The Washington Times
ran a brief news report on January 30, 2012 that was entitled,
“Napolitano Links Homeland Security, Economy.”  The report focused on
the Janet Napolitano’s second “State of Homeland Security Address.”

According to the news report she makes the following statement a part of her address:

“Security measures should, to the greatest extent
possible, be designed to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of
people and goods while securing our critical infrastructure.”

For the first time in a long time, I find myself to be in agreement
with this statement as well is with her quote that ended the news
report:

“Think of it this way: If we have to look for a needle in a haystack,
it makes sense to use all of the information we have about the pieces
of hay to make the haystack smaller,” Miss Napolitano said.

The problem I have with what she said is not what she said but with
the fact that since she became the Secretary of Homeland Security, she
has acted in a manner that contradicts her statements!  Consequently I
wonder if she has ever listened to the words that she, herself, speaks!

The haystack that she claims she wants to make smaller is a haystack
comprised of aliens as well as merchandise.  Today that haystack
includes unknown millions of illegal aliens with more arriving daily. 
Because they evade the inspections process, there is no record of their
entry into our country.  Because they are “undocumented” there is no way
of knowing their true identities including their countries of
citizenship.  As a consequence, there is no way of knowing their
possible criminal backgrounds or possible affiliation with criminal or
terrorist organizations.  There is certainly no way of knowing their
true intentions.

Bad as the problem posed by aliens who run our borders may be, there
are millions of illegal aliens who did not enter our country by running
our nation’s borders, but by easily gaming the visa process by
committing visa fraud.

Still more aliens easily enter our country through the inspections process, that is supposed
to protect our nation and our citizens from aliens whose presence is
problematic without  applying for a visa that is supposed to provide as a
significant layer of security by screening aliens who seek to enter the
United States.  These aliens are not violating any laws or regulations
in entering our country without first applying for and receiving visas,
they are citizens of some 35 countries that participate in the Visa
Waiver Program and currently, the President, under extreme pressure from
the Discover America Partnership, is proposing to add still more
countries to the list of countries whose citizens don’t need visas in
order to enter the United States.

It is officially estimated that there are currently some 5 million
illegal aliens in our country today who violated the terms of their
admission into the United States.  Meanwhile, according to government
statistics, there are fewer than 300 special agents of ICE (Immigration
and Customs Enforcement) assigned to attempt to locate and apprehend
these millions of illegal aliens and seek their removal from the United
States.

Altogether there are an estimated 7,000 special agents employed by
ICE to enforce not only immigration laws from within the interior of the
United States but customs laws as well.  Most of the managers including
those at ICE headquarters came from Legacy Customs and thus are more
oriented to enforcing customs laws rather than immigration laws. To put
the number of enforcement personnel at ICE in proper perspective, the
TSA has more than 60,000 employees!

Further hampering this process is the current policy of the Obama
administration to not arrest nor seek the removal of any illegal aliens
who do not have convictions for felonies!

To put things in perspective, nearly every terrorist who attacked our
nation or attempted to attack our nation had no criminal convictions. 
Under the current policies of not seeking to arrest illegal aliens who
have no criminal convictions even if the next Mohamed Atta (A major
player in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001) was encountered
by ICE agents today, they would not be permitted to seek to arrest him
unless they had specific knowledge about his involvement in terrorist
activities.

I can tell you from my 30 years of experience with the INS that my
colleagues and I often stumbled upon fugitives and individuals involved
in terrorism or serious crimes by chance and, as events unfolded, it
became apparent that the individual we had encountered posed a threat. 
This is how, in 1976, I fortuitously stumbled upon a terrorist attack by
terrorists to blow up an Israeli oil refinery.  Playing a hunch, we
managed to assist the Israeli National Police in averting what could
have been a true catastrophe!

The parlance of law enforcement and intelligence, this idea of
happenstance or serendipitously stumbling upon a potential threat is
known as randomness.  In December 2007 Michael Chertoff, Janet
Napolitano’s predecessor at the helm of the DHS issued a truly massive
news release titled Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on 2007 Achievements and 2008 Priorities.

What you should consider is this excerpt from that news release the reported on Mr. Chertoff’s statement:

But TSA, again, is another agency that is using this
philosophy of layered defenses as a way of making sure that we don’t
compromise our security simply because human error means that any single
defense is not perfect.

We not only have watch lists, we not only have the
TSA screening function, but we are now deploying behavioral screening
officers to more than 40 of our nation’s airports in order to identify
potentially threatening passengers based on their behavior. We’ve
learned lessons, for example, from the Israelis and the Europeans in how
to train our screeners to look for certain kinds of behavior that
denotes a possible threat or an uneasiness that warrants a closer
inspection. This is a proven tool. It enhances yet another layer of
security, and it helps us build an element of randomness in the process,
which is very important in terms of deterring terrorists.

Both of these programs reflect our determination to
move beyond the static, inflexible model of checkpoint screening, with
which we began TSA, to a more dynamic and multi-layered security
environment that includes, apart from behavioral detection, such tools
as whole body imaging, and a focus on improvised explosive devices.
We’ll be expanding this concept next year because it’s not enough to
simply say we’ve avoided another hijacking on our aircraft since
September 11th. We have to make sure we keep ahead of the enemy so we
can continue to avoid those kinds of hijackings.

Mr. Chertoff also addressed the concept of “multiple layers of
protection.”  He drew the analogy of how an airplane landing on the deck
of an aircraft carrier uses a tail hook that is supposed to grab a
cable to enable it to stop.  Rather than provide a single cable, there
are multiple cables so that the successful landing of that aircraft does
not depend on a single cable.  This is a good analogy and an important
concept.

Here is how he described this:

Now as I said, our mandate is not only to protect
against dangerous people entering the country, but also dangerous goods,
including, in particular, goods that might be radioactive, or other
weapons of mass destruction.

Our approach here is not to rely on any single layer
of protection, but multiple layers of protection. This reflects the
common-sense observation that while human failure is inevitable in any
system, the more systems you build with different kinds of capabilities,
the less likely that that failure will persist throughout all of the
individual gates that something or someone has to pass.

It’s a little bit like if you’ve ever landed on an
aircraft carrier, the tail hook has a number of different bands across
the carrier deck that it can catch — not just one, but several. And the
idea is recognition that the pilot will sometimes miss the first tail
hook, and the tail hook will miss the first band, but it will hit the
second one or the third one or the fourth one or the fifth one. And that
principle of multiple layers, which works on aircraft carriers, also
works in securing our borders with respect to dangerous things and
dangerous people.

Clearly our leaders understand what is needed, what is lacking is
integrity and the political will.  They certainly talk a good game,
making it clear that they know what is needed, but then never provide
what they know is absolutely essential.  As one of INS’ top officials
once told me a long time ago, “We get all wind up and no pitch!”

If, God forbid there is another terrorist attack, would it not be an
outrage that their tombstones could be inscribed, “Here lies an innocent
victim, who lost his (her) life to the lack of political will and the
lack of integrity of the United States Government?”

There
is a mythology that the open borders anarchists love to perpetuate;
aliens who run our borders are simply trying to make some money doing
the work Americans won’t do.

I just love being a “Myth Buster!”

My commentary today is predicated upon a news release that appeared
on the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) website on January 9.
2012 and was titled: ICE HSI agents arrest fugitive, member of Juarez kidnapping ring Cesar ‘El Chilin’ Vega-Muñoz was working at local restaurant.

The point is that, contrary to what many politicians and high ranking
members of the Obama administration may claim, it most certainly is a
serious matter when an alien violates our nation’s borders and the
inspections program that is supposed to prevent the entry of aliens into
our country who pose a threat to the wellbeing and safety of our nation
and our citizens.

Our military is increasingly relying on stealth technology to conceal
its weapons from the enemies from the United States.  Think of how much
money has been spent on all sorts of technology to make our aircraft
invisible to radar.  New naval vessels are now also being constructed to
reduce their radar cross section to make them harder to detect.

For quite some time soldiers have worn camouflage fatigues and even
have applied a sort of grease-paint makeup to achieve the goal of
concealment to make them less visible to their enemies while their
enemies utilize similar tactics for the same purpose.

Homeowners are advised to trim shrubs around doors and windows and
install motion sensors that turn on bright lights when someone
approaches their homes.  The idea is to not allow someone who may pose a
threat to have access to entry points into their homes because it must
be presumed that anyone who would break into a house has malevolent
intentions.

The Presidential Commission on the Terrorist Attacks of September 11,
2001 devoted considerable time and effort into exploring the ways that
the terrorists managed to enter our country and then hide in plain sight
as they prepared to launch the most violent terrorist attack ever
committed on American soil and, arguably, anywhere in the history of the
modern world.  The 9/11 Commission used the term “Embed” to describe
the way that they managed to hide in plain sight including the adopting
and use of some 364 false names and variations of false names.

Commonsense and real life experiences tell us that someone who seeks
to move surreptitiously cannot be trusted.  Even our “hard-wired”
survival instincts that we are born with warn us about anyone or
anything that hides from us.  If you don’t believe me, consider how
young children react to someone suddenly jumping out from a hiding place
and screaming “Boo!” at the child!  Even adults will almost always
exhibit an extreme “startle response” when confronted with that sort of
surprise greeting.

Now I want you to consider how the open borders anarchists repeatedly
talk about how good it would be to get the “undocumented workers” to
come out of the shadows in which they are hiding.  Their solution to
those millions of illegal aliens who routinely hide in plain sight is to
offer them official identity documents in whatever names they would
provide in an application even though there is no easy way for anyone to
really know who they are.  The use of false names by criminals, spies
and terrorists is the equivalent of the camouflage fatigues used by our
combat soldiers- it conceals their true identities from our authorities
who are charged with protecting us from the bad guys.

Yet this is the “solution” that is nearly always offered by those who
favor what they refer to as “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”  In
part, this is why I have come to refer to such massive amnesty programs
by a far more accurate and descriptive term- I have come to refer to
Comprehensive Immigration Reform as truly being the “Terrorist
Assistance and Facilitation Act.”  On June 22, 2007 the Washington Times
published an opinion piece I wrote that was entitled Immigration bill a ‘No Go’ in which I laid out my concerns.

The ICE news release that served as the basis for my commentary today
reported on how Cesar “El Chilin” Vega-Muñoz had been deported from the
United States in April 2009 after he had attempted entry into the
United States using the false identity documents of another individual.

He was clearly highly motivated to seek to enter the United States
because he is wanted in Mexico for being part of a pernicious kidnapping
ring, El Neto, that reportedly specializes in kidnapping wealthy
businessmen in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and had been sentenced to serve 42
years in prison and then was aided in escaping from Mexican law
enforcement custody while he was being transported in a van that came
under gunfire from apparent confederates.

What is important to know is that he was arrested by Special Agents
of ICE in El Paso, Texas as he stood outside the restaurant where he
worked as a cook.

I am fairly certain that the patrons of that restaurant had no idea
as to what other “skills” the cook who prepared their food possessed! 
Although not noted in the news release, it is likely that Vega-Munoz was
using false identity documents to conceal his identity and his criminal
history.

IN my many years with the INS, nearly every time we sought a fugitive
who was wanted in another country for committing a serious crime, that
alien was found working on a mundane job and almost always his coworkers
were shocked to find out that the guy with the pleasant smile was a
dangerous and perhaps violent criminal!

Looks can certainly be deceiving!  Yet most folks are quite naive-
think how many times neighbors of a war criminal or particular dangerous
criminal are interviewed by reporters and tell the reporter how the
criminal next door or the terrorist next door was polite and often
smiled benevolently at them.

Certainly the ICE personnel who arrested this dangerous fugitive are
to be lauded for their job well done, but what must also be understood
is that there are many more such fugitives from all over the world who,
at this very moment, are managing to hide in plain sight and if there is
one thing that they undoubtedly pray for every day, is the passage of a
massive amnesty program that would enable them to create brand new
“clean” identities for themselves!

While there was no mention as to how ICE came to become aware of
Vega-Munoz’s presence at the restaurant where he was working and
subsequently arrested, I would venture a guess that the fact that had
been previously deported may have played a role in his being targeted
for arrest.  The administration’s current policy of not seeking to
arrest illegal aliens who have no criminal convictions in the United
States makes it far less likely that a criminal or terrorist who has
embedded himself in a community under an assumed identity will be
discovered for being the bad guy that he truly is.  All that such
criminals or terrorists need to do is to acquire a false identity-
something that is nearly as easy as buying a newspaper these days, and
make certain to not interact with local police.

In this game of “hide and seek” the bad guys are hiding but the good guys have been ordered to not seek!

I
want you to imagine a scenario where a man comes home from work, and
announces to his family, “I was fired today but I am very happy, the guy
who is going to replace me is from the same country I came from!”

Next, I want you to imagine that the victim of a violent assault is
lying in his hospital bed and when his concerned family members race to
the hospital he says to them, “I got mugged last night and the thief
stole my gold watch and my wallet with my paycheck in it and then
stabbed me in my stomach, but it’s okay, I think he was also from the
same country my parents came from!”

Certainly those two statement are not likely to be heard anywhere in
the real world but I ask that you stop and think about the claims made
by open borders anarchists who say that the only way for political
candidates to win the votes of the Latino voters is to support measures
that would provide lawful status to unknown millions of illegal aliens
who are present in our country and encourage many more illegal aliens to
enter the United States.  The most likely reason that illegal aliens
come to the United States is to find a job.  A small but significant
percentage of illegal aliens have criminal histories and may be
fugitives in other countries or may be seeking to ply their criminal
“trades” in the United States.

Today we will turn on the bright light of truth and illuminate just
how flawed the arguments about how politicians can secure the
hypothetical “Latino vote” are.

Let us begin by considering the definition of the term “Reason:”

1 a : a statement offered in explanation or justification <gave reasons that were quite satisfactory> b : a rational ground or motive <a good reason to act soon> c : a sufficient ground of explanation or of logical defense; especially : something (as a principle or law) that supports a conclusion or explains a fact <the reasons behind her client’s action> d : the thing that makes some fact intelligible : cause <the reason for earthquakes> <the real reason why he wanted me to stay — Graham Greene>

2 a (1): the power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking especially in orderly rational ways: intelligence (2): proper exercise of the mind (3): sanity b: the sum of the intellectual powers

The process of reasoning is supposed to be fact-based.

Now let’s consider how often the journalists and pundit invoke the
notion that the only way a politician can capture the “Hispanic Vote” is
to support Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the DREAM Act and other
such purportedly “Pro-Immigrant” legislation.

The fatal flaw in that “reasoning” is the purpose for which
immigration laws are established in the first place- those laws are
supposed to protect the citizens of a country against the presence of
aliens who would create a problem for the citizens and the nation. 
Prior to the Second World War, the enforcement and administration of the
immigration laws was the responsibility of the Department of Labor. 
The concern was that a massive influx of foreign workers would do great
harm to the American workforce.  It was this philosophy and concern for
American workers that gave rise to the Middle Class and the American
Dream.

Today all too many politicians and all too many journalists are quick
to talk about how to make so-called “American companies” competitive
but almost never talk about how to help American families become
successful and increase their standards of living.  In fact, we are
often told to expect, that American youngsters will likely be less
financially well off then their parents are!  For the first time in many
generations, the next generation has to expect to do worse than their
parents did!  This is essentially an acknowledgement of the death of the
American Dream!

Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve Bank and,
arguably, one of those responsible for the economic crisis, was called
to provide testimony before the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, when it
held a hearing on April 30, 2009 into Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  In his prepared testimony,
Greenspan bemoaned the fact that American workers are being shielded
from competition from foreign workers causing them to earn too much
money!  In fact, he referred to American workers who have skills and
education as the “Privileged elite!”

In point of fact, our citizens are supposed to be shielded.  This is precisely what “providing for the common defense” as called for in our nation’s Constitution means!

Our armed forces exist to shield our nation and our citizens from our
nation’s enemies.  Police officers and, in fact law enforcement
officers on all levels are supposed to shield those in our country from
criminals.

Our nation’s immigration laws should also be seen as a shield.  A
shield against our nation’s enemies, a shield against aliens who are
violent, a shield against aliens who have dangerous communicable
diseases and a shield against aliens who would take the jobs Americans
want!  This is not just my position- this is what is in the laws of the
United States, especially the laws contained within the Immigration and
Nationality Act!

Our nation’s immigration laws are not being enforced effectively. 
The result is that today there are many millions of illegal aliens
taking jobs Americans desperately need to support themselves and their
families.  With all of the talk about the need to create jobs, not one
politician has yet talked about the need to liberate jobs through the
enforcement of the immigration laws.

It is time for our political leaders to truly earn the title leader
and speak honestly and candidly about our immigration laws.  They need
to not only understand why our nation has immigration laws, but
demonstrate true leadership and explain that the effective enforcement
of our immigration laws is not about bigotry but about looking out for
the well being of our nation and our citizens of every race, religion
and ethnicity.

As I noted at the conclusion of my remarks before the Tea Party Convention in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina:

There is a credit card company whose slogan is
“Membership has its privileges.”  It is time that the United States
adopts a similar slogan; I would suggest that it should be “Citizenship
has its privileges!”  First and foremost, our immigration laws must be
effectively enforced to protect the safety and wellbeing of our citizens
and our country.

A Country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!