Are Over Half of Illegal Immigrants in U.S. Visa Overstays?

The Immigration Service is publishing a shocking story Monday. Just shocking.

The Immigration Service says of the 12 million illegals in this country, at least half entered the country legally.

How could that happen?

Well, according to the Immigration Service six million illegals in this country are visa overstays. That is, they got a visa legally in their home country, they came here to visit and then they never left.

Now wait. I know people from Europe and Asian countries do this, but do you mean to tell me illegal Mexicans here are visa overstays?

Yes, I mean to tell you precisely that.

According to the Immigration Service, in 2005 there were 5.4 million temporary visas issued, and 17 percent went to Mexicans. That's about three quarters of a million people. Not all of them are overstays, but it appears it is a very large number, in as much as somehow six million overstay illegals are in the country now.

So what are we to think about what's happening at the border? We don't have 850,000 illegals streaming across the border? Evidently it's questionable. Apparently there is a large number coming across, which is a problem we must do something about. But, in addition, there are visa overstays who make up at least half the illegal population.

Now I would think you could do something about the visa overstays fairly easily. Couldn't you make it more difficult for somebody who is here legally on a visa just disappear in the woodwork and not leave when they were supposed to?

That's a problem that doesn't require a multibillion-dollar wall to fix. After all, this is the day we have troops headed south to take up positions on the border and we're getting ready to do a lot more of that.

Shouldn't we have also mobilized a bunch of State Department cops to chase down people who didn't go home when their visa expired?

We can't have people who enter the country legally make a mockery of illegal immigration. If you're going to be illegal, you at least have to get by our wall. No fair you tricking us into letting you in legally.

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