Jeff Johnson, CNSNews.com
Friday, Dec. 21, 2001

Marking Thursday's 100-day anniversary of the attacks, the caucus is calling for the elimination of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the creation of a new National Border Security Agency (NBSA).

"Before September 11th, there weren't many people who took a lot of interest in the whole issue of immigration reform," Rep. Gil Gutknecht, R-Minn., said. "September 11th has really served as a very painful wake-up call to the United States in terms of just how bad our immigration policy is, and how poorly we implement it."

Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo, chairman of the caucus, is satisfied with the U.S. efforts to root out terrorists and the governments that support them overseas.

"But what have we done here? What have we done to secure our own borders in those 100 days? What have we done to make sure that we don't have people like these coming into the United States again, or living here now?" he asked. "Essentially, nothing."

According to the most recent report from the INS, 13 of the 19 terrorists involved in the attacks entered the U.S. legally on visas, but several of them had violated those visas and remained in the country illegally.

Three of the terrorists reportedly entered the country through an "express visa program" that allows applicants to download a form from the local U.S. embassy website and process it through their travel agent. The process requires no direct contact with U.S. government personnel.

INS acknowledges that it has no idea how or when the other six terrorists entered the country.

"We cannot completely seal the borders, it's probably next to impossible. But I can tell you that we can do a much better job than we are doing today," Tancredo said. "One of the things that has to happen is that we have to totally, completely reform the entire process, starting with the elimination of the INS ... it cannot do the job."

Tancredo's "National Border Security Act" would replace the INS, Coast Guard, and Border Patrol with the NBSA. Additionally, several other agencies would be stripped of their limited border security duties, all of which would be handled by the new agency.

The bill would also enhance the ability of the Department of State and intelligence agencies to cooperate with border security officials.

Rep. Charles Norwood, R-Ga., reminded observers that members of the caucus had been warning for as long as five years that something like Sept. 11th could happen if U.S. immigration laws remained weak.

"We, in turn, have been accused of being xenophobic, anti-immigration, and anti-free trade for voicing these concerns for our national security," Norwood said. "Sadly, and disappointingly, history has proven us 100 percent correct."

He says it is past time the U.S. borders be brought under control, whatever the cost.

"I support legal, planned, reasonable immigration, but the bottom line here, ladies and gentlemen, is the protection of American citizens," Norwood said. "In choosing between the rights of immigrants, legal or illegal, and the safety of our citizens, there simply is no other choice in my mind."

Tancredo believes the prospects for the bill are better than they would have been in the past.

"If 9-11 hadn't happened, this bill wouldn't have a prayer," he said, adding that he doesn't want to be seen as capitalizing on the tragedy, "but after 9-11, everything has changed. If that didn't teach us a lesson, shame on us."

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