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Like millions of others around 1919, my father's father arrived in America aboard a freighter from Eastern Europe stacked with human cargo. He would tell me the story of how he, along with his 10 brothers and sisters, hung onto the rusty ship's railings as the vessel entered Upper New York Bay and the Statue of Liberty was first sighted on the horizon. He remembered shouts of joy and tears of gratitude being shared by his family and hundreds of other immigrants crammed on deck glimpsing their first vision of freedom.
Recollections of his arrival in America drifted to the processing center on Ellis Island, where immigrants received their clearance and often new last names from immigration officers who found it more expeditious to shorten cumbersome Slavic names than to ask twice for a proper spelling. He chuckled when telling me who he entered the line as on Ellis Island, and how the family name morphed into Lasky as he departed.
My grandfather was a proud immigrant. He died a proud American at age 86. There was pride in the fact that his early struggles as a non-English speaking immigrant in New York's lower east side quickly evolved into life as a shop owner and businessman. There was pride that his three children were raised as Americans immersed in its culture but never forgetting their immigrant roots.
I suppose the rage that now engulfs my soul when I hear the politicians and apologists (almost one in the same these days) debate the new Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA, S.2611) comes from my immigrant background and my 20 years in the security industry. If enacted, this bill would be the most dramatic change in immigration law in 80 years, allowing an estimated 103 million persons to legally immigrate to the United States over the next 20 years — fully one-third of the current population of the United States, and at the same time, granting an estimated 20 million illegal aliens instant status as Americans.
Not to mention that this administration's immigration policy has many experts saying that it would raise government spending as much as $126 billion over the next 10 years, as we begin paying millions in federal benefits to our "new" citizens and implementing a flawed border security initiative.
As a security professional, I am irate that border security has been an almost non-existent priority for the Bush administration. The fact that the administration feels it necessary to shove this paper lion of an immigration bill down the American public's throat during the 11th hour of its reign is suspect and dangerous, not to mention insulting to every American who has played by the rules to earn their citizenship.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently announced the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), which the administration hailed as a "vision" for securing America's borders. Unfortunately the plan lacks the teeth from both a technology and enforcement standpoint to really deliver Chertoff's promised vision.
According to James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., a senior research fellow for national security and homeland security at the Heritage Foundation, any effective solution for reducing illegal border crossings and the unlawful population in the United States must address all three aspects of the illegal immigration issue: internal enforcement of immigration laws, international cooperation and border security.
Carafano goes on to say that Chertoff's proposed security initiatives will not be enough. A reduced flow at the border does not promise an absence of threat. The border will always need to be secured against terrorists and transnational criminals (e.g., human, drug and arms smugglers). He stresses that the federal government must do a better job of protecting the nation from these 21st century threats.
If this bill passes in its present form, a silent American public will again be victims of political correctness and those who promote an open borders agenda. I, for one, would like to see the present administration show as much concern protecting Americans from its enemies closer to home as they are in Bagdad.
If you have any questions or comments for Steve Lasky regarding this or any other security indystry-related issue, please e-mail him at steve.lasky@cygnusb2b.com.