Immigration

Increasing the security of the borders in The United States became top priority following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2002, 22 federal agencies were united to form The Department of Homeland Security to oversee the security of the country within and outside its borders.

US Custom Border Protection (CBP) is an agency/department of The Department of Homeland Security that perform inspections in border and ports of entry. CBP officers and agents welcome all legitimate travelers and trade while preventing the entry of terrorists and their weapons. CBP law enforcement professionals enforce U.S. law, stopping narcotics, agricultural pests and smuggled goods from entering the country. They also identify and arrest travelers with outstanding criminal warrants.[1: http://www.dhs.gov/]

The number of U.S. Border Patrol agents has risen from fewer than 3,000 to more than 20,700; nearly 700 miles of fencing have been built along the southern border with Mexico; and surveillance systems, including pilotless drones, now monitor much of the rest of the border.

Official photographic portrait of US President Bar...

Border Patrol Agents watch for illegal entry from ...

English: Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol

In a speech in El Paso, Texas, in May, U.S. President Barack Obama claimed that the United States had "strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible." Yet according to spring 2011 Rasmussen poll, nearly two-thirds of Americans think the border is no more, or even less, secure than it was five years ago. Some administration critics claim that the United States' frontiers have never been more porous. [2: Are U.S. Borders Secure? (2011, June 16). Foreign Affairs. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67901/edward-alden-and-bryan-roberts/are-us-borders-secure]

The border of about 2,000 miles between the United States and Mexico has become a symbol of the hot-button political issues between the two countries, especially illegal immigration to the United States, trade, drug and gun trafficking across the border. In 2006 the Government approved the construction of a...