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Chertoff says US wants to "gain control" of borders

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 November 2005, 19:07 CST

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?"

Source: REUTERS

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