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The War on Terror Spectator
Gatekeeping Still Matters
Certain interested parties would like to see the National Security Entry-Exit Registration system scrapped — not a good idea, as Flight 253 has reminded us.
People are rightfully asking questions about airline security in the aftermath of the failed attempt by Nigerian jihadist and al Qaeda operative Umar Farouk Abdelmutallab to blow up Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit last month. But another question needs to be asked that is unrelated to body scanners and exploding underwear: what if, instead of a mid-air detonation, Abdelmutallab’s intention had been to de-plane, enter the United States, and carry out an operation at a later time, originating within our borders? Would we have had the tools we needed to prevent this from happening?
We did not have the requisite tools when al Qaeda operatives — including four who entered the U.S. legally and overstayed their visas — carried out the attacks of September 11, 2001. Given this history, and the fact that Abdelmutallab himself indicated at the time of his capture that more attacks were being planned, now is clearly not the time to let our guard down on monitoring who is here from overseas and why.
Yet, that is exactly what some interest groups are asking of the Department of Homeland Security — and the department has agreed to oblige them.
The Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), along with 43 other organizations and individuals, has taken the lead in asking DHS to audit the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) this month, a system designed to identify and monitor the movements of non-immigrants entering the U.S. from specific nations (and in some cases, other non-immigrants presenting a heightened security risk). But ADC has already reached its own conclusion about NSEERS, despite its use of the seemingly benign term “audit,” and has called for the program to be scrapped entirely. For a variety of reasons, this call should be met with skepticism — and the willingness of DHS to entertain proponents of such action should be met with alarm.
So what exactly did DHS agree to consider eliminating at the behest of, among others, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism trial?
Developed in 2002, NSEERS essentially consists of three components. First, citizens or nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria are required to register with DHS at a port of entry immediately upon arrival — this requirement also extends to individuals whom DHS inspectors identify as a potential risk to national security, irrespective of gender or nationality. Second, such individuals are required to use specially designated ports of exit when leaving the United States. Third, if anything changes with respect to such an individual’s address, employment, or education while here, he is required to report such changes to DHS within ten days of the change. According to DHS, failure to comply with NSEERS could render a non-immigrant ineligible to remain in the United States and subject him or her to fines and imprisonment, unless he can show the failure was “reasonably excusable or not willful”.
At one point, there was also a domestic “call-in” component to NSEERS, whereby younger males already inside the United States on non-immigrant visas from 25 countries were required to undergo further processing to verify identity, residence, and employment or matriculation. These individuals were then required to answer an immigration officer’s additional questions under oath. The call-in component, designed as a one-time retroactive registration measure, was subsequently discontinued, though DHS later issued an interim rule in 2003 preserving for itself the ability to impose certain special registration requirements on non-immigrant aliens already inside the United States.
NSEERS is a necessary program. In 2003, The Government Accountability Office identified the security need for tracking non-immigrant visa overstays: “While the vast majority of overstays appear to be motivated by economic opportunities, the few who are potential terrorists could represent a significant threat to our domestic security.” This “significant threat” is underscored by what a 9/11 Commission staff report had to say about the value of programs such as NSEERS:
Perhaps significantly, a senior al Qaeda detainee has stated that after the 9/11 attacks, U.S. government efforts to more closely monitor the American homeland through such actions as, as he termed it, reviewing Muslims’ immigration files and deporting nonpermanent residents made al Qaeda operations more difficult. The detainee cited problems in obtaining tourist visas without interviews and instances in which visa applications were turned down even when the visa documents and passport documentation were complete. If this detainee’s account is credible, these programs may have had some deterrent effect on al Qaeda planning and operations in the United States and may have required terrorists to consider other tactics for entering and remaining inside the United States or to attack elsewhere.
The “detainee” referred to above: 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
Despite the obvious need for NSEERS, the call to kill the program persists, as articulated in an ADC report released in March, 2009. Notably, before proceeding to trash NSEERS on dubious policy grounds, ADC concedes that the courts have repeatedly found nothing unconstitutional about the program. ADC is then left with a series of arguments amounting to (1) questioning the usefulness of NSEERS as a counter-terrorism tool; and (2) questioning the extent to which NSEERS reflects the “kind of America” to which we should aspire, particularly given the “morally and socially troubling” reality that “nearly every individual identified was Muslim and male.”
On the question of NSEER’s usefulness in counter-terrorism, the ADC report turns to analysis by former immigration officials to argue that terrorists are unlikely to volunteer themselves for scrutiny, resulting in NSEERS primarily affecting and penalizing well-meaning, otherwise law-abiding visitors. Additionally, critics of NSEERS, both inside and outside the pages of the ADC report, insist that the program risks offending the Arab/Muslim allies whose cooperation we need if we are to win against terrorism.
These assertions are unconvincing. The idea that we should dismantle NSEERS because a clever, determined jihadist will find a way around it is like saying we should get rid of the guard at the bank, since truly clever, determined bank robbers will find another way to rob the bank. NSEERS has a deterrent and disruptive effect on terrorist plots inside the United States, just as the bank guard will deter and perhaps disrupt bank robberies, though clearly not all of them and not all by himself. The fact that some terrorists will evade NSEERS is hardly a reason to eliminate the program. As the 9/11 Commission staff report asserted: “…the proposition that these programs had the potential to disrupt and perhaps to deter terrorist plots forming inside the United States after 9/11 certainly has some support.”
With respect to the possible effects of NSEERS on relationships with countries whose help we need, nations claiming to be American allies should be open to reevaluating their misgivings in recognition of the bigger picture. They should recognize, with prodding from us as necessary, that registration of their visiting citizens is a small price to pay not only for preventing terrorism inside the U.S., but also for enabling us to avoid an alternative that many would argue is perfectly legal and reasonable: an outright ban on all visitors to the U.S. from countries where jihadist governments and movements are prevalent — a move not hard to imagine or justify during a time of war.
Which brings us to how this all bears on “what kind of America” we should be. We are a nation of laws, and we are a nation historically welcoming visitors seeking to work and study here. We should continue to be both. But as we fight a war put upon us by those who carry out violent jihad, we must also be a nation of common sense and candidly identify those locations from which jihad emanates, and use that knowledge to protect all law-abiding individuals inside the United States — citizens, residents and visitors alike.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (43) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Ben Lerner
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Ret. Marine| 1.14.10 @ 6:57AM
This article seems to logically connect the dots required of a Nation of laws. However, I am dissapointed with assumption that this pretender-n-theif commonly known to the loly gagging lefties mindset as their saviour, is remoltly concerned about the security of this Nation. He can give all the lip service he wants from his teleprompter but, actions speak louder than his
teleprompter does. All it would take is for some of these jihad junkies to do is pull off a successful attack upon any segment of the population, have a few rogues take matters into their own hands, and wala, we will find ourselves being treated as though We the People are the enemies. I can't imagine this pretender offending the sensibilites of his brethren, muslim males.
Yeah, yeah yeah, throw them all into the mix and proclaim me a bigot, right? So then tell me when and where in this current enviroment have we seen a white, christian male blow himself up to meet 72 Virginians, who also were considered terrorist to the King George? Any takers?
I am hard pressed to remember any admin. that has taken steps to undermine the scurity of this Country as this one. Ol' bill from Ark. was too busy defending himself against impeachment and good ol' jimmmmah was to stupid to reconize the threat for what is was but, both at the least acknowledged the ongoing threat. The pretender-n-theif was given the blue prints before his assention but, refuses to implament them. This dip-stick really takes the cake for incompetence he will not even acknowledge the term terrorist for what it is.
The paradime has in fact changed, anything Bush did to protect this Nation from this threat was considered, looked through the prism of legal affairs, thought out between allied Nations and put into effect. Not this time, seems Bush was just evil for caring about the security of his fellow Countrymen/ladies. I want to know how this fool pretender even sleeps at night. Must be nice having a few thousand trained individuals watching your back, now if he would just consider what will happen the next time his fellow travelers pulll of another successful attack on his Nation. Something tells me the forgiving part is going to be left behind in the rubble of his presidency.
Louis Jenkins| 1.14.10 @ 10:45AM
"and wala, we will find ourselves being treated as though We the People are the enemies."
Dear Retired Marine:
We are being treated as the enemy. Getting a nude image of a WASP grandmother does not = airline security nor a secure USA. Who thwarfed the Shoe Bomber? Who was on to this panty bomber? TSA or its European equivalent? Hardly.
I posted a "why do they (Obama et al) want us killed" post the other day and got a Captain's Mast from some of the commenters, but from the Pretender n Chief's actions national security, when it comes to fellow Muslims, is just a game. It makes about as much sense as looking in the Alzheimer's ward for a terrorist. Who carries the burden of this fiasco? Obama's actions speak louder than words. We do. I quit flying. Maybe everyone should as much as possible.
Ryan| 1.14.10 @ 12:47PM
Sorry, but Obama's not a Muslim. He's sorta-Christian who appears to hold to Black Liberation Theology.
Louis Jenkins| 1.14.10 @ 1:47PM
Dear Ryan:
Not openly anyway. You can take the country boy out of the country, but can't take the country out of the boy. I was raised a fundamentalist Baptist, am now not, but was still raised that way. A chicken killing dog can't be broken from the habit unless you chain him up. Obama is a product of his environment and that enviroment includes places other than the Aloha State. Can't take it out of him.
David| 1.16.10 @ 3:57AM
Yes, dude, Timothy Macv...of Oklahoma; you know he was no rag head and he attended churches as child!! Did you forget him; he must sleeping with 72 virgins now!!! and he got his Day (death) in court, not in Guatanamo, where Bush kept releasing them to Yemen, where this Nigerian dude got trained!!! So Constitutional justice is more effective somehow!!
Herb| 1.14.10 @ 7:29AM
Retired Marine, that is the best and most on-target rant I have read in a long time. May we hope for more?
Blogger Yang SEO | 1.14.10 @ 5:10PM
Thank you so much that for you shared those things with us.Im wishing you to carry on with ur achivments.
Ret. Marine| 1.15.10 @ 7:37AM
'"YOU BET" I got kicked off the American Thinker for such remarks. I guess it was their loss, and many more. I'm a no-nonsense kinda guy, I will always speak to the truth, it's what I know, and that's it.
David| 1.16.10 @ 3:50AM
Well, you could at least mention all the countries included in the NSEERS list, and then you'll see Jordan and Morocco, two strong allies of the US; in fact, Morocco was the first country to recognise the independence of this great country of ours. We have breached the longest friendship treaty with any foreign entity by adding Morocco to the list. Add to that the first property of the USA was given as a gift to the young republic at the time of George Washington--Shouldn't we worry about losing friends while still securing our country. Balance is important and Nseers is unbalanced. Period. I dare you to post this if you believe in Your right and my right to speech. My brother in law has a Ph. D. and lived in this country for twenty years on a work visa before marrying a member of my family, and he waited seven years to register late under the program because some worker at the INS told he didn't need to register at the time, so what happened because after an application that lingered; they left to Europe and add here that he's a Christian; he only happened to be born in a Muslim country, so you call this Justice. A man who worked legally here and paid taxes has to leave, so people like you could feel safe and happy. I'm so happy that somehow he didn't waste his time and wait for justice, for now he travels the globe as a missionary for Christ, but because of NSEERS he is not allowed in the USA, and I agree with you, he could be a danger to you, for he brings the real teachings of Jesus, which as you know many of the pro. Nseers fans won't like to hear, for to them, Jesus is too Liberal and a bit of a socialist. Why don't you tell the whole truth about NSEERS and how it's destroying families, including American families--its aim is not security but discrimination and even worse discourage Muslims from moving around, which could give a false sense of security, but could only ignite our friends and allies as their innocent family members and loved become victims of this discriminatory program; also note that it was Hitler who initiated the registration of Jewish people in Poland and Europe before the Germans used the registration files to gather them and move them to extermination camps; could you deny here that had there been a second similar 911 events, you would have supported housing the six millions Muslim Americans in such camps, and had war in Iraq ignited a regional war, you could have agreed on the usefullness of genocide. I'm not going further with this. As an American, I value freedom and I don't deny it to others, for if I do, tomorrow could be my turn, and above all, if we lose our values, is there anything else worth fighting for? Nseers doesn't have a place in a democratic state, and if you want such programs, go to Russia or China, where the governement require their own citizens to get approvals before travelling in their own country. America is Free when we are....free....from hatred, from prejudice, and from our own false sense of security when we lock ourselves in a closet thinking we would be safe. Happy Martin Luther King Day.
David, by the way, I'm a Republican :)
Merlin| 1.16.10 @ 5:00AM
Dear Mr. Lerner,
Your point is valid and totally acceptable. America, in this day and age, needs to secure its borders and needs to have in place a system that helps track those that present an elevated threat when visiting the United States. However, that system needs to also be intelligent and able to assess risk quantitively.
At the moment it is unfair and wastes the time of good intentioned genuine visitors/travellers, as well as good taxpayer money and of course the time of the hard working CBP officers that protect your borders.
I myself am an NSEERS registrant, despite the fact that I am the husband to and father of American Citizens. Despite the fact that members of my in-laws have served the US well in military engagements in Iraq and elsewhere. And despite the fact that I am a senior banking executive educated in the United States, holding degrees from some of your most prestigious universities. How does NSEERS make sense in this case??
In addition, my country of citizenship is a close ally of the USA, our nations and people are friends, we openly host the entire US Navy's 5th fleet on our shores, and share a Free Trade Agreement together, and have hundreds of Americans living amongst us in peace.
NSEERS or special registration is a humiliating and time wasting experience, it casts a wide net and fails to truely differentiate between friend or foe. That is unfortunate, particularly when many of us who are now suffering have come to expect higher standards from the USA.
Regardless of NSEERS, I continue to enjoy visiting the United States and being with friends and family.
I just hope that there is a way to seek reprieve and that there will be a day when I can visit without the "NSEERS welcome".
Merlin
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We are a nation of laws, and we are a nation historically welcoming visitors seeking to work and study here. We should continue to be both.
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