Chertoff says US wants to “gain control” of borders

By Mark Babineck

HOUSTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush’s domestic
security chief vowed on Wednesday to “gain control” of U.S.
borders, prompting ridicule from immigration control activists
who have taken the matter into their own hands.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the
administration aims to improve ways to keep illegal migrants
out and to deport those already in the United States.

“Simply stated, our goal is to gain control of our
borders,” Chertoff said in a speech organized by the Houston
Forum, a nonprofit educational group.

“I define control to mean that we will have an extremely
high probability of detecting, responding to and interdicting
illegal crossings of our borders.”

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a civilian group that
has angered immigrant rights advocates by conducting its own
border patrols, criticized the initiative as too late.

“Chertoff has finally admitted what the Minutemen have been
saying for a long time: the federal government is not in
control of our borders,” said the group’s president, Chris
Simcox.

“Incredibly, Chertoff is not proposing immediate action to
secure the borders from infiltration by terrorists bent on
committing mass murder of Americans by chemical, biological or
nuclear weapons.”

Simcox chided Chertoff and demanded deployment of National
Guard troops along the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

However, Chertoff drew applause when he outlined the
administration’s plan to sweep illegal immigrants out of the
country.

“President Bush said that it is his administration’s goal
to catch and remove every single illegal entrant caught at the
border, with no exceptions,” he said.

Increased funding would allow federal authorities to
increase beef up border security staff, improve technology and
establish coordination with state and local agencies, he said.

“If they know there is a high likelihood they will be
caught and returned, they will stop trying to cross,” Chertoff
said.

University of Houston Professor Nestor Rodriguez, who
researches immigration issues, said reversing the trend would
be difficult because the quality of life was far better in the
United States than in poorer nations.

“It’s the market play of differential rewards,” he said.
“Do you want to work for four dollars a day in Mexico or four
dollars an hour in the United States, or twice that much?”