There are two good pieces of news on border security. One is a policy shift and the second is the Border Patrol data.

First the policy change. One of the things John Kelly has going for him in immigration enforcement is that ICE is happy to arrest and deport illegals, but they have had their hand stayed for quite a while. While Obama actively encouraged illegals, no one can call George Bush a hardliner on enforcing immigration law. Most ICE management, the rank and file ICE agents and Border Patrol agents, and the relevant unions are in favor of what Kelly is doing. Many of the policy shifts have happened under the radar and are only now being revealed.

The head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit in charge of deportations has directed his officers to take action against all undocumented immigrants they may cross paths with, regardless of criminal histories. The guidance appears to go beyond the Trump administration’s publicly stated aims, and some advocates say may explain a marked increase in immigration arrests.

In a February memo, Matthew Albence, a career official who heads the Enforcement and Removal Operations division of ICE, informed his 5,700 deportation officers that, “effective immediately, ERO officers will take enforcement action against all removable aliens encountered in the course of their duties.”

The Trump administration, including Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, has been clear in promising to ramp up immigration enforcement, but has so far emphasized that its priority was deporting immigrants who posed a public safety threat. Indeed, Kelly, to whom Albence ultimately reports, had seemed to suggest a degree of discretion when he told the agencies under his command earlier this year that immigration officers “may” initiate enforcement actions against any undocumented person they encountered. That guidance was issued just a day before Albence sent the memo to his staff.

A spokesman with ICE said Albence’s directive did not represent a break with Kelly’s stated aims, and was consistent with current agency policies.

“The memo directly supports the directions handed down in the executive orders and mirrors the language ICE consistently uses to describe its enforcement posture,” the spokeswoman, Sarah Rodriguez, said in a statement. “As Secretary Kelly and Acting Director [of ICE] Homan have stated repeatedly, ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of national security and public safety threats; however, no class or category of alien in the United States is exempt from arrest or removal.”
When you marry this with the end of the “catch and release” program you have a much more robust enforcement regime. ICE agents don’t have to have an underlying criminal offense to detain an illegal and process them for deportation.

Between February and May, the Trump administration arrested, on average, 108 undocumented immigrants a day with no criminal record, an uptick of some 150 percent from the same time period a year ago.
I’ve posted a couple of times on the steps the administration is taking to deter Central Americans, in particular, from attempting to enter the US illegally. This has resulted in a precipitous drop in arrests at the border which serves as a proxy for how many illegals are making an attempt at crossing the border.

Good, wee need them out.

Actually enforcing the law has been shown to reduce the incidents of violation of the law. When enforcement is lax, people understand being caught is a lottery and will take their chances. As the likelihood of getting caught approaches a certainty most people decide it isn't worth the risk of trying. That is just as true whether it is traffic violations or immigration violations.

It's still 53% too many.

I agree that if you commit a crime you are out. Even if you have to come back and commit crimes again. Do you think you can commit a crime in another country (especially in a shit hole) and think they will let you stay? No you go into a hell hole of a jail or pray our government intervenes on a larger scale. Some people cannot assimilate. Deal with the reality- people do not change unless they are unusually insightful and aware. Nothing personal. Citizens should not be punished for wanting to defend their way of life. Most that cry fowl are those that live sheltered lives.

Fast track the criminal deportations