Report: Holes aplenty along U.S.-Canada border, security inadequate

Candice Miller blasts White House, sets hearing to study improvements

A federal government report released this week warns that protection of the 4,000-mile border between the United States and Canada is riddled with holes and the lack of security presents a greater terrorism threat than the porous U.S.-Mexico border.

The General Accountability Office studied four sections of the border, including the Detroit area, and concluded that in 2010 only 32 miles of the overall northern border — or less than 1 percent — “had reached an acceptable level of security.” That level means that all illegal border crossings were detected and an arrest was made.

In addition, the GAO found that the Border Patrol was aware of all illegal crossings on just 25 percent of the border...

[Full Article]

Number of illegal immigrants in U.S. steady at 11.2 million

WASHINGTON: After a dropoff during the recession, illegal immigrants seeking to sneak across the U.S. border may be ready to move again.

A new study released Tuesday finds the number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. last year was roughly 11.2 million, a number virtually unchanged from 2009. In that year, the level of illegal immigration declined for the first time in two decades, dropping 8 percent from 2007, as a sour economy and stepped-up border enforcement made it harder or less desirable for undocumented workers to enter from Mexico...

[Full Article]