The United States Senate is scheduled to vote within the next few weeks on the increases in funding for U.S. border security for 2010.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on June 24 to approve the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of the 2010 fiscal year. This act will increase the number of U.S. Border Patrol agents from around 18,000 to more than 20,000. The act will also add fencing and electronic surveillance at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Congressman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., voted for the act and said in a press release that a secure border directly benefits Tennessee.
"The border situation directly affects Tennessee communities - our state has a major drug problem, especially with meth, and much of it comes from Mexico," Gordon said on his Web site. "More needs to be done to secure our border."
Gordon said the extra funding included in this bill will increase the number of border agents and support initiatives that have proven to be effective in reducing drug trafficking. Rutherford County has a Hispanic population of around 5.2 percent, the 2007 census information said. The average for Tennessee is 3.5 percent.
Ira Mehlman, media director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), said stopping illegal immigration does not end at the border.
"The current administration is eliminating interior enforcement," Mehlman said.
Mehlman said the George W. Bush administration finally took steps toward immigration enforcement in the last few years. The result of Bush's administration was the E-Verify program, which was a "very effective" program for employers to find out if employees could legally work in the U.S.
Barry Kidd is an MTSU student and police officer with the Nashville Metro Police Department. Part of Kidd's job is translating for detainees of job site raids. Kidd said it is hard to tell illegal aliens that they are being deported.
"It's really sad when they come here to earn money for their families," Kidd said. "It's hard to tell them they have to leave."
Mehlman said he believes the best way to see real change is give illegal immigrants a reason to leave on their own.
"President [Barack] Obama has chosen to postpone implementing the E-Verify program… the Senate is keeping it on life support, but not implementing it," Mehlman said. "The administration is effectively curtailing work site enforcement."
Mehlman said the key to slowing illegal immigration in the future is to eliminate reasons for people to come here. More focus on employers not hiring illegal labor will slow the flow of illegal workers and allow the border patrol to focus on real threats such as terrorists and drugs, he said.
"There is no reason not to deport people once they are caught here," Mehlman said. "President [Barack] Obama has chosen to postpone implementing the E-Verify program… the Senate is keeping it on life support, but not implementing it," Mehlman said. "The administration is effectively curtailing worksite enforcement."
Mehlman said the key to slowing illegal immigration in the future is to eliminate reasons for people to come here. More focus on employers not hiring illegal labor will slow the flow of illegal workers and allow the border patrol to focus on real threats such as terrorists and drugs, he said.
"There is no reason not to deport people once they are caught here," Mehlman said.
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