Immigration Enforcement and Border Security Are the First Line Defense Against Terrorists
foxnews.com
By Rep. Lamar Smith

Published September 12, 2011

All of us can remember where we were the day a foreign enemy attacked us on our own soil ten years ago. On that day in September, thousands of innocent Americans lost their lives. We will never forget them.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks forever changed our perception of what it means to be safe but it didn’t change who we are. While the threat of terrorism is now a part of our daily lives, we have resolved to continue defending our freedom and securing the blessings of liberty.

In the aftermath of 9/11, we collectively asked ourselves how an attack of this magnitude could have happened.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks demonstrated the need to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws to keep terrorists from entering the U.S. Although we have made significant strides to protect the homeland, cracks in our immigration system and along the border remain.

For example, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we learned that our immigration system had been used by foreign terrorists to gain a safe haven in the United States. All of the 9/11 hijackers received visas to come to the U.S. And once they were here, all but one of the 9/11 hijackers acquired some form of a U.S. identification document. These forms of ID helped them board commercial flights on 9/11.

Following the devastating attacks, Congress appointed the 9/11 Commission to examine intelligence failures that led to September 11. The 9/11 Commission recognized these immigration-related weaknesses as part of the problem.

To keep terrorists—who may be in the U.S. illegally—from getting valid forms of ID, Congress passed the REAL ID Act. The law prohibits illegal immigrants, including terrorists, from obtaining forms of identification that can be used to board planes and enter federal buildings. Regrettably, the Obama administration has continued to delay its implementation until January 2013.

To address visa security, Congress created the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Visa Security Program. The goal was simple: increase the security of the visa process at U.S. embassies and consulates in “highest-riskâ€