By FAIR Intern, FAIR research department
On this, the 12th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, there is much solemn and appropriate remembrance of those who lost their lives on that terrible day. In addition, 12 years later there is much debate over whether or not the United States should intervene military in the Middle East.. One issue that was, and still is, glaringly missing in the continuing debates over foreign policy and national security is immigration policy and border security.
If true immigration reform is ever to be achieved, tragedies such as the Boston Bombing and 9/11 attacks would seem to be the most rational starting point for a national dialogue on what to do about potential terrorists entering our country and attacking us due to the lax nature of the enforcement and screening provisions of American immigration law. You would think that would be the case, but, you would be wrong.
In the more than a decade that has passed since the 9/11 attacks not only are our immigration laws not being meaningfully enforced, but many national political figures are seeking amnesty for millions of illegal aliens and more immigration into our country, despite our proven inability to identify potential terrorists. In the theater of the absurd, that often passes for our Congress, the threat of terrorism is often cited as a justification for amnesty. In the aftermath of this year’s Boston Bombing attack, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham asserted,
“We have 11 million people living in the shadows, which leaves this nation
vulnerable to a myriad of threats. That is all the more reason why comprehensive
immigration reform is so essential. By modernizing our system of legal immigration,
identifying and conducting background checks on people here illegally, and finally
securing our border, we will make America more secure”
So, to Senators Graham and McCain, when a pair of terrorists sets off explosives at a major American sporting event, the response is not to secure our nation’s borders and rigorously pursue enforcement, but rather to help, “the undocumented come out of the shadows,” through what they term a, “modernized” immigration system. To those of us, across the political spectrum, who are able to look at issues such as national security and immigration from the perspective of the broad national interest, the proper course of action is clear:
- We should secure our border with a physical fence and secure the interior through cooperative enforcement efforts.
- Illegal aliens who come into contact with law enforcement should be detained and put in removal hearings.
- We should implement mandatory E-Verify and institute sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. Such policies enjoy consensus support from the American people, who demand legitimate enforcement to take place before any discussion of amnesty.
Too bad virtually no one in Washington, has the political will to carry out the sort of common sense policies that might avert another tragedy, perhaps even more horrendous than the one we suffered 12 years ago.