>> Officials: Threat, powder sent to McCain office

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According to explosive documents uncovered by Judicial Watch, at a time when the United States faces an illegal immigration crisis and a war on terrorism, Bush administration officials directed Border Patrol agents to mislead the American people by withholding information about a marked increase in illegal immigration caused by President Bush's immigration agenda.

"Do not talk about amnesty, increase in apprehensions, or give comparisons of past immigration reform proposals."

"Do not provide statistics on apprehension spikes or past amnesty data."

This is what Border Patrol agents were told in a remarkable January 2004 memo obtained by Judicial Watch in May 2005, entitled "White House Approved Talking Points." At the time the memo was crafted, President Bush had just announced a new "temporary worker program" (to read, amnesty) for illegal immigrants. If the president's initiative was to have negative repercussions, Bush administration officials seemingly reasoned, the public must not know.

This is hardly the stuff of open, honest and responsible government.

The memo, obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, relates to a Border Patrol survey initiated in January 2004. Following a high-profile speech by the President on January 7, where he floated his amnesty program for illegal immigrants, Border Patrol agents began asking randomly chosen illegals caught at the border if they were trying to cross because of the president's proposal.

In less than three weeks the Bush administration abruptly shut down the survey and instructed Border Patrol agents not to discuss its early findings with the press. The government, of course, never issued a report on the survey or its findings.

Judicial Watch took note of the Bush administration's curious behavior, and filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Homeland Security to get to the truth in the matter. When it resisted, we sued. Eventually DHS released nearly1,000 documents, including the aforementioned talking points memo, and we were finally able to figure out why the Bush administration was adamant about keeping the surveys secret.

Here are some of the more disturbing survey findings the Bush administration tried to keep from you:

1. President Bush's "temporary guest worker" program was broadly interpreted as an amnesty program by illegal immigrants from Mexico.

2. Early results from the Border Patrol survey indicated President Bush's proposal did, in fact, lure greater numbers of illegal immigrants to the U.S. Approximately 45% of respondents crossed illegally based upon rumors of a Bush amnesty program.

3. Approximately 63% received Mexican government or media information supporting the notion of a Bush administration amnesty program.

4. When asked if they would seek amnesty if offered, 80% of apprehended illegal immigrants answered, "yes."

5. More than 60% of those apprehended had previously entered the United States illegally, some as many as six times.

6. Approximately 66% desired to petition for family members to join them in the United States.

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