Was the border more secure under past presidents than it is now? What policy has changed that reduced the security of the border?

The border has never been secure. Only fantasists think that a land borde rcan be policed.

The government has turned a blind eye to working Americans pleas to lock down the border and deport illegal immigrants. Who benefits from Illegal immigrants becoming citizens? Politicians and Corporate. They have millions of new voters that will probably be on all kinds of welfare programs and tax breaks. Sure some will work but, that income cannot take care of a typical immigrant family of two adults, 4-6 children and their extended family. We have enough poor people, we are already hurting for jobs and then this crap happens. Then they are told it is fine to speak Spanish and not learn english, then there is an alienation of Native US citizens by society and business. We have to learn Spanish but, the same is not required of the immigrant. I know Romanians who were required to go to language school for 2 years before they were given citizenship. Sounds like biases at work to me.

Yes. That the numbers illegally crossing are up about TENFOLD (according to the Obama administration) should make that obvious.

Obama has expressly directed border enforcement all but eliminated and "moved the border" for remaining enforcement purposes about 50 miles into the U.S., so anyone can go 50 miles in WITH TOTAL IMPUNITY and EXACTLY ZERO risk of consequences.

Since people are just casually walking across the boarder as we speak I'd have to say NO it is not more secure, about the only reason for the claimed lower illegal rate is the fact the US is still in a recession.

No way! Once the scripted Alzheimer's-afflicted Reagan fired PATCO declaring war on all full-time workers, especially those with vested retirement plans and health care benefits, CORPORATE GREED took over as CEO salaries went up, up, UP! and part-time minimum-wage workers (no benefits, no retirement plan) were seen as a "drain" on the CEOs' multi-MILLION-dollar salaries and Golden Parachutes, then one way to manipulate the Market, "expand profit margins," and feed the need for CORPORATE GREED was to allow massive flows of illegal immigrants to cross our borders, willing to work for any amount and too afraid to complain about working conditions for fear of being deported.

President Obama appointed tough-as-nails former AZ Governor Janet Napolitano to head Homeland Security, and as Director she immediately required all-vehicle inspections instead of the GW random checks---and to inspect for all contraband (money, human, drugs, guns, etc.), and she set her team out to look for tunnels, which were then collapsed, There was interaction with Mexico's President to work from both sides, which had some successes, and technologies at the border was updated to state-of-the-art. Surveillance drones were put into use, and the number of border guards was increased (even though the GOP in the House tried to slash the budget---maybe so they could have an "issue" for the mid-terms.

After the biblical-literalist Heritage Foundation, now under the nefarious leadership of former Senator Jim DeMint (read Robert Draper, 2012: "Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives---specially the Inauguration night 2009 SABOTAGE THE ECONOMY meeting DeMint and other senior GOP lawmakers attended), arranged an "October surprise" in July with the use of Prince Group (parent company for Blackwater) mercenaries for hire to dump around 57,000 unaccompanied minor aliens (UMAs) at our border for a campaign "issue" it must be noted that President Obama has so secured our borders that every single one of these 57,000 was detained and, as the Bush-signed 2008 law requires, have been turned over for care to the DHHS. President Obama wanted to send them back, but the Bush law has not been amended by the GOP House to allow that...so here we are in limbo again.

What President Obama did do is create a covert "Operation Coyotes" project beginning in May of this year, which has been able to make large-scale arrests of human traffickers (coyotes), along with their U.S. contacts, equipment, and money from various accounts, the most recent time being July 22, 2014 when the mean-mounted Republicans were bad-mouthing our President for going to California for a Democratic fund raiser---he had already given the go-ahead to Jeh Johnson of Homeland Security and to ICE to make a huge arrest of 192 coyotes and their contacts, confiscating more than $625,000 in ill-gotten gains from 228 U.S. bank accounts. "I have got this" is something President Obama is known to say when he is confronted with a knotty problem---he looks at the problem from every angle, hears from every expert on all sides, then formulates a plan for problem-solving, telling himself and his team, "Okay, I have got this" and next thing we all know the problem is addressed, even if he does not stand around in the end zone doing any victory dances.

No they were never secure.