How Secure Is That Southern Border?
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- May 14, 2007
HOMELAND Security will only be as effective as the involvement of state and local law enforcement. The Feds can’t do it themselves, though it wouldn’t be fair for every police agency to enforce every violation.
It’s past time for a balanced approach to law enforcement in which states and localities can decide how involved their officers will be in homeland security issues. State and local police are badly needed to help federal immigration authorities apprehend and detail illegal aliens in the interior of the country.
Here’s why new legislation is needed. Illegal aliens outnumber federal immigration agents by 5,000 to one. Only 2,000 are active in enforcing the immigration laws in the interior of the United States, which is a number too small for an effective job.
An illegal alien who successfully crosses the border and enters the interior faces little risk of apprehension—whether the alien is a terrorist, drug runner or just one more worker eager to join the millions already here. My logic is not that their presence drives down wages or they add to so many other problems; they are here illegally. The moment they crossed the border, they broke the law.
Many would have you believe that this country was founded by a nation of immigrants just like those who seek the freedoms law abiding citizens now enjoy in this country. It’s not the same in any way. American colonists did not break any laws when they entered and established colonies in the Northeast. A way has been provided for those same people who want to come to the United States in pursuit of the American Dream—it’s called legal immigration.
Why the talk about illegal immigration? We’re lucky an alert Circuit City employee turned six foreign-born would-be Islamic terrorists over to authorities. Now named the Fort Dix Six, the Islamic terrorists were planning and were prepared to kill “as many soldiers as possible” at Fort Dix. Three of the men, brothers, in the alleged Fort Dix terror plot have been living illegally in the United States for more than 23 years. They were accepted as Americans by neighbors and friends who had no idea they would hatch such a scheme.
If Congress had passed CLEAR Act legislation, the would-be terrorists would have been deported long ago. Successful lobbying against the CLEAR Act by Arab and Islamist groups have prevented its passage. The CLEAR Act would require all state and local law enforcement to ask about and check the immigration status of all parties they stop. It’s not profiling, it’s security. When a policeman pulls a person over, they automatically check arrest records, outstanding warrants and the like. Well, add to that immigration status, which would seem just as easy.
Three of the six men who were in the United States illegally—Dritan Duka, 28; Shain Duka, 26; and Eljvir Duka, 23—had accumulated 19 traffic citations, but because they operated in “sanctuary cities,” where law enforcement does not routinely report illegal immigrants to homeland security, none of the tickets raised a red flag. All three entered the United States near Brownsville, Texas, in 1984.
Liberals and open border proponents often claim terrorists never enter the United States through the Southern border. Oh, really? The United States just dodged a lot of bullets, as several of the men allegedly said they were ready to kill and die “in the name of Allah.”
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher of Security Today magazine.