Hourly Update

Chertoff: Securing border about more than stopping illegal immigrants

DOUGLAS - Securing the U.S.-Mexico border is about more than trying to stop illegal immigrants, the head of the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday as he made his first visit to the border. "The issue of securing the border is a homeland security issue, it's an immigration issue and it's also a humanitarian issue," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. Chertoff said one of the obvious concerns facing his department is worrying about efforts of potential terrorists to come into the country. The Arizona border is considered the most vulnerable stretch of the 2,000-mile southern border. Of the 1.1 million illegal immigrants apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol last year, more than half crossed into the country through Arizona. U.S. Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain, who accompanied Chertoff on his tour, noted that thousands of criminals are caught coming illegally into the United States every year, raising the potential of a terrorist attack to a higher level.