Is there a national security component to the border enforcement issue?
I view the security argument as a red herring in the context of immigration control. The fact is that we have not apprehended a single (terrorist suspect) person entering the U.S. clandestinely from along the southwestern border since 9/11. We have apprehended one person coming in from Canada. But the southwestern border, as poor [on security] as it may be, has simply not been a conduit for potential terrorists. The Border Patrol would respond that you’re not wrong but they would say what concerns them is the potential because the smugglers will sell their services to anybody, they are for hire and will go to the highest bidder. Let me circle around and get to the larger question here. What is a cost-effective way of enhancing national security through immigration control? It is not chasing economic migrants around the Southwest. It is much more careful screening of applicants for non-immigrant visas, tourist visas, student visas, etc., in our consulates and embassies abroad. Even now,
