Counterterrorism Blog

This article published by "Government Executive" is of great significance because of one simple fact: the immigration system has no integrity! As you read the article (about the processing of up to 30,000 citizenship applications in 2005 without reviewing critical background files), you will notice that a link has been provided to a GAO report that documents the ineptitude and incompetence of USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) in carrying out what is arguably its most serious mission, the adjudication of applications for United States citizenship. I would urge you to read that report.

Think about the implications of a statement made by Senator Charles Grassley, a senator from Iowa, that I will repeat here. "It only takes one missing file of somebody with links to a terrorist organization to become an American citizen," Grassley said in a statement. "A terrorist can be unsuccessful thousands of times, but we have to be perfect all the time. We can't afford to be handing out citizenship with blinders on."

Clearly Senator Grassley's statement makes it clear that he understands the grave risks posed by the ineptitude of the USCIS. In fact, on September 1 of this year, he testified at a field hearing conducted by the House Judiciary Committee in Dubuque, Iowa on the amnesty bill that was passed by the Senate (S. 2611). He spoke eloquently at that hearing. In fact, I testified at that very same hearing and so I heard Senator Grassley deliver his prepared testimony and provide other testimony about the failings of S.2611. His statement is worth reviewing, and you can read the hearing transcript here. The point is that USCIS is running an obviously fatally flawed program to naturalize aliens, where the emphasis is on the elimination of the backlog and not on making an effort to perform a cursory review of the relevant immigration files of as many as 30,000 cases this year alone!

That review could not possibly have taken place, because the adjudications officers had no access to those critical files. I have often made the point that United States citizenship represents the "Keys to the kingdom." Clearly Senator Grassley understands these issues and he should be commended for his willingness to not only press the government to determine what went wrong, but he has demonstrated his willingness to publicly concede that he was wrong for supporting the fraud-laden amnesty program of 1986.

Senator Susan Collins should also be commended for joining Senator Grassley in inquiring about the fiasco at USCIS. The failures of USCIS to conduct the naturalization program with even a modicum of integrity should provide proof positive that if that same inept agency was to be charged with implementing a guest worker amnesty program, we would have tens of millions of illegal aliens being granted official identity documents where their true identities would not be knowable and hence terrorists and criminals would have an ideal situation, created by the very same USCIS, wherein they would be able to obtain official identity documents in false names that they could use as breeder documents to create totally new identities that would enable them to circumvent the various terror watch lists, gain access to airliners and other supposedly secure venues and initiate terrorist attacks against our nation and our citizens.

So many official reports have been issued by each of the various oversight and investigative agencies of the United States government concerning failures of the component agencies involved in the enforcement of the immigration laws, security of our borders and the way that the immigration laws are administered when aliens seek to acquire a wide range of immigration benefits including the granting of resident alien status and even naturalize and become United States citizens. I have yet to see a single report that provides even an illusion that these efforts do not constitute a veritable train wreck! The 9-11 Commission's findings have made it clear that the terrorists who attacked our nation of September 11, 2001 were able to do so because the immigration system was fatally flawed. The reports that have been issued since those horrific attacks make it clear that little has changed to resolve these vulnerabilities to protect our nation. Indeed, in many ways the creation of DHS with the resulting merger of Customs, Immigration and other agencies has exacerbated the crisis. Yet there are members of the House of Representatives as well as the Senate who blithely ignore these reports and insist that our nation should implement a guest worker amnesty program that would be implemented by the agency that appears to be managed by the "Not ready for prime time players!"

Many years ago I took some flying lessons and while I never did get my license I logged a number of solo hours. The first task for any pilot, before getting into an airplane and roaring into the sky is to perform a pre-flight inspection to make certain that the airplane is safe to fly. You certainly do not want to get to ten thousand feet and find the engine is failing or the wings are falling off! The many reports that have detailed such high levels of ineptitude and incompetence and a lack of resources at USCIS and the other agencies involved in the enforcement and administration of the immigration laws and regulations should be viewed as a sort of "pre-flight inspection" that makes it clear that this airplane should never fly! There are many reasons I am absolutely opposed to the implementation of any guest worker amnesty program to accords lawful status to illegal aliens. One of the primary issues is that this program could never be effectively managed or administered by USCIS.

It has been said that a chain is as strong as its weakest link. When you look at the supposed immigration system, you find only weak links and nonexistent links. This must change if we are to protect ourselves from the terrorists who would wreak havoc and destruction on our nation and slaughter our citizens.

Lead, follow or get out of the way!