With President Barack Obama giving a major speech on immigration in El Paso, we thought it would be a good time to check on his promise to secure the borders. We last examined this promise in July 2010 and found that Obama had provided additional support on border security, but evidence was mixed on whether illegal border crossings declined.

In March 2011, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report, "Border Security: DHS Progress and Challenges in Securing the U.S. Southwest and Northern Borders," in conjunction with testimony from GAO Director Richard Stana.

The report confirmed that personnel and other resources to stop illegal crossings of the U.S.-Mexico border have increased dramatically in recent years. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was created, reorganizing several federal agencies under a single roof. That year, the agency had 10,500 agents to patrol land borders; 17,600 agents for air, land and sea ports of entry; and a budget of $5.9 billion. At the end of fiscal year 2010, almost 20,000 agents patrolled land borders; 20,600 agents monitored ports of entry; and the budget amounted to $11.9 billion.

So there are more resources being sent to the border. But have they been effective?

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported apprehensions nationwide decreased by 36 percent between 2008 and 2010, from nearly 724,000 apprehensions to 463,000. The border patrol credited that to fewer people attempting to illegally cross the border because of beefed up enforcement.

Two experts we spoke with had more nuanced views.

They warned that the depressed U.S. economy has led to lower levels of immigration.

"There still is a large undocumented population of roughly 11 million, a decrease from the 12 million when the president took office," said Kevin Johnson, dean of the University of California-Davis Law School and an immigration policy expert, via e-mail. "The decrease might be attributable some to increased enforcement but also is attributable to the economy and the lack of jobs during the recession."

Louis DeSipio of the University of California-Irvine, cautioned us that about half of illegal immigrants in the U.S. entered on short-term visas and then simply stayed. "Border enforcement does little to slow this flow," he said via e-mail.

He added that he was "not yet convinced" that more enforcement at the border is reducing illegal immigration: "I think that the real test will be when the U.S. economy recovers, particularly the sectors that employed a high share of unauthorized immigrants in the last decade: construction, hospitality, light manufacturing, and household maintenance."

We'll give the Obama administration credit for increased resources at the border, but we're not yet ready to render a final verdict on this promise. We leave the rating In the Works.