Illegals Taking Advantage of Debate?

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Contrary to the Obama administration's claim the border has never been more secure, high-ranking Border Patrol officials in Texas are considering the need for a "tent city" because of a surge of illegal immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley.

The wave of illegal immigrants, many from Central America, appears to be an unintended consequence of the debate raging in Washington over an immigration bill. In interviews after being apprehended, immigrants say federal budget constraints and expected amnesty or legalization for those already living here make it a no-lose proposition.

"We've seen a 500 percent surge in the amount of activity from August to December of last year."

- Janice Kephart, Center for Immigration Studies

"We've seen a 500 percent surge in the amount of activity from August to December of last year," Janice Kephart, of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News.

Whereas people caught crossing illegally near the Mexican border once opted simply to be turned back, they now increasingly are invoking their right to a hearing, federal sources told Fox News. The reason is twofold: Budget cuts mean they are unlikely to be held pending their appearance, and they also think establishing a paper trail of their presence in the U.S. will help when the debate in Washington ends.

Border Patrol sources told Fox News the newest illegal immigrants have nothing to fear from being caught.

“With the knowledge of immigration reform, you will -- and are -- seeing a huge flow of illegals hitting the Southern border looking to stay caught,” a Border Patrol source told Fox News.

Another said, "Central Americans and South Americans are flooding the system asking for hearings knowing immigration reform/amnesty is coming."

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and the Border Patrol, announced it was freeing thousands of non-criminal illegal aliens from detention facilities, allowing them to remain in the U.S. while awaiting their hearings. But the source told Fox News that the “notice to appear” they are issued is derisively referred to as a “notice to disappear.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are trying to reach agreement on a policy that could allow some illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S., while simultaneously discouraging continued border crossings. But the debate, along with the automatic budget cuts prompted by a mandatory action known as sequester have made the process - and its vulnerabilities - transparent. Interviews with illegal immigrants caught near the border indicate that Mexican media outlets have informed the public of about immigration reform and possible furloughs of U.S. government workers. Those are motivating factors.  

Border Patrol sectors had mixed reports for last year, with some showing increases in the flow north and others decreases. But sources said the numbers have spiked dramatically in recent months - coinciding with ICE’s new “catch and release” policy and the budget cuts that make detention a more remote possibility. 

Emails obtained by Fox News show Border Patrol officials in Texas feel overwhelmed by the sudden influx from Mexico.

"Not sure if you saw our last detention report, but we have approximately 700 [illegal immigrants] ready to go and another 1,000 unprocessed,” read one. "We have been at emergency levels for a while and we are now entering critical mass."

Another email was even more emphatic.

“We need to take a hard look at a tent city and maybe even broach the subject with [DHS] Secretary [Janet] Napolitano when she is here,” it read. “Our agents and stations need relief as soon as possible."

A statement from Customs and Border Protection said adequate resources are being applied to secure the border.

"Under this administration, DHS has dedicated historic levels of personnel, technology and resources to the Southwest border," read the statement, adding that the agency has more than doubled the number of agents in the last decade. "Additionally, CBP continues to deploy proven, effective surveillance technology tailored to the operational requirements along the highest trafficked areas of the Southwest Border."

The statement said that apprehensions by the Border Patrol were at or near historic lows in fiscal 2012, which ended in September. Figures were not available for the past six months, in which new factors have arisen that critics say is spurring the current wave.

Kephart said the newest illegal immigrants know just what they are doing, as Congress moves closer to a bill that would grant some measure of amnesty to those already in the U.S.

"Everybody talks about the magnet of jobs. The other magnet people are talking about is amnesty,” said Kephart. “That politically is a huge motive for people to try to get here just in time to make it through that process."

Fox News' Laura Prabucki contributed to this report.

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New rules on mutant bird flu research stir debate

Controversy erupted in 2011 when two researchers performed experiments on a highly transmissible form of bird flu virus. Now, the U.S. government has announced new policies for reviewing such potentially risky research before it gets funded.

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The U.S. government released a framework Feb. 21, detailed in a forum in the journal Science, for determining whether to fund research that could create a version of the H5N1 bird flu virus that could infect mammals by airborne droplets. The recent bird flu experiments sought to do exactly that, in the hope of understanding how such a virus might evolve in the wild. The White House also put out a draft policy yesterday to help research institutions assess so-called "dual use" research that could do both good and harm. Some people fear the mutant virus and other pathogens could escape the lab or be used as a bioweapon by terrorists.

About 600 confirmed human infections of the H5N1 virus have occurred since 2003, roughly 60 percent of which were fatal (though this number might be inflated). The bug does not pass easily between humans, but if it were to acquire that ability, it could potentially cause a pandemic.

Risky research

The first of the two policies, a framework for dealing with research on highly infectious strains of H5N1 virus, requires that funding agencies and the Department of Health and Human Services both review the research. The document lays out seven criteria that must be met in order to grant funding. For instance, the research must be done only on viruses that could evolve naturally, and the risks to lab workers and the public must be manageable. [Mutant Bird Flu Quiz: Test Your Viral Smarts]

Some scientists feel the framework is a step in the right direction. "I think the government has done a good job here in terms of framing the discussion," virologist Michael Imperiale of the University of Michigan told LiveScience. The framework document provides "a mechanism for reviewing this type of research before it gets funded that I think is fair and comprehensive," Imperiale said.

Others are heavily critical. "What was initially a weak policy has been transformed into an empty policy," molecular biologist Richard Ebright of Rutgers University, in New Jersey, told LiveScience. The framework applies to a very narrow set of risky experiments, and does not provide a true risk-benefit assessment, Ebright said.

The second policy released yesterday is a drafted set of guidelines for how research institutions should handle controversial research more generally. It applies to research on 15 deadly pathogens that include highly infectious H5N1, Ebola virus and others, as well as seven categories of experiments that make a germ or toxin more lethal.

If the second policy is implemented, Imperiale thinks it will help institutions manage the risks and benefits of research with these pathogens. One concern has been that the extra level of scrutiny applied to this research could hinder or prevent work that is vital to public health. "I'm going to be interested to see what institutions notice. Are they going to see things in [the policy] that are burdensome?" Imperiale asked.

On the flip side, the policy might not be restrictive enough. Ebright considers the second policy to be an important step forward, but notes that the policy requires institutions to assess risk, and that not all of them are equipped to make those assessments. What's more, he said, having universities evaluate work by their own scientists can result in conflicts of interest.

What's at stake

One of the greatest concerns over research with deadly pathogens is the possibility of accidental release by a researcher who becomes infected. Another risk is that individuals or rogue governments could get hold of the pathogens and use them for terrorism, as in the 2001 anthrax attacks. [10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species]

Researchers who work with pathogens like H5N1 argue that studying them is critical for understanding how dangerous pathogens might evolve naturally and cause an outbreak. The result would be better preparedness in case of such a scenario.

Ultimately, any policies that attempt to manage risky research will need to address issues at a global level. "There's nothing said [in the policies] about any international agreement," biosecurity expert Harvey Rubin of the University of Pennsylvania told LiveScience. "The level of involvement by every country is so critical, whether they're doing the research, or they're the recipient of the value of the research to public health. Everybody has a stake in this."

The disputed experiments were conducted on the H5N1 virus in ferrets in 2011, by teams at the University of Wisconsin and Erasmus University in the Netherlands. The controversy centered on whether the studies ought to be published or should have been conducted in the first place. The concerns prompted a voluntary moratorium on the research, which has recently been lifted.

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