Posted on 11/16/2001 1:08:48 PM PST by GeekDejure
Washington (CNSNews.com) - As the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have demonstrated, the need for immigration reform has gone beyond the familiar territory of crime, education and taxes and become an issue of public safety as well, a longtime congressional champion of immigration reform said Tuesday.
Only nine of the 19 terrorists who took part in the Sept. 11 attacks were in the country legally, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), crime subcommittee chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told a group of reporters and policymakers. Ten of the terrorists had overstayed a temporary visa and were in illegal status on that day.
Two years ago, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, either through mismanagement or inability to detain at the proper time, failed to deport between 50,000 to 60,000 aliens who had been convicted of serious felonies, Smith said.
There was also a problem with people stepping off the plane at major airports, typically at JFK Airport in New York, claiming asylum, he said. "They'd be told to show up for their immigration hearing in six months. The amazing fact is that 10 percent actually showed up. It shouldn't surprise us that 90 percent did not show up," Smith said.
Officials estimate that 7 million people currently reside illegally in the United States, about 40 percent of whom entered the country on a temporary visa and overstayed their welcome. But Smith pointed out that the 7 million figure only counts people who are in the country permanently, or 12 months out of 12 months.
"Were you to count the number of individuals who are in the country illegally 10 months out of 12 months, six months out of 12 months or whatever it might be, that 7 million figure could easily be doubled," he said. "That says something very astounding about our immigration system and our immigration policy, to whit, it doesn't work," Smith said.
Visa holders should be issued documents that include a biometric identifier, such as a thumbprint, the congressman said. Personal IDs carried by U.S. citizens, such as driver's licenses, social security cards and birth certificates, also should be made more tamper-proof and not so easily transferable between people, he said. As part of the war on terrorism, President Bush recently announced the creation of a task force to plug holes in the immigration system that allows suspected terrorists into the United States and to identify suspects already here.
The first order of business for Bush's new Homeland Security Council was the creation of "the foreign terrorist tracking task force," an agency responsible for making sure would-be terrorists don't enter the United States, including a crackdown on foreigners using student visas. The Sept. 11 attacks showed how easy it is for terrorists to slip into the country. Hani Hanjour, who piloted the plane that hit the Pentagon, paid $100 in Saudi Arabia for a visa to attend a four-week language course in the United States. Hanjour entered the country legally, but never showed up at the school.
In 2000, border officials recorded 530 million legal entries into the United States. Up to 300 million of those were by non-citizens, arriving by land, air or seaports, and many of those entries represent day workers. Terrorist activity is not the only downside to lax immigration laws, Smith said. One quarter of inmates in federal prisons in the United States are foreign-born. Immigrants who don't have a high school education end up over their lifetime taking far more in government benefits than they pay in taxes.
But the question of immigration has two sides, Smith said.
"Oftentimes those who would label themselves pro-immigrant refuse to acknowledge that immigration has a down side. Those of us who would label ourselves immigration reformers oftentimes forget to mention the positive aspects of immigration as well," he said.
This is inexcusable. What are they thinking about in Washington? Thanks for the Tancredo bump on the other thread.
Time to change the oil in Washington!!
That's the first time I've seen that statistic. I wonder how the pro-immigration people will try to discredit this article?
Immigrants who don't have a high school education end up over their lifetime taking far more in government benefits than they pay in taxes.
That one is a no-brainer, probably true of native born Americans too.
IMMIGRATION resource library - with local INS phone numbers, coast to coast
And besides, allowing millions of uneducated people into our country is a good thing and it will help our standard of living.
Nice evasion.
That's why they are there.
Source?
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