by Joe Guzzardi
On 9/11 at about 3:00 a.m., I ended my all-night tour of the Arizona-Mexico border. With a retired border patrol agent, I had spent the previous evening driving from Sierra Vista along the San Pedro River to the Naco Border Patrol Station.
For hours, we drove in pitch darkness. Along many stretches, not even a single strand of barbed wire divided Mexico from the U.S. Anyone could—and many did— walk into the country unfettered. In the few places that we saw fencing, my guide said that an Arizona rancher trying to keep his livestock from straying had most likely put it up and not the federal government.
At sporadic intervals, a lone border agent driving a van passed us by. What became clear was that the border is essentially unprotected. And what was equally obvious is that despite arguments to the contrary, more effective border policing—either with additional agents or the military—could be easily accomplished.
Once back at my hotel, ironically full of safety and intelligence experts studying at Ft. Huachuca, a former U.S. Cavalry post and now the U.S. Army Intelligence Training Center, I slept only a few hours before a call woke me with the message to turn on my television.
As an advocate for less immigration, I thought 9/11 would usher in stricter border controls and more thoughtful legal immigration oversight. And for the few weeks immediately following the attacks, I was right. President George W. Bush ended his amnesty discussions with Mexico’s Vicente Fox. Visa applications were no longer automatically approved.
But the well-funded, politically connected forces that lobby for more immigration pressed on as if 9/11 never happened. Even a Center for Immigration Studies study issued six months after 9/11 didn’t slow them. The CIS report revealed that the 48 foreign-born terrorists used almost every conceivable immigration tool to carry out their plot: temporary visas, illegal entry, asylum petitions and for those in the United States since 1993, either lawful permanent residency or citizenship.
Before long, Bush returned to his amnesty advocacy, institutions accepted the worthless matricula consular as a valid form of illegal alien identification and Congress introduced the DREAM Act for the first of countless times. In 2007, Bush delivered an impassioned speech advocating for more immigration, from Tucson, only miles from the border.
As bad as Bush was, President Barack Obama is worse. With Obama’s election and his appointment of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano respect for immigration laws (and the Constitution) has vanished. During her three years, Napolitano has crisscrossed the country to do Obama’s immigration bidding. Napolitano, a former Arizona governor who should know better, has promoted the DREAM Act and has laughably insisted that the border has never been more secure.
Two weeks ago, Obama’s contempt for immigration law hit a new low with his plan to excuse up to 300,000 non-violent illegal aliens in deportation proceedings. Given the low profile the terrorists maintained in 2001, many of them also would have been excused instead of deported as the law required.
Despite the horrors from ten years ago, the United States still has no sound, safe immigration policy. Anyone who sneaks in will probably stay. Those who come legally on non-immigrant visas often don’t go home.
Immigration policy, if you can call it that, is about election strategy, not Americans’ best interests. Post-9/11, the country should have learned its lesson about border security’s importance. Alas, the opposite is true. Come one, come all.
Joe Guzzardi is a Californians for Population for Stabilization Senior Writing Fellow. His columns about immigration and related social issues have been syndicated for more than 20 years. Contact him at joeguzzardi@capsweb.org.
Please share this post with your friends and comment below. If you haven’t already, take a moment to sign up for our free newsletter above and friend us on Twitter and Facebook to get real time updates.
Follow @WestJournalism
Loading ...
NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE UNTIL THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY STAND UP AND UPHOLD AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES..IT IS PATENTLY OBVIOUS THAT THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT,,,TIME FOR US TO TAKE ACTION AND EXPOSE THE HYPOCRITES AND HOLD CONGRESS ACCOUNTABLE.ALL SHOULD READ THE DUTIES OF THE GOVERNMENT,,,9.12 PROJECT BLURB..QUITE GOOD.THEY FORGET THEY WORK FOR US AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND,,,THEY ARE NOT GREATER THAN THE CONSTICTUANCY..THEY JUST THINK THEY ARE…WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT PERCEPTION.
Your point is in my limited estimation , quite true and concise.
My only regrat would be, that there isn’t enough Americans with the wherwithal to move this point foward, ” too busy, too lazy,no interest, etc. etc., So obamama get’s a free play card.
My hero Rush Lingbaugh deserves to be OUR LEADER, CEO, etc.,
Rush was exposing himself by going to that border and prove that THAT FAT LESBIAN, Janet Napolitano is in cahuts with The Mexican Government by saying what she has been saying all along, that is:
“That the border has never been more secure”,
She ought to be investigated for being a FAT BIG LIAR !!l
You are right about the fat lesbian being a liar. And the border security is a big joke. Just like Obummer is a joke. And you are right, the George Bush was a fool for letting all the mexicans come in. Maybe before anyone in Washington will listen to the law abiding citizens. Just maybe , we might have to become a little unruly, like Obummers bunch of union thugs. These thugs are criminals. And no one is doing anything about them.
I AM SERIOUSLY OF THE BELIEF WE NEED A NATIONAL “PEARL HARBOR”. NOBODY REALLY GIVES A “HOOT” WHAT IS HAPPENING. THEY/WE FIGURE THE OTHER GUY WILL TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEMS…..WE ARE THE PROBLEM!
TAKE AWAY WELFARE,, TAKE AWAY FREE FOOD, BROWN OUTS AND BLACK OUTS, AND JUST MAYBE PEOPLE MIGHT START RE-THINKING ALL THE WARNINGS WE HAVE HEARD FOR THE 50-60 YEARS+. I SEE NO WAY TO MOTIVATE OR STIMULATE TODAY’S YOUTH. WE ARE DUMBING-DOWN, AND ARE BEING LED INTO PHONEY UTOPIA. WHEN THE MONEY RUNS OUT, CIVIL UN-REST TAKES OVER. WE ALREADY SEE RIOTS, AND MASS MOB ACTIVITY IN THE BIG CITIES. NOT IN THE DARK OF NIGHT, BUT IN THE DAYLIGHT.
THIS IS WHAT THE LEADERS WANT, THIS IS WHAT THEY WILL GET IF WE DO NOT CHANGE THEM OUT IN WASHINGTON, D.C…. FOLKS, WE HAVE TO VOTE THESE
SLICKSTERS OUT OF OFFICE. THEY WILL NEVER LEARN. TAKE THEIR CANDY AWAY, AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS. REPEAL ALL THEIR SELF VOTED BENEFITS. TERM OR AGE LIMITS ON THE HIGH COURTS. WHY DO WE HAVE AGE LIMITS ON THE POLICE, FIRE, AND MILITARY? GOOD FOR ONE, GOOD FOR ANOTHER……80+ YEAR OLD GERIATRICS WITH DEMENTIA VOTING ON LAWS THAT WILL NEVER AFFECT THEM…….AND NOW THEY WANT TO TURN OUR COUNTRY OVER TO THE ALIENS……..TREASONOUS. WE CAN FIGHT BACK, VOTE THEM ALL OUT OF OFFICE………..
The only reason politicians allow so many illegal and semi-illegal immigrants in is because:
a, the MSM is not reporting it, and
b, because the voters are ill informed and do not care.
As the voter revolt against Bush’s immigration polocies demonstrated, politicians will listen, if it negatively affects their chance for re-election.
It is the voters who need to pay attention. There is far more who citizens who disagree with an immigration policy that negatively affects the integration of immigrants, than immigrants. It is up to us to police the politicians.
As an immigrand and first generation American, I am much more aware oft the negative effects on the nation by excessive immigration, and the first thing that needs to change is ONE unifying national language.
Here in San Diego, CA., there are almost as many Spanish speaking TV stations as English speaking ones.
A nation that does not speak in one language split the loyalty of its residents along the language spoken and will soon fall apart.
Now trucks from mexico will be full access to all roads in our country and who will be inspecting each and everyone of those trucks? As it is now only a few trucks are pulled aside for inspection and even among those few trucks have been found filled with drugs or illegals. This will go on until we get a strong president who closes the border or until a truck brings in the materials needed for another American tragedy with thousands of lives lost and it will happen because our government is selling us out!
The French “took out” the king and his wife. The Russians “took out” the Czar and his family. The Italians “took out” Mussolini and his mistress. Trumka wants to “take out” the Tea Party. Perhaps it is time for the American people to do some taking out.
Well what can I say ? this is inter core sickness . It is rottenness at its worst .
But you have to realize that BUSH pushed this big time . Reason was that
no doubt some way he along with the president of Mexico and Canada was to
receive great benifit from the Eight lane Hwy running from Old Mexico to
Canada . Of course that setteled the problem with the Border because there
would be no Border . Free assess just come on in bring all of your Drugs in
with you remember that it belongs to everbody its all free . forget about the
Border ; there would not be a border. Talking about the love of Country
They would give up our Soventry . for what ever benifit they received
They even had the some new money printed called the MERO . You talk
about Leadership . Rick Perry is in on part of this . He will not close the
border of Texas . After all that is where they get their votes .
We will all just sit around and run our mouths and do nothing until it is to late. A few will have the courage to fight back and the head lines will read ( Another domestic terrorist was arrested today ) and our jails will fill up until one day our government will come knocking on your door in the middle of the night and off you will go– arrested under some trumped up charge. Unless we act together.
MEXICANS RULE FUCK U
You darn white crackers make me sick.Im a Mexican and if you guys want to kick us out of THIS SHITTY ASS PLACE THAT U KALL AMERICA U KAN BROWNPRIDE RULES THE US WE TOOK UR UNITED STATES AND NEXT ARE UR WIFES