About a year ago I wrote a post about the immigration reform debacle. Since then, there hasn’t much much talk about it. I ran across an article last week that proves a very important point.

You see, after the Bush administration’s complete failure to reform the immigration law, they switched to enforcing the existing law with renewed fervor. The running theory is that this was an attempt to stir up sympathy for the illegals and build momentum for a future amnesty bill.

However, the effect has been quite different. It turns out that when you enforce the law, the law serves its purpose. It dissuades people from breaking it!

According to a recent report by the Center for Immigration Studies (based on Census Bureau data), the estimated illegal immigrant population has decreased by 11% (about 1.3 million people) since the Bush administration gave up on their reform bill and started serious enforcement (around August of 2007).

You might be thinking, “Of course the population is down! We’re deporting all those poor immigrants!” But you’d be wrong. The US has only caught and deported about 185,000 illegals. That means that nearly ten times as many have left on their own.

According to the report, there was a spike in illegal immigration last summer when congress was debating immigration reform (folks hoping to get across the border in time to cash in on the amnesty bill), but as soon as the legislation failed, the exodus began.

Imagine that. Law enforcement works. It’s a tough job being right all the time, but somebody has to do it.

You can read the full report here. But keep an eye on your clock. It’s forever long.