With George W. Bush's
nomination of super-conservative John Ashcroft to be Attorney
General, the new president's supporters and critics alike are
anticipating major changes in how the federal government enforces
the law. A careful analysis of the Clinton record, however, suggests
that the new team may be mostly content with the policies of the
last eight years. This is because federal data show that under
Clinton the number of federal agents increased, the prosecution
of illegal immigrants surged, the war on drugs maintained its
dominant place, and corporate audits plummeted. The article was
written by TRAC's co director, David Burnham and Susan Long.
