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CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS CALL FOR 1000 NEW BORDER PATROL AGENTS
At a congressional hearing in late February, House Republicans severely criticized INS Commissioner Doris Meissner for her failure to request 1000 new border patrol agents as well as the short-lived INS plan to release some nonviolent criminal aliens from detention. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee, called the administration’s approach to the border "a full retreat, if not a complete surrender, in the war on drugs." 
Despite the fact the deportation of criminal aliens almost doubled from 1993 to 1996 (the most recent year for which figures are available) from 28,600 to 56,100, and have doubtless increased in each year since then as IIRIRA has been implemented, Republicans maintained that enforcement of the law has been lacking, with Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) saying "we don’t need to import criminals to our country, we have enough of our own."
Democrats on the panel argued that the changes imposed by IIRIRA have given the INS a tremendous amount of work, and made its job more difficult. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) posited that parts of that law "might be harsh and unenforceable." Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) agreed, telling Commissioner Meissner that "Congress went on an anti-immigrant binge a few years ago and has complicated things. You have been given more people to deal with than you should." 
Although the INS did not request 1000 new border patrol agents in their fiscal year 2000 budget request as is required under IIRIRA, the current staffing level of over 9,000 agents is up significantly from the 1993 level of 3,965 agents. Attorney General Janet Reno told the Senate Judiciary Committee the reason for the decision not to seek any new agents was the need to ensure that all current agents are adequately trained. According to Reno, 39% of border patrol agents are inexperienced, having less than two years of on the job experience. Also, the strong labor market has made it difficult for the INS to successfully recruit new agents. Nonetheless, Senate Republicans say they will overrule the administration’s decision not to seek the new agents.