Illegal Immigration: Southwest Border Strategy Results Inconclusive; More Evaluation Needed
GGD-98-21
Published: Dec 11, 1997. Publicly Released: Dec 11, 1997.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Attorney General's strategy to deter illegal entry into the United States along the southwest border, focusing on: (1) what the strategy calls for; (2) actions taken to implement the strategy along the southwest border; (3) whether available data confirm the strategy's hypotheses, with respect to expected initial results from the strategy's implementation along the southwest border; and (4) the types of indicators that would be needed to evaluate the strategy.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Justice | The Attorney General should develop and implement a plan for a formal, cost-effective, comprehensive, systematic evaluation of the strategy to deter illegal entry across the southwest border. This plan should describe: (1) the indicators that would be required for the evaluation; (2) the data that need to be collected; (3) mechanisms for collecting the data; (4) controls intended to ensure accuracy of the data collected; (5) expected relationships among the indicators; and (6) procedures for analyzing the data. |
Closed – Implemented
In February 2002, INS' Office of Policy and Planning developed a plan for evaluating the effects of its southwest border strategy. The plan describes numerous indicators that INS planned to use, and for each indicator, what data would be collected and the mechanism for collecting it, controls to ensure data accuracy, the expected outcome for each indicator if the expected result was being achieved, and procedures for analyzing the data.
|
Full Report
Office of Public Affairs
Topics
ArrestsData collectionBorder patrolsHomeland securityImmigration enforcementImmigrationLaw enforcementLaw enforcement personnelPerformance measuresProgram evaluationSmugglingStaff utilizationStrategic planning