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Threat of Open Borders Concerns Conference Wes Vernon, NewsMax.comARLINGTON, Va. – A wartime threat to Americans' safety has emerged as the dominant issue at an annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (C-PAC) near the nation's capital. Meanwhile, the thousands of attendees were divided on the issue of national security versus civil liberties. C-PAC Chairman David Keene told NewsMax.com at the opening news conference Thursday of the three-day confab that conservatives of all persuasions were deeply troubled by the lax attitude toward national security demonstrated as recently as last week on Capitol Hill. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., in the dead of night quietly inserted in a spending bill an amendment to stop funding a program requiring male immigrants from two dozen terrorist countries to register with the INS. "There is widespread concern with that move," Keene told NewsMax. He recalled that when the program was enacted back in 1996, the Clinton administration made clear that it was not going to enforce it. Then INS Commissioner Doris Meissner actually stated publicly that her agency would use loopholes in the legislation to avoid its enforcement. That was pre-9/11. Kennedy's move as the U.S. prepares for war with Iraq compounds the danger. When NewsMax.com appeared on a radio broadcast Thursday discussing Kennedy's move, Radio America Network talk show host Alan Nathan described the cavalier attitude toward protecting our borders as "lunacy" and "idiocy." Last year when NewsMax asked Messner's successor, James Ziglar, if his job were complicated by the fact that many members of both major parties ignore the onslaught of illegal aliens, he replied, "You won't get me in that trap." Keene said that though there was disagreement among conservatives on immigration, there was agreement on the need to protect the borders from any potential terrorists. However, there are concerns about individual liberties. On Friday, the conference will offer a debate on "Safeguarding Our Liberties in Time of War." Former Rep Bob Barr, R-Ga., and Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy are expected to take opposite sides in weighing those two concerns.
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