Immigration News & Opinion
Sat - May 19, 2012

Arizona Daily Star, January 24. Fewer illegal immigrants are crossing the border multiple times in a single year, never-before-released government numbers show. The percentage of people apprehended two or more times by the Border Patrol within the same fiscal year - known as the recidivism rate - has declined each of the last four years, shows a new report from the Congressional Research Service. The rate was 20 percent in fiscal 2011, down from 28 percent in fiscal 2007, the report says. The decline is the latest indicator that the flow of illegal immigrants has slowed. That could mean illegal crossers who pay smugglers to take them across the border can't afford to try again, or that in a time of recession and tougher penalties for U.S. companies that hire illegal workers, fewer people find it worth the risk to come here seeking work. The new report is the first public accounting of how many people cross the border repeatedly. The Border Patrol shares data on its total apprehensions each year but does not say how many people those numbers represent.