Immigration enforcement agency seeks funding, staff boost

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency last week announced a series of changes aimed at enhancing its capabilities to find and oust illegal immigrants from the United States. However, the announcement was sparse on details about how many staff members and how much funding would be necessary.

ICE's announcement came on the heels of nearly 1,500 arrests nationwide of illegal immigrants and employers who allegedly tried to deceive government officials.

Citing expanding investigations, growing numbers of illegal aliens and a perceived lack of legislative support for some initiatives, ICE said on Monday it would need a budget increase of $176.7 million in fiscal 2007, in part to add more than 200 full-time staffers. But the agency's announcement did not specify the staffing levels and funding requirements necessary for the specific enforcement initiatives, and the agency was unable to provide further details Monday.

For example, ICE said its Vermont-based Law Enforcement Support Center, which provides 24-7 technology support to investigators coast to coast, would see its "capacities" expanded. But the statement did not say how much money, or how many people, would be required for the expansion. The center processed 1.3 million requests in the last two fiscal years, ICE said.

"Given that employers have no legal obligation to thoroughly investigate whether documents presented to them by new employees are valid or not, they often have a de facto defense," said ICE spokeswoman Ernestine Fobbs, explaining why the agency is forced to take up the slack in immigration investigations. Homeland Security Department officials are backing the need for tighter enforcement, even as a charged political climate surrounds immigration reform proposals under consideration in Washington.

"Reversing growing tolerance for the employment of illegal aliens and for illegal immigration in general is critical to achieving success in this task," said ICE Assistant Secretary Julie Myers.

ICE will broaden the scope of its use of state and local correctional facilities to identify and deport illegal aliens, last week's announcement said. While a handful of agreements are already in place, the agency said "numerous" additional agreements with local and state correctional institutions are pending.

The agency's move to round up illegal immigrants is nothing new, although the effort is becoming more aggressive with requests for cooperation from state and local officials.

The agency also announced plans to expand its National Fugitive Operations Program teams by more than 50 percent. ICE credited its existing teams for arresting more than 40,000 illegal immigrants in just over three years. However, it noted, the number of "at large" aliens grows by more than 40,000 each year.

Aditionally, ICE called upon lawmakers to draft a bill to address Social Security abuse by illegal aliens.