Why is border control important

Limiting legal migration from Mexico — while failing to establish a large-scale temporary worker program — changed a circular, mostly temporary, migration pattern into a flow that was north-bound and relatively more permanent. The unauthorized resident population from Mexico increased sharply after because the United States made it harder for migrants to circulate legally. Previous estimates also raise the possibility that overstays from Mexico increase as border enforcement increases.

In annual estimates derived by the INS from to , Mexico was by far the leading country for overstays. From to , total overstays in the United States were estimated to be about , per year.

Of those, about 48, per year, or 18 percent, were from Mexico. Although no similar estimates have been made since , the continuing buildup of border enforcement over the past two decades might have increased the annual number of overstays from Mexico.

Additional increases in border enforcement are likely to yield diminishing returns at an increasing cost. The discussion of border control raises the possibility that the additional border enforcement resources included in S.

Any marginal additional gains in reducing illegal entries between the ports of entry could well be offset by increases in overstays as well as other methods of illegal entry, such as stowaways and entry with false documents. Figure 2 shows trends in total overstays from to Moreover, despite the assumptions in the recent CBO report, overstays in the new temporary worker programs in S.

INS estimates for to show that slightly over 2 percent of total non-immigrants overstayed each year; for Mexico, the rate was 5 percent. If rates have remained relatively constant, the annual number of overstays of , new temporary workers each year would be in the 5, to 10, range.

A dramatic spike in drugs at the southern border, rising numbers of gang members, criminals and known or suspected terrorists, as well as a rise in vulnerable populations, have all brought different threats and issues into our country. Not only is national public security and safety threatened, but also so is our defense against the dangerous drugs that continue to help fuel our country's opioid crisis.

I have always said our nation is a nation of compassion; however, we are also a nation of laws. Meaningful and complete immigration reform is impossible without a solution to our border security crisis. I hope we can all agree that Americans deserve better than our nation's current broken immigration system.

Simply put, this must become a priority, for the sake of us all. As government funding has been so closely tied to this issue over the past few months, I would like to reiterate that keeping the government open is a good thing. However, my friends on the Democratic side of the aisle continue to ignore their responsibility to secure our borders and keep the American people safe.

It is no secret that their hatred for our president now drives the policy-making decisions of those on the left, no matter how beneficial the policies are for families across the country. I support the president's usage of a national emergency to take the responsible actions to secure our border, which must remain the top priority.

I believe the first step toward a solution is securing our border and fulfilling our duty to all Americans to provide a physically safe and economically prosperous country. Effective border security will help keep out criminal activity, terrorists, contraband, drugs and other public safety threats. The President's Budget provides resources to purchase technologically advanced equipment that will assist in inspecting shipments so that time consuming and labor-intensive searches can be minimized.

These resources will enhance key INS missions related to homeland security, including border patrol, inspections, and the implementation of a technologically advanced system for monitoring the entry and exit of foreign visitors.

Key goals include: Additional Personnel. The INS will more than double the number of border patrol agents and inspectors on the northern border. INS will also install integrated information systems to ensure that timely, accurate and complete enforcement data is transmitted to INS agents and other border security agencies operating in the field. Entry-Exit Tracking System. The INS will implement a new entry-exit system to track the arrival and departure of non-U.

This new system will dramatically improve our ability to deny access to those individuals who should not enter the United States, while speeding the entry of routine, legitimate traffic.