Obama's REAL Immigration Record on the Border

Because the Fox noise machine is saying Obama is not securing the border much louder than what the reality is and 64% of  Likely U.S. Voters say the border is not secure, I feel it's important to set the record straight on what Obama has really done about the border. The other reason is because I keep on getting into forum fights with people insisting that a North American Union is coming. What I'm about to discuss would simply cancel out the claim that Obama is trying to create a borderless North American Community. First I have to make one thing clear. Should it be a priority to secure the border? Yes, with the threat of a nuke getting into California and drug trafficking should be a priority to secure the border. In fact that's EXACTLY what Obama has done. I'm not sure what most Americans perception of "secure" is.

Obama Has Increased Man Power on Border

Research Courtesy of Media Matters For America

PolitiFact: "[Border Patrol] Manpower Has Roughly Doubled Since 2004, As Obama Said In His Speech At El Paso." PolitiFact rated as "true" Obama's statement that "[t]he Border Patrol has 20,000 agents -- more than twice as many as there were in 2004." [PolitiFact, 5/10/11]

Obama Signed $600 Million Border Security Bill For More Border Patrol Agents And Customs Inspectors. On August 13, 2010, Obama signed a $600 million border security bill to "fund some 1,500 new border patrol agents, customs inspectors and other law enforcement officials along the border, as well as two more unmanned aerial 'drones' to monitor border activities." [Reuters, 8/13/10]

Seizures Of Drugs, Weapons Along Border Have Increased. According to data reported by USA Today, "[w]eapons seizures rose 28% and illicit-currency seizures were up 35% in fiscal 2009 and 2010." [USA Today, 2/9/11]

Deportations Have Increased Under Obama. According to data from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), nearly 100,000 more people were deported by ICE in both 2009 and 2010 than in 2007. [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, accessed 2/14/11]

Deportations Of Convicted Criminals Are At Their Highest Levels. According to AZ Fact Check -- a project of The Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 12 News, and Arizona State University -- "ICE has removal numbers immediately available for only the past 10 fiscal years, and according to those figures, the most convicted criminals were indeed removed in fiscal 2010." [AZ Fact Check, 2/9/11]

Illegal Immigration Fell In FY 2010 Due To "Economic Distress" And "Changes In The Level Of Immigration Enforcement." In a study on the national and state trends of the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States, Pew Hispanic Center found that "economic distress" and "changes in the level of immigration enforcement" led to a decrease in the number of undocumented immigrants crossing into the United States. From [Pew Hispanic Center, 2/1/11]

Now is it too much to ask why are we having this conversation about Obama not doing anything about securing the border? Could the border be more secure? Sure, but to say that it's not better than it was the last 8 years is simply ludicrous and at odds with reality.