Bush seeks 19% boost in border spending

The Bush administration wants to spend 19% more on border security and immigration enforcement in the next federal budget year, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday.

In his annual budget request on Monday, President Bush will ask Congress to allocate $12.1 billion to construct more border fencing, hire more Border Patrol agents and expand the teams that conduct raids on businesses using illegal immigrants.

Conservatives and the president’s fellow Republicans have consistently attacked the administration for its record on border security. And lawmakers from both parties have criticized the Homeland Security Department’s management of the fence construction project. Chertoff pointed out Thursday that the request for the 2009 fiscal year marks an increase of more than 150% on border security and immigration enforcement spending since Bush took office.

“We will be continuing to build on the progress that we have made with respect to securing the border and enforcing the interior,” Chertoff said.

He said that in each of the last five quarters there has been a decrease in the flow of illegal immigrants across the border with Mexico. He cited as evidence a drop in the number of illegal immigrants apprehended and anecdotal reports of declining criminal activity.

Chertoff would not discuss the full budget request for the Department of Homeland Security, which has 208,000 employees, for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

“I am encouraged to see that the administration has prioritized border security,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. “But the challenge is too great to be addressed by just adding more resources. Proper program management and accountability are needed to translate bold plans into real solutions.”

Atty. Gen. Michael B. Mukasey also announced Thursday that the Justice Department budget request would include $100 million to bolster the fight against illegal immigration and drug and weapons smuggling in the Southwest. The money would be used to hire about 50 federal prosecutors and to reinforce operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service and immigration courts, among other areas.

“Support for the full range of law enforcement operations along our southwest border is absolutely critical,” Mukasey said in a statement.

The Homeland Security budget request would allocate $775 million toward border fencing, bringing the total committed to the fence to $2 billion. Chertoff said his agency has built about 107 miles of pedestrian fencing and 130 miles of vehicle barriers. He expects to have 670 miles of fencing, in total, up by the end of this year.

The border fence project, known as SBInet, is a combination of security infrastructure, surveillance technology and communications. Border residents have resisted it, and lawmakers have questioned some aspects of it.

On Thursday, a group of senators sent Chertoff a letter expressing concern that the project is not being managed properly and is overly reliant on contractors.

“Securing our borders is an important Homeland Security priority; however, wise use of taxpayer dollars requires that the SBInet project have clearly defined goals,” said the letter signed by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio).

Bush will also request $442 million to hire additional border agents, with the aim of having 20,000 agents by September 2009.

The budget request will include $3 billion for internal enforcement, including work-site raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Bush will ask for $1.8 billion more to expand ICE’s capacity to detain illegal immigrants by providing 1,000 more detention beds.

An additional $100 million would expand an electronic verification program formerly known as Basic Pilot and now christened E-Verify that is used by employers to determine whether workers are legal.

Chertoff acknowledged that there continues to be resistance along the southern border to the fencing, particularly in Texas, where his agency has had to turn to the courts to get access to land.

“We’ve gotten cooperation from a lot of people. Where we haven’t, we’ve sought and been successful in obtaining court orders to allow us to enter and survey,” Chertoff said.

He said that he was aware of local concerns and was trying to accommodate them but that the agency had to respond to broad demand for better border security.

“We cannot have an endless process,” Chertoff said. “We have made a commitment to the American people to build 670 miles [of fencing], and if there’s one thing we establish . . . it’s that when we make a commitment on border security, we will keep the commitment, absent an act of God.”

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nicole.gaouette@latimes.com