AZMEX POLICY2 13-2-13

AZMEX POLICY 2 13 FEB 2013

Note: most of us in these parts have not moved any goal post. Us
locals have pushed for years for clear guidelines and definitions,
guess Terry missed that. Who will the "community leaders" be? A key
point.


Ex-AG calls for specifics on securing the border
GODDARD SAYS US LEADERS KEEP 'MOVING THE GOAL'
9 hours ago • Perla Trevizo Arizona Daily Star
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/ex-ag-calls-for-specifics-on-
securing-the-border/article_36e69fa5-3101-5cce-826b-ec3b6daa4889.html

Lawmakers need to move from generalizations to specifics in defining
what a secured border must look like, Arizona's former attorney
general said.

"It's desperately necessary to create some very clear guidelines that
are achievable instead of constantly moving the goal post," Terry
Goddard said in a telephone briefing from the Immigration Policy
Center, the research and policy center for the American Immigration
Council in Washington, D.C.

One of the recurring themes around immigration reform is border
security.

Legislation proposed last month by a group of eight U.S. senators,
including Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona, would provide
a path to legal status to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants
already here "contingent upon success in securing our borders and
addressing visa overstays."

As part of that plan, the lawmakers' proposal said the Border Patrol
will be provided with the "latest technology, infrastructure and
personnel to prevent and apprehend every unauthorized entrant."

Also, a commission comprised of governors, attorneys general and
community leaders living along the Southwest border would be created
to monitor the progress of securing the border.

Goddard said Tuesday that he is concerned with that part of the
framework.
"It's impossible to satisfy on this issue the governor from Arizona,"
said Goddard, a Democrat who ran against Jan Brewer for governor in
2010. "Getting Governor Brewer online is going to be extremely
difficult, especially if there's no definition of what a secured
border means."

A binational commission that includes partners from Mexico would
bring credibility to the process, said David Shirk, director of the
Trans-Border Institute in the University of San Diego, who also
participated in the briefing.
"We've conceptualized it always as a unilateral problem and only
design unilateral solutions," he said.

Any conversation about border security should go beyond the number of
Border Patrol agents and people apprehended, the panelists said.

Recent proposals have all included funding and manpower benchmarks
that have been met, even when the bills didn't become law, said Su
Kim, an advocate associate with the American Immigration Lawyers
Association.

From fiscal years 2005 to 2012, the budget of Customs and Border
Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, increased from $6.3
billion to $11.7 billion, according the Migration Policy Institute.

And CBP staffing grew about 50 percent from 41,001 to 61,354 - the
biggest share going to the Border Patrol in the Southwest.

Addressing the roots of the problem of illegal immigration is
essential, the experts said.

Shirk advocates for making existing visa programs more effective.
"We need to create efficient legal means for ordinary workers," he said.