Immigration - Facing Up To a Huge Problem...

I'd love to know the figures for Canada, but in the US, one million people facing immigration proceedings have been released into the general population.

He [Victor X. Cerda, the acting director of detention and removal operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] said of those people, 465,000 are fugitive aliens who have been ordered deported. About 80,000 of those are criminal aliens who have committed an offense in addition to immigration violations, but he couldn't provide an exact number.

His comments came as an immigration debate in the Senate blocked most progress on the emergency war-spending bill. Pending amendments include cracking down on illegal immigrants' use of driver's licenses, increasing visas for seasonal nonimmigrant workers and legalizing up to 1 million illegal aliens who work in agriculture and their families.

Yesterday's hearing, before two subcommittees of the Judiciary Committee, is supposed to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive immigration bill, said Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and chairman of the immigration subcommittee, which held the hearing along with Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, chairman of the terrorism subcommittee.

"No serious discussion of comprehensive immigration reform is possible without a review of our nation's ability to effectively secure its borders and enforce its immigration laws," Mr. Cornyn said.

I am sure this is a huge problem in Canada, but one that the conservatives just won't touch.