GLOBE EDITORIAL
Off track on immigrantsAS CONGRESS tries to pass legislation to make the country safer, politicians are overloading the bills with extraneous provisions. One example is the "9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act," which takes much of its content from the 9/11 commission's thoughtful report on terrorism and national security.
Unfortunately, other parts of this House bill veer off track by cracking down on immigrants. The bill would make it easier to deport people and would require asylum-seekers to meet a higher burden of proof in showing that they would be harmed or killed by returning home. A related Senate bill mostly sticks to the details of the 9/11 report, but advocates fear that anti-immigrant amendments could be tacked on to this bill. The United States needs immigration reform. But the work of translating the 9/11 commission's report into legislative action is vital and should not be tripped up with ham-fisted efforts to erode the rights of immigrants. Concerned that crucial legislation could be derailed, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 commission, have called on Congress to keep its eyes on the prize of strengthening the intelligence community and, as Kean said, putting controversial provisions into other bills. The anti-immigrant provisions in the House bill lean too closely into fear-inducing stereotypes about ordinary immigrants plotting to overthrow the United States when the real threat is terrorists. Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, argues that the bill would "erode trust and accountability between the government and all residents -- citizens and immigrants -- who yearn for national security." Worse, these provisions ignore the wise counsel of the 9/11 commission report, which calls for "a firm tripod of policies" to "attack terrorists and their organizations; prevent the continued growth of Islamist terrorism; and protect against and prepare for terrorist attacks." In between the lines of this advice is a call for global stability. Wiping out terrorism means ending the reign of warlords in Afghanistan and of thugs in other countries. But it also means strengthening the schools and cultural institutions that can provide a 21st-century education instead of indoctrination in fanatic ideologies. Americans need first-class intelligence and military campaigns -- as well as public debate about how foreign aid can eradicate the poverty, despair, and anger that fuel rabid anti-Americanism. Harassing immigrants doesn't make the country safer. And it could discourage the immigrant community from providing useful help to law enforcement agents.
The United States must undermine terrorism, but not with misguided immigration policies. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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