Federal Immigration Policy: Enforcement Issues,
Barbara Margerum

Legislation since the late 1970s has increasingly focused on border control of illegal immigration and the control of illegal drugs coming into the US. Terrorist acts in the US in the 1990s reenforced this trend.

The 1986 legislation called, IRCA (Immigration Reform and Control Act), sanctioned businesses for hiring illegal immigrants. Employers, however, find it difficult to know whether identification documents presented by workers are authentic.

Employers can use a governmental online data base called “Basic Pilot” to verify documents. But this and other verification processes have proven cumbersome and basically ineffective. Falsified documents seem to be easy to obtain.

DHS (Department of Homeland Security) took over the work of the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) in 2003.

Newest legislation passed in 2006: Secure Fence Act authorizing the building of 700 miles of fence between the US and Mexico.

Several examples of enforcement efforts are given.

Conclusion: Despite a 500% increase in the Border Patrol’s budget over the last 20 years, there has been little success in the control of the illegal entry of goods and people. It is clear only that illegal entry is more difficult.

Current border control programs that attempt to deal simultaneously with protection against terrorists, apprehension of criminals, and the illegal entry of people and goods using a single approach may not be effective or efficient.