Border security works, Bush says

YUMA, Ariz. — President Bush said Monday that tougher enforcement and a new fence at the Mexican border had sharply reduced the influx of illegal immigrants, and he pressed Congress to pass a sweeping revision of the nation's immigration laws.

"It's amazing progress that's been made," Bush said on a return visit to a section of the border that he inspected 11 months ago.

In the last six months, the White House said, Border Patrol reports showed that apprehensions of illegal immigrants along the Mexican border fell by 30 percent, to 418,184, from 594,142 in the comparable period a year earlier. In the Yuma sector, which spans parts of Arizona and California, apprehensions fell by 68 percent to 25,217, from 79,131 in the comparable period a year earlier.

There are now 13,000 Border Patrol agents, up from 9,000 a year earlier. The number will reach 18,000 by the end of next year, Bush said.

The White House interprets the decline in apprehensions as a sign that the tighter security is working.

"When you're apprehending fewer people, it means fewer are trying to come across," Bush said. "And fewer are trying to come across because we're deterring people from attempting illegal border crossings in the first place."

While Border Patrol commanders have expressed cautious optimism that a corner is being turned, immigration experts note that apprehension figures swing erratically over the years. The numbers can be driven by a variety of factors aside from enforcement, including weather, Latin American economics and decisions by illegal immigrants to make fewer trips back and forth between the United States and Mexico.

At the dedication of a new Border Patrol station here, Bush said he hoped to strike a deal with Congress on immigration this year. Along with border control, he said, the essential elements of any bill are a temporary-worker program, a crackdown on employers of illegal immigrants and a procedure that would allow some illegal immigrants to legalize their status.

The politics of immigration have shifted noticeably since the Senate passed a bipartisan bill by a vote of 62-36 last May. When Democrats took control of Congress three months ago, many people predicted that it would be easier to pass a comprehensive bill with the major ingredients sought by Bush.

But the outlook is now uncertain. Republicans and some moderate Democrats in Congress say they could not vote for any measure granting legal status to illegal immigrants.