Topic: Homeland Security
(What are "political devotions"? Click here.)
For those of you who don't already know, Michelle Malkin now publishes a weblog, and a fine one it is. Today she has truly shocking coverage on the scandalous neglect of our southern border: TERRORISTS DON'T STOP AT THE RIO GRANDE.
And for your edification and action, here's a rerun of a March 2004 Political Devotions entry on the same subject:
Open Borders in a Time of Terror
"There's no relationship between immigration and terrorism."- Spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza.
"I don't think the events [of 9/11] can be attributed to the failure of our immigation laws."
- Head of the immigration lawyers' guild, one week after the attacks.
When Islamic terrorists finally achieve their dream and detonate ten nuclear devices in ten US cities, the "Cause of Death" entry on America's death certificate should read: "Stupidity, complicated by shortsightedness and apathy."
Okay, maybe that's a little harsh. But there is no question the nation is in grave danger, and in his essay Keeping Terror Out: Immigration Policy and Asymmetric Warfare, Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, tells us why the phrase "Home Front" is no longer a metaphor.
Some key points:
The enemy has penetrated nearly every element of the US immigration system by exploiting its weaknesses.
A normal level of visa scrutiny would have excluded almost all the 9/11 highjackers from entry into the US.
Every major Al-Qaeda attack or conspiracy in the US has involved at least one terrorist who violated immigration law.
Immigration control is to asymmetric warfare what missile defense is to strategic warfare, yet our immigration response to 9/11 has been piecemeal and poorly coordinated.
There is a sense that Justice and Homeland Security department bureaucrats are searching for ways to "tighten up immigration controls that will not alienate one or another of a bevy of special interest groups."
A strategic assessment of what an effective immigration-control system would look like is needed.
The most important flaw in the "visa filter" is that the State Department, with its corporate culture of diplomacy and currying favor with foreign governments, remains in charge of issuing visas.
Most illegal alien terrorists were visa "overstayers," yet the INS's statistics division declared it could no longer estimate the number of people who have overstayed their visas.
There is continued resistance to using the military to back up the Border Patrol, even though controlling the Mexican border is an important security objective.
Because of lack of space, most aliens in deportation proceedings are not detained. They receive a "run letter" instructing them to appear for deportation. To no one's surprise, 94% of aliens from terrorist-sponsoring states disappear instead.
Outrageous "sanctuary" policies instituted by cites across the country prohibit city employees, including police, from reporting immigration violations to federal authorities or even inquiring as to a suspect's immigration status.
Enforcement of the 1986 prohibition against hiring illegal aliens has all but stopped.
"There is a general sense among many political leaders that enforcing the immigration law is futile and, in any case, would displease important constituencies."
Finally, Krikorian observes what ought to be obvious to all parties involved: "If our immigration system is so lax that it can be penetrated by a Mexican busboy, it can also be penetrated by an Al-Qaeda terrorist."
You can read the essay in PDF format here.
In an approach that is not only irresponsible but incredibly foolish and impractical, elected officials and government bureaucrats have persisted in avoiding actions necessary to secure our borders, in favor of their short-term goal of pleasing special interest constituencies. You would think they might at least have the common sense to recognize that nuclear devastation might adversely affect their little fiefdoms. No such luck.
Use our Take Action page to demand legislation to implement sustained, redundant and comprehensive immigration law enforcement.
