A Stern Face and a Warm Welcome

TO the casual observer, it might seem that the federal government has made real progress on immigration since 9/11. And, in fact, some of the measures we’ve seen over the past two years are encouraging signs that immigration is again being taken seriously, after decades of malign neglect: the shift of the immigration function to the new Homeland Security Department, progress toward developing a tracking system for foreign visitors, and registration of aliens from certain Middle Eastern countries.

But these are scattered moves lacking an overall strategy; the discussion of immigration policy in the political realm remains mired in the “nation of immigrants” clichés. This drift in immigration policy has allowed the illegal-alien population to balloon to 9 million, with two consequences: First, irresponsible proposals for vast amnesties (usually tarted up as guest-worker programs) have been put forward by, among others, the White House and Sens. John McCain and Edward Kennedy. Second, the policy vacuum has enabled immigration policy to be set, by default, by state and local authorities, under the direction of the Mexican foreign ministry. Jurisdictions across the country are progressively enacting a series of measures that amount to a de facto illegal-alien amnesty—California’s decision to issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens being only the most recent example.

About the Author

Mark Krikorian

Mark Krikorian is the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

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TO the casual observer, it might seem that the federal government has made real progress on immigration since 9/11. And, in fact, some of the measures we’ve seen over the past two years are encouraging signs that immigration is again being taken seriously, after decades of malign neglect: the shift of the immigration function to the new Homeland Security Department, progress toward developing a tracking system for foreign visitors, and registration of aliens from certain Middle Eastern countries.

But these are scattered moves lacking an overall strategy; the discussion of immigration policy in the political realm remains mired in the “nation of immigrants” clichés. This drift in immigration policy has allowed the illegal-alien population to balloon to 9 million, with two consequences: First, irresponsible proposals for vast amnesties (usually tarted up as guest-worker programs) have been put forward by, among others, the White House and Sens. John McCain and Edward Kennedy. Second, the policy vacuum has enabled immigration policy to be set, by default, by state and local authorities, under the direction of the Mexican foreign ministry. Jurisdictions across the country are progressively enacting a series of measures that amount to a de facto illegal-alien amnesty—California’s decision to issue driver’s licenses to illegal aliens being only the most recent example.