others, “With these broad gaps in coverage of both our Southern and Northern borders, the problem of people and goods illegally entering our country remains a significant concern, and a committed adversary seeking illegal entry into the United States has a reasonable chance of doing so undetected,” it said. The report also said DHS is not effectively administering or enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.
Concerning DHS’ national security mission the report cited student visa programs as the loophole used by about three dozen convicted terrorists to gain entry into the U.S. Rather than spend time fixing that program, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has spent time cracking down on the importation of women’s lingerie with a fraudulent National Football League logo.
The report recommends the Department secure the border by improving use of existing resources. It also suggests recommitting to enforce the rule of law and deter illegal immigration.
According to The Washington Times Marsha Catron, a DHS spokeswoman, said the report ignores the work her agency has done in the last year. Catron said the border “is safer and more secure than at any time in our nation’s history.” She also cited President Obama’s executive amnesty as a means to get illegal immigration under control. It would have up to 5 million illegal aliens apply for a three-year stay of deportation and work permits.
Read more in The Washington Times or the report summary.
