Posted on 10/25/2001 2:51:04 PM PDT by sarcasm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators said on Thursday that they would propose new laws to sew up holes in the immigration net that the Sept. 11 hijackers could have slipped through.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Jon Kyl said they were drafting a bill that would bar students from seven countries the United States lists as sponsoring terrorism, set up a centralized immigration database and introduce ``smart cards'' for all foreign nationals.
``September 11 pointed out some very clear shortcomings in our immigration and visa systems. ... Our country became a sieve,'' Feinstein, a California Democrat, told a news conference.
Three of the 19 men suspected of hijacking planes and crashing them into key U.S. landmarks were in the country illegally -- two had overstayed their visas.
But Feinstein and Kyl, who lead the Senate's subcommittee on technology, terrorism and government information, said the nine hijackers who were in the country legally were equally worrying.
``We want to close all of the loopholes that exist, whether the terrorists went through those loopholes or whether they could have,'' Kyl, an Arizona Republican, told reporters.
Students from Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Syria, Cuba and North Korea -- countries the United States lists as sponsoring terrorism -- should be barred from entering the United States, the senators said. Feinstein cited the example of the head of Iraq's nuclear weapons program, who was educated in America.
MIXED REACTION TO LIMITED STUDENT BAN
Commentators were divided on the ethical implications of imposing such a ban.
John Keeley of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies backed the proposal.
``Heightened security measures and even exclusions seem to me in this climate absolutely appropriate ... at least until such time that the countries change their mind-sets,'' Keeley said in a telephone interview.
But others said that although the ban would not violate human rights law, it could be counterproductive.
``Allowing students from these countries to study in the United States is an opportunity to expose the up-and-coming intelligentsia in these societies to democratic values,'' said Elisa Massimino of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.
``It would be a hard message for the Bush administration to square if a bill like that were to pass ... because they are working very hard to show this is not a war against Muslims,'' she added.
For students outside the seven listed countries, the senators said universities should play a greater role in policing immigration laws.
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service would require proof of enrollment in classes and notification of any withdrawals, and universities, rather than the students themselves, would have to submit visa application forms.
``The foreign student visa system today is one of the most underregulated systems we have. We have seen bribes, bureaucracy and other problems with this system that leave it wide open to abuse by terrorists and others,'' Feinstein said.
The senators also said all non-U.S. citizens should have to submit fingerprints with visa applications and backed the introduction of face recognition technology for every foreigner.
``This is an obvious way of preventing any kind of racial profiling,'' Kyl said.
To keep track of tourists and students once they enter the country, Feinstein suggested an electronic ``smart card,'' which could be swiped through a machine every time the person entered or left the United States.
The senators also urged Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to create a centralized ``lookout'' database that intelligence agencies, law enforcers and government bodies would feed and that could be accessed at all ports of entry.
Feinstein and Kyl could not provide any overall figure for the cost of their proposals but said they hoped to have the draft completed in a week.
Well this is feeble start in the right direction. Now just add Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, the "Palestinians", Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, Algeria, Tunisia, Indonesia, Phillipine Muslims, and possibly those Central Asian Islamic states and we might just might manage to keep the terorists out. Oh, and I almost forgot --- Pakistan too!.
Pretty short list, if you ask me. It should be tripled, at least.
Uh, excuse me, Miss Massimino, but we already have the proof that "exposing" middle Eastern students to democratic values does nothing of value -- and certainly enjoying the pleasures and lifestyle of Americans doesn't make them more inclined to like us.
What a moron liberal. She's probably the type that still mouths "Diversity Works!" when we now have proof, thanks to 9-11, that diversity doesn't.
I don't trust'em!
Geez, and it only took a month and a half for somebody in Congress to think of this....
Allowing students from these countries to study in the United States is an opportunity to expose the up-and-coming intelligentsia in these societies to democratic values
That's a worthy goal -- but it would be safer and probably more efficient to send our teachers over there than to bring their students over here.
It would be a hard message for the Bush administration to square if a bill like that were to pass ... because they are working very hard to show this is not a war against Muslims
Nonsense. The bill is directed to terrorist-supporting states regardless of religion. Two of the seven aren't Moslem countries by any stretch of the imagination, unless they've hidden the Grand Mosque of Havana and the Iman of Pyongyang somewhere.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.