Most of the discussion about stopping illegal immigration focuses on what we should do to control the border, and that usually refers to our southern border with Mexico. This focus misses a key reality, namely that an estimated 40 percent to 60 percent of illegal aliens now residing in the United States did not sneak across the border to get here. In fact, they arrived with temporary legal visas. They became illegal residents when they overstayed those visas and failed to return home.
And what is the government doing about this situation? Two decades of neglect tell the story. In 1996, Congress recognized the problem of visa overstays and authorized laws to establish a biometric entry-exit tracking system. Biometrics include fingerprints and other personal identity markers which can’t be altered. Little followed from these laws.
The issue came up again after the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the U.S., when it came to light that some of the attackers were illegal aliens, having overstayed visas. The 9/11 Commission Report stated that a biometric entry-exit system was “fundamental to intercepting terrorists.” Again, not much happened.
In 2004, Congress passed legislation directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to move forward with the entry-exit project. It was delayed repeatedly. In 2007, Congress told DHS to have the system up and running by 2009. When that deadline passed, there was nothing to show but a few pilot projects.
The stark reality of this dereliction became even more evident recently when DHS admitted that in fiscal 2015 more than 500,000 foreigners overstayed their visas and remained in the U.S. Commenting on this situation, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) stated, “By not enforcing visa overstays, the [Obama] administration has flung the border open – millions get temp visas and then freely violate their entry contracts and shred their eviction notices.” A recent Rasmussen poll found that 72 percent of likely American voters believe that the administration is too lax in dealing with overstayers.
So why does this situation continue without effective remedy? One reason is resistance from the airline industry which doesn’t want the cost of involvement in the system, a requirement sometimes proposed. Another reason is the claim that a fully developed entry-exist system would be too costly.
But it would not be necessary to involve the airlines, and the matter of expense seems to be an excuse for inaction rather than a legitimate concern. Setting up the system for the first year would cost between $400 and $600 million, hardly exorbitant in terms of spending on federal programs. Furthermore, this amount would not have to come from U.S. taxpayers. Adding a small charge for visa applicants could easily cover the cost.
A further explanation for the inaction is that administrations for the past 20 years simply have not had much interest in reliable entry-exit programs or any other kind of interior enforcement, with the Obama Administration being foremost in this indifference. At the same time they have make a lot of noise about controlling the border, thus giving the impression that stopping illegal immigration begins and ends there.
The truth is that effective immigration law enforcement can’t happen without border security and interior enforcement to back it up. If illegal aliens think they can be home free if they can just make it across the border – even one fairly well secured – many will find ingenious ways to do so. Knowledge that they might later be caught and returned home is necessary to discourage them. And once again, half or more of illegal aliens don’t sneak across the border to get here. Interior security is the only way to address this part of the broad problem of illegal immigration.
Another enforcement tool authorized 20 years ago was an effective means for businesses to check federal databases to determine the legal status of their employees. Just like an effective entry-exit program, the government dragged its feet on this one too, but in 2007 the web-based E-Verify program emerged for employers to use. E-Verify is effective in denying employment to illegal aliens which is why illegal alien advocates strongly oppose it. They have fought every attempt to make this now mostly voluntary program mandatory for all employers. If illegal aliens can’t get jobs, we won’t have to deport them; they’ll go home on their own.
Sometimes politicians speak from ignorance when they talk about “securing the border” as the sole solution to illegal immigration. But some point to the border to distract attention from the interior. With this slight-of-hand they keep America safe for illegal immigration.