The Message We Send

In 2014, the Australian government launched a border control campaign dubbed “Operation Sovereign Borders.”  As part of this campaign, it issued posters, printed in seventeen languages (including Arabic, Dari, Farsi, and Urdu), depicting a ship on storm tossed waters, bearing the legend “No Way: You Will Not Make Australia Home.”

Subsidiary text notes, “If you get on a boat without a visa, you will not end up in Australia.” Aimed at Middle-Eastern migrants who cross the Indian Ocean to reach Australia, the posters represent a firm departure from political correctness and an acknowledgment that illegal migration has a direct effect on both sovereignty and national security.

A record 300 refugee boats made their way to Australia in 2013.  Since the launch of Operation Sovereign Borders, only one refugee boat has attempted to enter Australian waters and it was intercepted by Australian authorities. Operation Sovereign Borders was successful because Australia clearly articulated a pro-enforcement message and took decisive enforcement action, like towing seaworthy refugee boats back to international sea lanes, rather than permitting them to land in Australia.

Although the Australian government has not released figures showing the cost of the Sovereign Borders media campaign, it certainly spent significantly less than the millions the U.S. expends annually on ineffective border enforcement.  Should U.S. immigration authorities should borrow a page from the Australian playbook and launch a pro-enforcement media campaign directed at the southern border?

The United States has previously attempted pro-enforcement media campaigns. But they were neither extensive, nor coupled with the type of decisive action to which Australia has committed. Instead, the U.S. has consistently combined lax enforcement with a clear message that there are few consequences for violating immigration laws. Rather than a rapid return to their nation of origin, illegal aliens who cross into the United States can find work and government-sponsored protection in sanctuary cities.

And while the number of aliens entering Australia without authorization plummets, the number of illegal aliens entering the United States continues to climb.

Australiaboatillegal immigration
Matt O'Brien: Matthew J. O’Brien joined the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in 2016. Matt is responsible for managing FAIR’s research activities. He also writes content for FAIR’s website and publications. Over the past twenty years he has held a wide variety of positions focusing on immigration issues, both in government and in the private sector. Immediately prior to joining FAIR Matt served as the Chief of the National Security Division (NSD) within the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), where he was responsible for formulating and implementing procedures to protect the legal immigration system from terrorists, foreign intelligence operatives, and other national security threats. He has also held positions as the Chief of the FDNS Policy and Program Development Unit, as the Chief of the FDNS EB-5 Division, as Assistant Chief Counsel with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, as a Senior Advisor to the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, and as a District Adjudications Officer with the legacy Immigration & Naturalization Service. In addition, Matt has extensive experience as a private bar attorney. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from the Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law.