The liberal democrats said the border was secure. The conservative Republicans said it was not secure, and until it was really secure, there would be no immigration bill. Now comes the proof Republicans sought. And they can say “I told you so.”
Despite protests from the White House, the actual number of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border is on the rise once again after a brief respite during the height of the recession. The number of illegal crossings are now gaining momentum, it was reported Monday.
For those in Washington demanding a secure border before other immigration matters are discussed, the news was a stunning setback.
Illegal Population Rising Inexorably
The number of illegal immigrants living in the United States is astonishing and a reminder of the porous border. It was estimated in 2009 that 11.3 million illegals, the majority from Mexico, resided in the U.S. In 2012, the number is estimated to be 11.7 million, an all-time high according to a report released Monday by the Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project.
The “decline” decline in illegal immigration from 2007-2009 has clearly bottomed out, with signs the numbers are now rising, Pew said.
Texas has never seen a decline and leads the list of illegals crossing the border. Only California, Illinois and New York ever saw a real decline Pew said, much to the opposite espoused by liberal Democrats and most of the mainstream press.
Jeffrey Passel, a senior demographer at Pew said, “As a whole, with the recession ending, the decrease in illegal immigration has stopped.”
Another reason for the increase was noted by Douglas Massey, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University who is co-director of the Mexican Migration Project. He said, “Labor demand in the U.S. is still slack and wages are eroding, whereas there are jobs in Mexico and wages are slowly rising as labor force growth there decelerates. The pressures for mass migration are diminishing for now, but who knows what kind of disasters lie ahead?”
52% Of Illegals Are Mexican
Mexicans now make up 52 percent of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, down from 57 percent in 2007. The level of illegal immigration from countries other than Mexico rose to a record 5.65 million, higher than the 5 million in 2009 and apparently surpassing the 2007 peak of 5.25 million.
The migration path is changing rapidly from Arizona, a state that has been proactive in stopping the surge, to southern Texas, one state with a strong economy. U.S. Agents from the Border Patrol in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley have apprehended nearly 150,000 so far this fiscal year, a 58 percent increase over 2012.
With these new statistics, it’s highly doubtful the GOP-dominated House will pass legislation that could form the basis for a final deal with the Democratic-controlled Senate before the 2014 midterm elections.
