The U.S. Border Patrol is rolling out a new strategy for dealing with illegal immigration and trafficking.

With the number of people entering the United States illegally from Mexico falling to a 40-year low, the agency is changing tactics to a more targeted and calculated approach. Instead of dispatching legions of Border Patrol agents to guard the traditional corridors for illegal entry, the new strategy is to rely more on intelligence and "risk-based" assessments.

Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher told Congress this week that his agents will focus more on identifying repeat crossers and people who pose a genuine security risk. Another part of the new strategy will be identifying corrupt agents, a problem that has risen with the large numbers of Border Patrol hirings in recent years.

Last year, the agency made 327,577 apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border, down roughly 80% from the 1.6 million in 2000. According to government figures, 2011 was the slowest year for apprehensions since 1971. Studies show that more Mexican migrants are currently heading south across the border than north.

It's hard to imagine that someone who's been coveting the presidency for the last decade doesn't have a position on an issue as basic as immigration, but apparently that's where we find Mitt Romney.

Reporters asked Republican spokeswoman Bettina Inclan this week about Romney's stance on illegal immigration. She told them they'd have to wait.

"He's still deciding what his position on immigration is," the Republicans' director of Hispanic outreach said. "I can't talk about what his proposal is going to be."

During the primary campaign, a version of the DREAM Act that Republicans can support. The prevailing wisdom is that Romney will have to get around 40% of the Hispanic vote to win. Most polls so far show he's likely to get only about half that.

While illegal migration across the U.S.-Mexico border has fallen dramatically in recent years, government officials say there has also been an alarming increase in the number of unaccompanied minors trying to cross into the United States.

The Administration for Children and Families, a division of U.S. Health and Human Services, says officials have detained about 6,500 unaccompanied minors who had crossed the border illegally since last October, roughly double the usual numbers.

Most of them aren't from Mexico, but from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and other Latin American countries. Most of them are teenagers, and many are accompanied by smugglers hired by their families.

Federal officials are blaming a new Mexican law that went into effect last year. The law allows more youths to remain in Mexico without visas. It was passed for humanitarian reasons, but it has enabled more unaccompanied minors to make their way to the U.S.-Mexico border and attempt to enter the United States.

Immigration officials say they have set up shelters along the border to house the minors.

President Obama celebrated Cinco de Mayo early last week when he entertained supporters of the DREAM Act at the White House.

He told them he is committed to passing legislation that will give the children of undocumented immigrants the chance to get on with their lives here. Obama also reiterated that comprehensive immigration reform would be a priority in a second term.

"I want to sign the DREAM Act into law," he said. "I've got the pens all ready, and I'm willing to work with anybody who is serious."

Obama is counting on Hispanic voters. He won about two-thirds of their votes in 2008 and some polls suggest he could do better this time, despite their disappointment over his failure to get reforms through Congress.

"Right now, there are more than 50 million Americans of Latino descent -- one sixth of our population," he said. "You're our neighbors, our coworkers, our family, our friends. You're starting businesses. You're teaching in classrooms. You're defending this country.  You're driving America forward.

"And for our part, we know that securing our future depends on making sure that all Americans have the opportunity to reach their potential."

Obama's opponent, Republican Mitt Romney, is counting on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to come up with a watered-down version of the DREAM Act that will be acceptable to their party and perhaps even some Tea Party members. So far, Rubio is meeting resistance across the political spectrum.

Mexican-Americans make up one of the fastest-growing voting blocs, and most of them are registered Democrats.

"America is and always will be a nation of immigrants," Obama said in concluding his Cinco de Mayo remarks. "We are richer because of the men and women and children who have come to our shores and joined our union."