Who Stands for What?
It’s never too early to talk about the 2008 presidential election. Campaigning is well underway for an event that takes place more than a year from now. Political pundits are having a heyday, and the media is taking note of every word. Candidates are jostling for positions and there are already discussion on who has the lead.
According to a recent Sunday edition of The Australian, Austrailia’s national daily newspaper, former New York mayor and the embodiment of getting tough on terrorists, Rudy Giuliani, demands that every foreigner in the United States be required to carry an ID card with a photograph and fingerprints. Giuliani’s get tough on foreigners stance is his way of cementing his promise to enforce immigration and border controls.
Here’s Giuliani’s plan: Foreigners coming to this country would be obliged to carry a tamper-proof biometric card, issued at ports of entry.
“If you don’t have that card, you get thrown out of the country,” Giuliani said.
The proposal reinforces the belief that the presidential candidate is tough on terrorism, but at what expense is he willing to throw out civil liberties? I wonder what circumstances would be sufficient to ask someone from another country to produce their biometric card.
Former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney has, in the past, accused Giuliani of running New York as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. The comments provoked bitter returns from the Giuliani camp about Romney’s own record as governor of the most left-wing state in the Unites States. Yet, as governor, Romney authorized Massachusetts state police to enforce federal immigration laws.
So, let the battle begin for the Republican nomination. Polls indicate Giuliani is the frontrunner, but Romney has the appeal and ability to raise more campaign funding than just about anyone else. John McCain is a sentimental favorite, where Mike Huckabee is a common-sense favorite.
In the meantime, former Sen. Fred Thompson is still testing the waters at this writing, but is expected to join the ranks. Thompson has the ability to be a frontrunner upon entry. Sam Brownback is a Reagan Republican and won’t get the backing he needs to upstage the politicos, and from the “who’s that?” column, Duncan Hunter, Ron Paul and Tom Tancredo are only short timers in this race.
Among the issues that candidates will argue during the next year are national security and immigration reform. Immigration reform begins with a secure border and enough border agents to ensure safety and security. I’ve selected who I believe are the top five Republican candidates for nomination, not in any order of preference.
Mike Huckabee’s top priority is to secure America’s border. According to Huckabee, Americans must know who is coming into the country, where they are going and why they are here. He also believes we need a fence along the border with Mexico, which would be electronic in some places, and more highly-trained border agents. Besides stopping terrorists, Huckabee says we must weed out those with a criminal background or a communicable disease.
John McCain believes immigration reform is a national security priority that demands immediate action. McCain said that in the post-Sept. 11 era of constant terrorists threats, reform is needed to bring illegal immigrants out of hiding so the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement officials can focus resources where they are most needed.
Several principles are necessary to be part of Mitt Romney’s immigration plan. Romney said the first is to secure the border with a wall, fence or electronic surveillance. His opinion is that the current system puts up a concrete wall to the best and brightest, while those without skill or education are able to walk across the border. Reformation of current immigration law is necessary so Americans can secure borders, implement a mandatory biometrically-enabled and tamper-proof documentation and employment-verification system, and increase legal immigration into the country.
The former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said he would end illegal immigration, secure the U.S. borders and identify every non-citizen in the Unites States. Giuliani said real immigration reform must put security first because border security and homeland security are inseparable in the “Terrorists’ War on Us.” The first responsibility of the government is to protect our citizens by controlling America’s borders, while ending illegal immigration and identifying every non-citizen in our nation. We must restore integrity, accountability and the rule of law to our immigration system to regain the faith of the American people.
While not yet in the race for the Republican nomination, Fred Thompson said the country can’t have national security without border security. He said it’s not only necessary for any meaningful immigration reform; border security also plays a key role in both the interdiction of illegal drugs and in defending America against terrorist threats. Weak borders allow terrorists and smugglers, as well as millions of illegal aliens, easy entrance to the United States. Unfortunately, it’s not at all clear our government is committed to its first responsibility: the protection of our borders.
Border security and immigration reform will be hot topics during the next year and beyond. However, border security has to be more than talk. It’s time for politicos to turn from talk to action.
Any presidential administration will do more than “catch-and-return” at the border. It’s critical to strengthen security at the border with additional agents, cameras and radar towers. It also will be vital to employ additional unmanned aerial vehicles, which can alert Border Patrol agents that illegal border crossers are on the move. Security might be better enhanced by pressing recalcitrant counties to work with the United States to repatriate citizens who are in the United States illegally.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is editor-in-chief of Security Products magazine.