The Washington Times
The Department of Homeland Security wants to restrict the U.S. Border Patrol's arrest of illegal aliens in the nation's interior, concerned that the recent apprehension of 450 illegals by agents in inland areas of Southern California failed to consider the "sensitivities" of those detained.
According to department sources, a formal written policy under review would limit Border Patrol arrests to areas along the nation's 7,000 miles of international border and give U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws in the nation's interior.
But ICE officials have acknowledged that it has neither the manpower nor the resources to carry out an extensive interior-enforcement program. Between 8 million and 12 million illegal aliens are thought to be in the United States.