Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Secure America

Center for Security Policy ^ | 2005-11-28 | Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.

[Tolik]

President Bush is a man on a mission this week. He is seeking to reinvigorate his leadership and rehabilitate his public standing by addressing an issue of enormous import to the country and of no less concern to its citizens: the insecurity of our borders and the dysfunction of our immigration policies.

It remains to be seen whether Mr. Bush will benefit politically from his visits to border states and meetings with those charged with protecting them and the rest of us from illegal aliens - many of whom are looking for economic opportunity, but some of whom may well be terrorists.

The Secure America Pledge

More importantly, whether the country will benefit from the President's current, intense focus on immigration-related issues will depend on whether he agrees with the following ten principles:

1. The purpose of U.S. immigration policy is to benefit the citizens of the United States.

2. Since immigration policy can profoundly shape a country, it should be set by deliberate actions, not by accident or acquiescence, with careful consideration to ensure that it does not adversely affect the quality of life of American citizens and their communities.

3. Immigration policy should be based on and adhere to the rule of law. Immigration laws must be enforced consistently and uniformly throughout the United States.

4. Non-citizens enter the United States as guests and must obey the rules governing their entry. The U.S. government must track the entry, stay, and departure of all visa holders to ensure that they comply fully with the terms of their visas or to remove them if they fail to comply.

5. The borders of the United States must be physically secured at the earliest possible time. An effective barrier to the illegal entry of both aliens and contraband is vital to U.S. security.

6. Those responsible for facilitating illegal immigration shall be sought, arrested, and prosecuted to the full extent of the law and shall forfeit any profits from such activity. This applies to smugglers and traffickers of people, as well as to those involved in the production, procurement, distribution, or use of fraudulent or counterfeit documents.

7. U.S. employers shall be given a simple and streamlined process to determine whether employees are legally eligible to work. Employers who obey the law shall be protected both from liability and from unfair competition by those who violate immigration law. The violators shall be subject to fines and taxes in excess of what they would have paid to employ U.S. citizens and legal residents for the same work.

8. Those who enter or remain in the United States in violation of the law shall be detained and removed expeditiously. Illegal aliens shall not accrue any benefit, including U.S. citizenship, as a result of their illegal entry or presence in the United States.

9. No federal, state, or local entity shall reward individuals for violating immigration laws by granting public benefits or services, or by issuing or accepting any form of identification, or by providing any other assistance that facilitates unlawful presence or employment in this country. All federal and all law-enforcement agencies shall cooperate fully with federal immigration authorities and shall report to such authorities any information they receive indicating that an individual may have violated immigration laws.

10. Illegal aliens currently in the United States may be afforded a one-time opportunity to leave the United States without penalty and seek permission to reenter legally if they qualify under existing law. Those who do not take advantage of this opportunity will be removed and permanently barred from returning.

These principles are contained in a platform called the "Secure America" Pledge. The pledge has been endorsed by more than thirty organizations concerned with the national interest and the threat posed to it by insecure borders and illegal immigration. The hope is that every serving or would-be office-holder in the country will be asked whether they support the Secure America principles, starting with the President of the United States. (For more on this initiative, see War Footing: Ten Steps America Must Take to Prevail in the War for the Free World (Naval Institute Press, 2005)).

Applying the Pledge

By so doing, the voters can establish at last whether they are supporting candidates who will represent their commonsense views on such things as:

• the need to secure our borders - starting with a fence along the U.S.-Mexico boundary (see www.WeNeedaFence.com) and the augmentation with military personnel of those who patrol it to prevent futher millions from entering this country illegally every year;

• the imperative of cracking down on employers who hire illegal aliens;

• ensuring that we are at least as rigorous about monitoring who comes into and leaves this country as are video rental stores and credit card companies about the status of their products;

• calling on all law enforcement agencies to support the mission of our sorely overstretched immigration authorities; and

• dramatically tightening up on visa procedures, not least by abandoning the "visa lottery" that amounts to playing Russian roulette with terrorist applicants.

  The Bottom Line

  If George W. Bush can now embrace such principles and pledge to work for their implementation in the foregoing ways, he has an excellent chance of securing anew the the support of the American people. Without this commitment, he is unlikely to do so - and, worse yet, he will be unable to fulfill his first duty, which is to secure America.
   

[Tolik]

Nailed It!

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[jackbenimble]

I'm not sure that there is a single one of these principles that President Bush could sign onto with any honest intent. For starters, he is convinced that immigration policy is not for the benefit of all citizens but only for the benefit of his rich elite cronies and Chamber of Commerce campaign contributors. His adherence to the remaining principles goes done hill from there.

[Sterco]

Send it to Congress!!!

[MNJohnnie]

Yeah don't spend any time exposing the Democrats Hypocrisy on Iraq. Don't spend anytime attacking the Democrats. Spend every signal column attacking your own side. Really helps move the agenda. Just what is it that makes the Conservative Pundits so completely gutless about taking on the Democrat Spin machine?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

W is about five years late.

[reelfoot]

"Since immigration policy can profoundly shape a country, it should be set by deliberate actions, not by accident or acquiescence, with careful consideration to ensure that it does not adversely affect the quality of life of American citizens and their communities."

This SHOULD be the meat of our debate. Illegal immigration should be a cut-and-dried approach of closing the border, building an Israeli-type security fence, and deporting the illegals. But the sleeper issue that few are talking about is the need to drastically change our LEGAL immigration: we should only be letting in very limited numbers of highly educated, well-trained people from countries that don't breed jihadists. This pool of immigrants would assure that they aren't coming here to go on welfare (whether from the beginning or after their entry-level menial work runs out), commit crime, or cut our throats.

We must END ILLEGAL immigration and drastically REFORM LEGAL immigration.

[Tolik]

Why not both? I see no contradiction here at all. Yes, conservatives need to confront the Alien Media Nation (credit goes to Bill Bennett for invention of this name). And Yes, conservative need to keep pressure on their own leaders to do the right thing.

Plus, I see a big difference between the Left shouting "Bush is an Idiot!", "No Blood for Oil!", "Halliburton!", "Bush Lied" and other such garbage - and Gaffney listing specific points how we can improve our security. First is just noise, second is a constructive criticism, a feedback. There is no successful company or organization in the world, none at all, that does not need a feedback.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

"W is about five years late."

And he wants to reward law breakers.

[Gritty]

As far as I can tell, this Administration and the majority of the Senate and Congress don't support any of these ten points. At best, they are may be neutral on a few. Oh, some spokesman might give a speech here and there to sooth the murmuring peasantry out here in Flyover Country, but they really don't mean it.

Actions speak louder than words. The actions have been clear. It's "full speed ahead" for illegal immigration! Meanwhile, our country awash with illegals and is swirling down the toilet.

[Emmett McCarthy]

I think he's also afraid of a confrontation at the border when we try to return busloads of illegals which Vicente Fox doesn't wany - any more than any of the various muslim nations want the "palestinians". I believe the Mexican government will order their troops to fire on those buses and, if we don't have the courage to persist, we'll end up with some kind of permanent "resettlement camps" along the border.

President Bush is also afraid of the "heads I win - tails you lose" response from Democrats who will announce that whatever solution he utilizes to solve this very real problem is "wrong-headed, immoral and lacking 'nuance' of the gray areas". Add to that the heart-wrenching stories you'll see on TV about Jose and Maria who were once "living the American dream" only to be snatched up to be used as "political pawns" in some evil right wing border war and you've got a witches' brew which, I'm afraid, America doesn't have the will to resist.

[jackbenimble]

I think he's also afraid of a confrontation at the border when we try to return busloads of illegals

I am fully in favor of the government deporting every illegal it happens to encounter. But I do not advocate mass sweeps, roundups and deportations and neither do most others who have given this problem serious thought. For all the reasons you stated, that solution will never fly. And why should Americans should be taxed for that cost which Chertoff has correctly estimated to be billions of dollars?

Instead, we need rigorous workplace enforcement and we need to cutoff all access of illegals to social services (except emergency medical care). When the jobs and the benefits dry-up, they will slowly self-deport the same way they came: on their own two feet and at their own expense. It took years for the problem to get this bad and it will take years to solve it. The key is to reverse the flow.

[Emmett McCarthy]

I agree with the approach of cutting off both access to the jobs and to the various social services. That will work fine until the courts issue some order that it's "unconstitutional". Hell, it'd be progress for me not have to tell my bank's ATM machine that I want instructions in English. Banks are federally-regulated so let's start there.

[calrighty]

" He is seeking to reinvigorate his leadership and rehabilitate his public standing "

Well, so much for THAT~!

[gubamyster]

ping

[piceapungens]

Co-Presidente Fox will not be happy about this and will let his little buddy (George Arbusto) know about it.

[all4one]

Someone here at FR gave me a great idea regarding getting the message across to those who are assigned to doing our bidding in D.C.

Whenever I receive requests for money via mailers from the GOP, Senate or Congress members; instead of sending it to the junk mail pile.....I take the enclosed self-addressed and stamped envelope and write in marker across the letter that "No contributions will be made until our borders are closed, and the illegal situation is addressed", and send it back without a contribution. I probably send back about 4 or more of these per week. We have given from our business as well as personally. I would hope that if the bigger donors and businesses started closing their checkbooks unless this situation is addressed maybe those in charge would really get the message.

[all4one]

"Hell, it'd be progress for me not have to tell my bank's ATM machine that I want instructions in English."

Yep....I'll second that. Also, when calling on a business having to press "1" to get info. in English!! What utter non-sense...the trickle of multi-culturism has slowly turned into a raging river. As always, it is the middle-class working Americans who are getting screwed.

[Gritty]

I take the enclosed self-addressed and stamped envelope and write in marker across the letter that "No contributions will be made until our borders are closed, and the illegal situation is addressed",

Hitting them in the campaign pocketbooks might be the only thing which works for most of them who are left on the wrong side. Letters, faxes, phone calls and opinion polls certainly don't seem to be making much of a dent.

[blackie]

Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!

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