Border control

Travelers passing to and from Canada and Mexico could soon be required to present a passport, rather than just a driver's license, when crossing the U.S. border. The newly proposed federal regulation is the latest government effort to deter would be terrorists from entering the U.S. by tightening border controls. However a new study of out of the University of California, San Diego, shows that stricter security measures have unexpectedly changed the immigration patterns of undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Research by The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UCSD shows tighter border control has made it far more dangerous and costly for immigrants to cross in the U.S. As a result, those who successfully reach the U.S. or are smuggled in, are staying longer, at an average of 70 weeks, and more women and children are entering the country than before, as workers opt to emigrate with their families. Wayne Cornelius, director of the study, interviewed 600 potential migrants, 90 % of which agreed that border crossing was dangerous, but only 20% said border controls would deter them from making the trip. Border security difficulties have recently been compounded by the Minutemen, a vigilante group whose call to arms prompted a number of white supremecist organizations to travel south to intervene at the border. Immigration rights groups have expressed concern that the groups presence at the border has exacerbated an already unstable situation and fueled racist sentiment.