In Last Night’s Presidential Debate, Obama Claimed His Border Patrol Increase Stemmed The Flow Of Illegal Immigration. OBAMA: “[W]e do have to deal with our border. So we’ve put more Border Patrol on than any time in history, and the flow of undocumented workers across the border is actually lower than it’s been in 40 years.” (President Barack Obama, Presidential Debate, Hempstead, N.Y., 10/16/12)

OBAMA HAS INCREASED BORDER PATROL MODESTLY SINCE HE TOOK OFFICE

FactCheck.org: Obama Has Only Increased The Border Patrol “Modestly.” “Actually, Obama has increased the Border Patrol only modestly since it nearly doubled under George W. Bush, when the number grew from 11,264 in fiscal year 2005 to 20,119 in fiscal year 2009 (which began Oct. 1, 2008). After that, the number went up to 21,444 by the end of fiscal year 2011, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.” (Brooks Jackson, “The State Of Obama’s Facts,” FactCheck.org, 1/25/12)

• FactCheck.org: The Border Patrol Increase Was Bigger Under Bush. “[Obama] took credit for putting ‘more boots on the border than ever before.’ That’s true, but the big increase was under George W. Bush.” (Brooks Jackson, “The State Of Obama’s Facts,” FactCheck.org, 1/25/12)

THE FLOW OF UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS HAS SLOWED DUE TO THE POOR U.S. ECONOMY

FactCheck.org: The U.S. Economy Was The “Number One Reason Illegal Immigration Has Slowed.” “It’s true that arrests for illegal border crossings have decreased since Obama took office – from 556,041 in fiscal 2009 to 340,252 in fiscal 2011. (Those are nationwide figures, although more than 98 percent of arrests occur along the Mexican border, according to a Congressional Research Service report.) But immigration experts have said the U.S. economy was the number one reason illegal immigration has slowed.” (Brooks Jackson, “The State Of Obama’s Facts,” FactCheck.org, 1/25/12)

• FactCheck.org: “[A] Decrease In Illegal Border Crossings Is Due Mainly To The Lack Of Jobs In The U.S., Experts Say.” (Brooks Jackson, “The State Of Obama’s Facts,” FactCheck.org, 1/25/12)

• The “Scarcity Of U.S. Jobs” Is Deterring Mexicans From Migrating To The U.S. “Gustavo Velasquez, 38, who came from Oaxaca, Mexico, 12 years ago and serves as the director of the D.C. Office on Human Rights, said that the scarcity of U.S. jobs is causing more Mexicans to think twice about moving. It is better to be unemployed in Mexico than to be unemployed in the United States, he said, because most migrant workers leave their families in Mexico. ‘They miss the warmth of being in a welcoming community,’ he said, adding that with tougher border control and more deportations, Mexicans would rather be in a precarious situation than in a situation of fear.’” (Tara Bahrampour, “For First Time Since The Depression, More Mexicans Leave U.S. Than Enter,” The Washington Post , 4/23/12)

A “Weak U.S. Job And Housing Construction Market” Contributed To The Reversal. “The reversal appears to be a result of tightened border controls, a weak U.S. job and housing construction market, a rise in deportations and a decline in Mexican birthrates, said the study, which used U.S. and Mexican census figures and Mexican government surveys. Arrests of illegal immigrants trying to enter the United States have alsodropped precipitouslyin recent years.” (Tara Bahrampour, “For First Time Since The Depression, More Mexicans Leave U.S. Than Enter,” The Washington Post , 4/23/12)

• “Especially Hard Hit In The Economic Downturn…Were The Home-Building And Construction Industries, Which Employ An Outsize Number Of Illegal Workers.” “Especially hard hit in the economic downturn – and the busting of the real estate bubble – were the home-building and construction industries, which employ an outsize number of illegal workers. ‘Migration has decreased because employment opportunities in the United States are not good. Fewer migrants have full-time jobs. Hours are reduced. Wages are lower. The amount of money they send home is less,’ said German Vega of the College of the North in Tijuana.” (Nick Miroff and William Booth, “Arrests Of Illegal Migrants On U.S.-Mexico Border Plummet,” The Washington Post , 12/3/11)