Lawmaker Wants Probe on Immigrant Survey

By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Republican congressman wants an investigation of whether the Bush administration tried to suppress a survey indicating U.S. policies spurred immigrants to illegally enter the country.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said the U.S. Border Patrol's three-week survey was discontinued after initial results showed illegal immigrants believed they would be granted amnesty once in the United States.

Tancredo cited a report by Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog group, that included copies of an internal memo barring Homeland Security Department employees from publicly discussing the survey's results. The Border Patrol is a branch of the department.

"Given what we know already, there are many questions that must be answered about the survey, DHS and White House management, and the effects of the proposed amnesty plans," Tancredo wrote in a Tuesday letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

"It is crucial that the American people know that their government is not letting politics get in the way of national security," Tancredo wrote.

Semper Fi

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