REVIEW & OUTLOOK
Immigrants and Terrorists
So Atta got his visa. That's no reason to kick out Mexican workers.
The delayed mailings of visa approvals for two September 11 terrorists has the Immigration and Naturalization Service in dutch with everyone from President Bush on down. We won't waste your time piling on. The need for serious reform at the INS is obvious, but so is the need for lawmakers to distinguish between immigrants who bus tables and those who hijack airplanes.
Last week the House debated a sensible bill on immigrant residency that recognizes such a distinction. The measure ultimately passed in a 275 to 137 vote, despite strong objections from some in the GOP. It would allow mostly Mexican aliens who have entered the U.S. legally to remain here while they seek residency. An earlier version easily passed the House in a preliminary 336-43 vote last May. Last week's debate and lower margin are signs that a large clutch of Republicans are now bent on exploiting the terror attacks to advance their anti-immigrant agenda.
Leading this brigade is Colorado's Tom Tancredo, who warned his colleagues that "people will be given amnesty under this plan who may in fact even be terrorists." Congressman Dana Rohrabacher of California agrees. Last week he told House Members that to "extend amnesty to these illegal aliens is unworthy of this body." To stop the next Mohammed Atta, this thinking goes, it is necessary to upend the lives of Mexican nannies in San Diego. Never mind that Atta and the other hijackers had all entered the U.S. legally.
The House bill, which Mr. Bush backs, would temporarily reauthorize a program that drew some 400,000 applicants before it expired on April 30. The program targets noncitizens who entered the U.S. on a valid visa that has now expired or is about to. These individuals are eligible for a permanent resident visa, but under existing law they must return to their country of origin to reapply, a process that could keep them out of the U.S. for up to 10 years. Extending the program allows these immigrants to remain in the U.S. while they reapply.
It's the humane course to take. Seventy percent of those eligible are children or spouses of American citizens or permanent residents. It also makes economic sense. Many of these workers are now settled in companies and communities where they make a large contribution.
There's always a chance that terrorist cells lie dormant among these folks, but it's hardly likely. There's also a chance that every person who enters the U.S. legally is a security risk, which is why the better way to enhance border security is to improve intelligence and information sharing among the INS, CIA and FBI.
Republican immigration opponents surely know this, but scapegoating our hard-working neighbors to the south seems to matter most to them. This is politically short-sighted, considering large immigrant voting populations. But it's also not likely to help the war effort. Sending Mexicans away now with the intention of readmitting them later needlessly burdens already overworked U.S. consular officials whose time would be better spent tracking down more legitimate threats.
The Senate will now consider the President's residency proposals, and Republicans must decide whether Mr. Bush or Mr. Tancredo is the voice of the party on immigration. The realities of migration in a global economy should make the choice obvious. Until Mexican wages reach a point where people don't see more opportunity here, nothing short of a Berlin Wall along the Rio Grande will break the human tide. For now, Mexico's loss is our gain.
