With all the concern about immigration coming from the Republicans in the last few months, you'd think this was a core issue for them. If you look at things though, you'll find that they have stopped enforcing the laws against illegal immigration. Without enforcement, what difference does more border patrols make?

Lou Dobbs has the data over on CNN:

. . . The federal government is also undermining the rule of law in this country when it comes to enforcement of our immigration laws and securing borders and ports.

The Bush administration in its first four years was responsible for 318 fines against employers who hired illegal workers, an average of fewer than 80 each year. That's down from 5,587 fines against illegal employers during the eight years of the Clinton administration, according to the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, an average of 698 each year. And the problem is getting worse; in 2004 only three employers received fines for illegal hiring. [Boldface is mine].

Work site arrests have fallen even more drastically under this president. From 1995 to 1998, there were between 10,000 and 18,000 work site arrests of illegal aliens each year. But during the Bush administration, work site arrests fell to just 159 in 2004.

Apprehensions along the border averaged 1.05 million from fiscal year 2001 to 2004, according to the independent, progressive group Third Way, down from 1.52 million from 1996 to 2000. Border apprehensions have plummeted more than 30 percent, despite a doubling in the number of Border Patrol agents over the past decade and the rising number of attempted crossings.

Back to my comments: If Bush has been ignoring enforcement of immigration laws throughout his administration, how can they claim they want to make it an issue now. Not only is it a smokescreen for the horrible Iraq conflict, (notice I don't call it a war, because wars are between two countries), it is a lie on their actual intentions and their real concerns.

Excuse me while I go throw up.