No. 813: Securing U.S. Borders Should Be Nation’s #1 Priority

Securing U.S. borders and enforcing the nation’s immigration laws should be the federal government’s No. 1 national-security priority.

There are an estimated 8 million to 10 million illegal aliens in the United States. About 1 million people a year receive permanent residency, and the Census Bureau estimates a net increase of 500,000 illegal immigrants annually. Since 1970, more than 30 million legal and illegal immigrants have settled in the United States, representing more than one-third of all the people ever to come to America’s shores.

The level of immigration today is significantly higher than the historical average. Many attribute this unprecedented wave of immigration to the extraordinary broadening of U.S. immigration policy since 1965, statistics from the Center for Immigration Study’s web site show.

Make no mistake about it, a majority of Americans opposes amnesty for illegals. They want illegal immigration halted, and they would prefer that illegals be sent home. They support a moratorium on immigration, and if necessary using U.S. troops to protect our borders.

President Bush has proposed giving illegals special working permits for three years and then he expects that these “temporary” workers will eventually go back to their native countries. But stop and ask yourself, what would be their incentive? Why would they leave voluntarily once they’ve received the blessings of America?

The Mexican Foreign Ministry has published a colorful new comic book that many immigration-control advocates think encourages illegal border crossings. The 32-page book, Guide for the Mexican Migrant, offers safety information for border crossings, a primer on their legal rights, and advice on living unobtrusively in the United States. Dramatic drawings show illegals wading into water, running from the U.S. Border Patrol, and crossing near a hole in a border fence. It’s not far fetched to think this “comic book” encourages illegal immigration and also shows the contempt that some Mexican officials have for U.S. laws.

Since Sept. 11, numerous lawmakers in Washington D.C. have concluded that for national-security reasons alone the United States can no longer afford an “open borders” policy. Consider the written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Feb. 16 by Deputy Homeland Security Secretary James Loy.

“Recent information from ongoing investigations, detentions, and emerging threat streams strongly suggests that al Qaeda has considered using the Southwest border to infiltrate the United States,” Loy said. “Several al Qaeda leaders believe operatives can pay their way into the country through Mexico and also believe illegal entry is more advantageous than legal entry for operational security reasons.”

Loy also mentioned the danger of infiltration through the extensive Canadian border. “Al Qaeda and affiliated elements currently have the capability to produce small amounts of crude biological weapons, and may have acquired small amounts of radioactive materials,” he said.

FBI Director Robert Mueller also appeared before the Intelligence Committee. “Because of al Qaeda’s directed efforts this year to infiltrate covert operatives into the U.S., I am also very concerned with the growing body of sensitive reporting that continues to show al Qaeda’s clear intention to obtain and ultimately use some form of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-energy explosives material in attacks against America,” he said.

The Sept. 11 Commission’s final report of July 22 pointed out immigration- related failures or problems that likely contributed to the attacks. As examples of missed opportunities the report notes that collectively the Sept. 11 hijackers:

• Included known al Qaeda operatives who could have been put on a watch list;
• Presented fraudulent passports;
• Presented passports with suspicious indicators of extremism;
• Made detectable false statements on visa applications;
• Made false statements to border officials to gain entry into the United States;
• Violated immigration laws while in the United States.

To correct these weaknesses the commission made several recommendations, including integrating the U.S. border security system into a larger network of screening points that includes the transportation system. The commission also recommended that the nation set standards for the issuance of birth certificates and sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses. The commission also recommended the establishment of a complete biometric screening system that would speed qualified travelers. The report stated that it is elemental to border security to know who is coming into the country. The report stresses that federal officials, working with Canada and Mexico as much as possible, must be able to monitor and respond to entrances through the nation’s ports of entry.

Sept. 11 was a wakeup call for the United States. Business as usual is not an option. It is time to secure our borders.

Marc Rotterman is treasurer of the American Conservative Union and a senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation.