Tightened security, stepped-up enforcement and a weakening U.S. economy contributed to a 17 percent drop in arrests borderwide.
In the Yuma Sector, where extra fencing and agents have been added, the Border Patrol arrested 5,909 people from October through March, compared with 24,721 in the year-ago period and 77,316 in that time two years before.
So, let's review. Building a fence, tightening border security, and fewer jobs equals...less illegal immigration??? Go figure. Who would ever have thought that? Oh, wait, millions of Americans who are sick of Congress being stupid and pandering, that's who. This is just another proof that these measures WORK.
Next up, we have Michelle Malkin interpreting an L.A. Times story about the overall immigration situation in Arizona. The short version is that Arizona's stepped-up measures are having a tremendous effect in reducing illegal immigration (naturally, the Times thinks that's terrible for America). An excerpt:
No one knows how many immigrants have left the state, and the most recent government figures show Arizona growing robustly — as of July, Maricopa was the fastest-growing county in the nation.
But enough immigrants have left that the government of Sonora, the Mexican state bordering Arizona, has complained about how many people have arrived on its doorstep.
Not only does this drive my point home, but it's also pretty funny, too! So what we have here is that more robust immigration policies have caused illegal immigrants to leave America voluntarily, and in such great numbers that the next-door Mexican neighbor is complaining about the influx. Does it get any better than that? I've blogged more than once about how great it would be if some politician would just stand up and suggest we adopt Mexico's immigration policy. The open borders crowd would throw a major hissy fit, but wouldn't it be fun to watch them try to explain why it's okay for Mexico and not okay for us?
Malkin points out that because all three presidential candidates are open-borders proponents, we are very likely to see more state measures like this.
Speaking of which, Missouri is in that process now. A measure breezed through the state Senate last week, and is now on its way to the House. Included are provisions that incent employers to use the E-Verify program to check residency status, deny public benefits (welfare, food stamps or college scholarships) to illegal aliens, bar illegal aliens from attending public universities and junior colleges, and require law enforcement to verify residency status for anyone who gets arrested. Hurdles remain, but it's good to see this measure progressing rapidly. We have the examples of Arizona and Oklahoma to show that these kinds of laws are effective and that state efforts can plug the gaping holes left by the federal government. This is also another example of what can happen when the state vs. federal system works correctly. When the federal government falls flat on its face, states can take up their own fate and comply with their citizens' wishes.
And, rest assured, it is the citizens' wishes that drives any real immigration reform. For another example of what can happen when citizens get involved, we now see that Absolut has pulled their 'Reconquista' advertising campaign that showed Mexico re-possessing a huge chunk of America. When Malkin blew the story wide open, thousands of Americans wrote the company and expressed their anger (including more than a few threats of boycotting the brand), and the company realized the huge hole that it had stepped into.
So, if you feel like this whole immigration thing is a big deal but are afraid to say it out loud, don't be. The great majority of America agrees with you. Step up, get involved, and keep your elected leaders accountable, both on the federal and state levels. The American people -- including you -- are the primary driver of actual immigration reform.
There's my two cents.
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