Updates

DHS Secretary Chertoff Notes Progress on Border During Visit to Yuma, Arizona

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff visited U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol construction sites in the Yuma Sector on February 20. A delegation of lawmakers accompanied the Secretary on a tour of the southwest border to assess progress on border measures initiated by the President in response to increasing national concern about illegal immigration.

Chertoff stopped short of declaring victory, but said that significant progress is being made in stemming the flow of illegal crossers in this area. The group looked at primary and secondary walls being constructed near San Luis, Ariz. that replaced a small barbed-wire fence. Increased Border Patrol presence, including aerial and vehicle patrols, physical barriers, sensors and the assistance of the National Guard through Operation Jump Start has reduced the flow of of illegal crossers. CBP Border Patrol spokesperson Chris Van Wagonen indicated that apprehensions, which are one measure of border control, were down by 65 percent locally.

As a result of the success of these border measures, Chertoff announced that increases in Border Patrol agents annually sent to the Arizona border during summer months as part of the Arizona Border Control Initiative will not be necessary in 2008.