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| Promoting awareness of problems and solutions in U.S. immigration policies |
 AMNESTY TRUTH SHEET
The Truth About Amnesty
U.S. Senate
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007
The Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration
GAO Testimony
Prospects For Biometric US-VISIT Exit Capability Remain Unclear
CBO Testimony
Budgetary Impact of Current and
Proposed Border Security and Immigration Policies |
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Inspectors at Ports of Entry Not Mere "Meeters and Greeters"  November 6, 2007 -- The GAO (General Accountability Office) has issued a report, Border Security - Despite Progress, Weaknesses in Traveler Inspections Exist at Our Nation's Ports of Entry. I first found out about this report when Mike Ahlers of CNN contacted me for my perspectives on this critical report. Mike works closely with Jeanne Meserve and it is always a privilege to assist them in their efforts to cover the various aspects of Homeland Security As you know, I am happy to furnish my perspectives on those issues that involve immigration and especially where the immigration issue impacts national security. The issue of the inspections process at ports of entry is one of great concern to me and one with which I am familiar, having begun my career at the former INS in October 1971 as an immigration inspector assigned to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The news report I have attached below is the article that was written by Mike Ahlers and Jeanne Meserve and it encapsulates the more salient issues where the GAO report is concerned. I have also attached the actual report to this e-mail. The main issue for you to consider is that as I have often pointed out, the inspections process is not a mere formality. The duties of the beleaguered inspectors at ports of entry are critical for national security yet these federal officers are not provided with the training that they need and they are often pressured to move the line of passengers to keep the flow of travelers moving. Recently the executives of the travel industry created a program they have called, "Discover America." They hired Tom Ridge, the former Secretary of Homeland Security to put an authoritative face on this program to sell the idea that the inspections process needs to be more welcoming and more streamlined. This program has also been applying incredible pressure on our politicians to increase the number of countries that participate in the dangerous and foolish Visa Waiver Program of which I have written extensively. In fact, I have testified before a Congressional hearing about the risks inherent in the Visa Waiver Program. Apparently the creators of the Discover America program think of the inspectors at ports of entry as being little more than "Meeters and Greeters" when, in point of fact these federal officers are law enforcement officers whose responsibilities include keeping terrorists, criminals and others whose presence in our country represents a threat to our safety, security and well being. To once again borrow the expression we have heard much made of by the administration, the terrorists need only get it right once in order to succeed while we have to be right 100% of the time in order to prevent the next terrorist attack. When we are told that thousands of aliens were able to gain entry into our country because of laxness exhibited by the inspectors or because the inspectors lacked the training or the leadership, I am truly alarmed! Consider that just 19 terrorists inflicted such destruction on 9/11 and here we are told of thousands of aliens who were improperly given access to our nation even as the War on Terror grinds on. This is yet another component of the immigration system that is not providing our nation and our citizens with the degree of professionalism and effectiveness we absolutely must have if we are to protect our nation against terrorists and criminals. I can tell you that I remain in contact with many CBP inspectors who voice their concerns about the fact that they do not have the resources or the support of the agency that they work for. Couple this disaster with the abysmal track record at USCIS where last year 30,000 aliens were naturalized without the adjudications officers having access to those aliens' files and the high levels of fraud where the entire immigrations benefits program is concerned and you realize just how precarious our position is. It is also important to know that the current structure of DHS has created serious problems within the agencies charged with enforcing and administering the immigration laws. I furnished testimony on May 5, 2005 at a hearing conducted before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims entitled, "New "Dual Missions" of the Immigration Enforcement Agencies." The printed version of the transcript of that hearing is now available. One of the key issues that was addressed was the deleterious impact that merging Legacy Customs with Legacy INS had on the various immigration missions especially considering that most of the key managers under the DHS umbrella came from Legacy Customs and not from Legacy INS. The important thing to remember is that there was little similarity between Customs and Immigration once you got beyond the fact that they were both involved with border issues. Customs was more involved in IRS and Commerce Department type functions, collecting duties and tariffs and regulating the flow of currency and goods across our borders while the former INS was more involved with issues that resembled functions carried out by the FBI and the Labor Department, attempting to prevent the entry of criminals and terrorists into our country as well as attempting to make certain, at least years ago, that aliens would not have an adverse impact on the American workforce. I have made this point many times before but I believe it is important to reiterate that if, as the saying that a chain is as strong as its weakest link, where immigration is concerned it would appear that all we have are weak links and nonexistent links. This is simply not acceptable. This is no less than a prescription for a disaster and yet, more than 6 years after September 11, 2001 the various components of DHS, especially those that deal with the administration and enforcement of the immigration laws, are failing to provide the sort of security our nation must have. This is why I have come to refer to DHS as being the Department of Homeland Surrender. I take no pleasure in making this statement but it is well known that the first step in problem solving is to identify the problem. Where immigration is concerned there is no shortage of problems that need solving but there does appear to be a lack of political will and desire to secure our nation's borders against those who would do us so much harm. The travel and hospitality industries are driven by a desire to increase their profits but they had better understand that the primary job of our government is to provide for the security of our nation and our citizens. This is a mission that our politicians need to be reminded of also, it would certainly seem. So while "Discover America" is bringing significant pressure to bear to streamline the inspections process, I would remind all concerned that unfortunately, Al Qaeda appears to have already "Discovered America!" We the People need to make our concerns known to our elected representatives and especially to those who seek to lead our nation in the upcoming elections! Democracy is not a spectator sport! Lead, follow or get out of the way!
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