The Impact of Terrorism on Immigration Essay -- Exploratory Essays Res

The Impact of Terrorism on Immigration    Always on the lookout for opportunities to press their case, anti-immigration advocates lost no time after the attacks of September 11. As one of them pointed out in testimony before the Senate, It seems clear that the 19 terrorists of September 11 were all foreign citizens and entered the United States legally, as tourists, business travelers, or students. This was also true of the perpetrators of previous terrorist acts . . . While it is absolutely essential that we not scapegoat immigrants, especially Muslim immigrants, we also must not overlook the most obvious fact: the current terrorist threat to the United States comes almost exclusively from individuals who arrive from abroad. Thus, our immigration policy, including temporary and permanent visas issuance, border control, and efforts to deal with illegal immigration are all critical to reducing the chance of an attack in the future".1 On a more extreme note, Pat Buchanan urged an immediate moratorium on all immigration, an expansion of the Border Patrol to 20,000, a radical reduction of visas issued to nationals of states that harbor terrorists, and the expedited deportation of "the eight-to-11 million illegal aliens, beginnings with those from rogue nations." Moreover, "President Bush's amnesty proposal" - a reference to ongoing negotiations between the United States and Mexico for a new immigration program, which might include legalization of unauthorized residents - should be quietly interred".2 In the country at large, the attacks unleashed a spate of aggressions against people who were seen as resembling the terrorists or believed to sympathize with them, occasionally with tragic consequences. Overall, Washing... ...d in Newsweek, November 12, 2001. 6 John Torpey, The Invention of the Passport: Surveillance, Citizenship, and the State (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). 7 These figures are taken from Annual Reports of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; I am grateful to Fred C for his assistance in gathering the appropriate data. 8 "Longer Visa Waits for Arabs," The New York Times, Nov. 10, 2001: B5. 9 The Washington Post, Oct. 30, 2001: A1. 10 "In Sweeping Campus Canvasses, U.S. Checks on Mideast Students..." The New York Times, Nov. 12, 2001: B8. 11 The Washington Post, Oct, 25, 2001: A24. 12 Christian Science Monitor, September 19, 2001, 1. 13 The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 25, 2001. 14 The New York Times, September 27, 2001: B3. 15 National Post, October 10, 2001. 16 The New York Times, Oct. 26, 2001: A18.