Don't forget that for 8 years there was no controling moral/ethical authority in our government. It was a Narcoleptic Presidency, in between scandals.
The rest of it can all wait, have a moritorium in immigration and visas -- only let in those as tourists from countries where they don't need visa - our allies, basically -- until a new organization can be built from the ground up with a law enforcement viewpoint, not a bleeding heart liberal outlook
The INS called the incident an embarrassment but whined about a backlog of applications that has existed for years.
They correctly perceive that a lack of productivity will lead directly to an increase in funding. It’s how the government business works.
If you want real efficiency, fire every single administrator in the department.
You remember Al Gore's Re-Inventing Government. It was the original risky scheme, which made it doubly ironic when Gore used "risky scheme" as his main insult to Governor Bush during the campaign.
Remember how Gore got huge kudos for streamlining the government, and in particular, the INS? What his program did was allow thousands of immigrants to enter the country without background checks so they would gratefully vote for the Clinton/Gore re-election.
Remember Doris Meissner? (of Elian fame?) Well, before that she allowed Gore to totally corrupt the INS. We now know how his meddling sacrificed national security for votes. I keep hoping someone in congress, someone in the media will remind people of just how harmful Al Gore was to national security.
With that said, why the copy intended for the school languished for months at INS with out being sent out, or that the files were not culled for this information during the investigation after September 11, is beyond me.
It is my hope that INS is not just pushing paper these days without seriously checking out what they are approving. If INS is just going about business as usual, serious changes need to be made.
I've been saying for several months that Fat Tommy Ridge is a dope; looks like I was right.
Now we have his "color coded alert" system... what are we supposed to do differently when the threat colors change?
"Now let's see, is yellow worse than orange, or is that better than blue? Oh, I remember cyan is really serious because it's closer to the blue spectrum than magenta." (end sarcasm) Sheeesh!
There is a rumor that 5 Arab terrorists came across the border near El Paso, each carrying about 60 pounds of dope. They changed the dope for cash, bought 2 high end SUVs, got temporary driver's licences, voted 4 or 5 times a piece in the democrat primary, and headed north to meet guys who had come over in trucks last week. Check their status with INS?
Why? INS knows nothing about them or the estimated 2 million other illegal aliens that snuck across the border. Only now, the illegals are not Mexicans coming north to mow my lawn. They are terrorists, out to destroy us and we are relying on clowns like the INS. SEAL THE FRIGGEN BORDER WHILE WE STILL CAN!!!
Bush 'Plenty Hot' At INS Over Hijacker Visas Incident
March 13, 2002
(CNSNews.com) - President Bush Wednesday has ordered an investigation into why the Immigration and Naturalization Service sent out notices that two of the Sept. 11 hijackers' student visas had been approved. The INS said that Mohamed Atta and Marwan Al-Shehhi were notified last summer of the change in their visa status from visitor to student, but the "secondary notification," which was sent to the Florida flight school where they received training, did not go out until after the paperwork had been done by hand. Speaking at the White House Wednesday afternoon, Bush said he was "plenty hot" when he read about the mix-up. He has ordered Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to work with Attorney General John Ashcroft to "get to the bottom of this" quickly. More to come.
Even when run like a typical, inept bureacracy it would take even the smallest mind to realize all one has to do is take a "first-come-first-serve" approach. That is, create a waiting list. With such a list an application stays in the inbox for as long as it takes to process those who are in line before it.
That being done and, voila, no pressure and no more "swamp."
So...is there pressure on the INS to process applications as fast as they can, and, if so, who is exerting that pressure?