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Options for Estimating Illegal Entries at the U.S.-Mexico Border (2013) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
Pages 9-14

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From page 9...
... This decline has coincided with stepped-up immigration enforcement efforts by DHS. The number of USBP agents nearly doubled in that period, from approximately 10,000 in 2004 to more than 20,500 in 2010, and DHS has deployed thousands of technology assets (including mobile surveillance units, thermal imaging systems, non-intrusive inspection equipment, and aerial surveillance)
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From page 10...
... Border Patrol sectors along the U.S.–Mexico border. NOTE: The sectors are San Diego and El Centro in California; Yuma and Tucson in Arizona; and El Paso, Marfa, Del Rio, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
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From page 11...
... See National Research Council (2011:48-51) for a discussion of some of the limitations of published DHS apprehensions data.
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From page 12...
... Chapter 2 of the report provides context for the use of surveys and statistical methods for estimating flows by providing an overview of recent estimates on the stocks and flows of undocumented immigrants; a brief history of unauthorized immigration and policy responses to it, including a short summary of studies looking at the effectiveness of border enforcement; and a description of the border crossing process for unauthorized 4  enforcement efforts have a deterrent effect and cause the underlying flow of unauthorized If immigrants to decline, enforcement can be regarded as effective even if the magnitude of the decline in apprehensions is smaller than the magnitude of the decline in-migration. 5  However, as suggested in the previous note, the ratio of apprehensions to border crossings may not be completely informative about the effectiveness of enforcement efforts if those efforts also have a deterrent effect on unauthorized immigration.
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From page 13...
... The panel will also review the administrative data sources that the Department of Homeland Security is currently evaluating for estimating the illegal flow in order to inform the survey options. The administrative sources include, but are not limited to, apprehension and re-apprehension rates, agency estimates, results of consequence programs, interviews with apprehended foreign nationals, and results of sensor activity.
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Key Terms

  • homeland security
  • enforcement efforts
  • attempt illegal
  • illegal entry
  • effective enforcement

  • underlying flow
  • administrative data
  • unauthorized immigration
  • immigration enforcement
  • border crossing

  • border apprehensions
  • deterrent effect
  • published dhs
  • survey options
  • foreign nationals

  • unauthorized migrants
  • seenational research
  • enforcement database
  • illegal immigration
  • border crossings

  • unauthorized crossings
  • tive data
  • dhs apprehensions
  • help dhs
  • previous note

  • total flow
  • geographic region
  • mexican nationals
  • discouraging potential
  • formally removed


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