On the television show "Mythbusters," two special effects experts collaborate to debunk or verify various urban myths and old wives’ tales. Today, as an expert in border security and immigration law, I will “bust” the myth of President Bush’s Guest Worker Amnesty Program.

 Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and others who advocate for a Guest Worker Amnesty Program have claimed numerous times that a Guest Worker Amnesty Program will enable the Border Patrol to focus on criminals and terrorists, instead of wasting their time by arresting those aliens who simply want to work in the United States.  Chertoff repeated this message once again during his recent visit to Mexico, as the AP reported Saturday. But sadly, this idealistic rhetoric truly is nothing more than a myth.

 

Last week, the small town of Ogden, Utah, was shocked when 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic murdered four innocent people and seriously wounded four others when he opened fire in a shopping mall in Ogden, Utah.  Talovic, who was born in Bosnia, came to the United States with his family in 1998.  The article did not explain how he and his family had entered the United States.  And although he was described as being a Muslim, the FBI has indicated that Talovic was not suspected of being involved in terrorism.  The reason that I have brought this up is because the very day of the incident, he was at work. The AP reported Thursday:

 

Talovic worked for two months as a general laborer at Aramark Uniform Services, an industrial launderer and uniform-rental company, manager Trent Thorn said. He appeared for his regular shift on the day of the shooting, he said.

 

Whenever you read articles concerning terrorists, whether it is because they had killed a bunch of innocent victims or because they were thwarted by law enforcement before they could carry out deadly attacks, virtually every one of them was described by the job he held up until his arrest.  Some of these criminals and suspected terrorists have been employed as ice cream truck drivers, cab drivers, teachers and professors; even a school bus driver in Canada who used his position to recruit teenage boys.  Terrorists do not hide in basements or attics.  They do not dig a hole in the ground.  They embed themselves in our country, moving among us, hiding in plain sight. 

 

I have often heard the argument that Mexicans are not involved in terrorism.  To those who make that statement I would ask, "What does a Mexican look like?"  Mexicans are a diverse people as are Americans.  About a dozen years ago, when I was a senior special agent of the INS, I was contacted by members of the Houston Police Department, as well as special agents of the Houston offices of the DEA and the INS.  They had encountered a man with a swarthy complexion and black curly hair who was leaving a known "stash house" where drugs were being stored by a drug gang.  They had followed him from the drug location to his van whereupon they confronted him.  As they looked into the car they spotted a sawed-off shotgun on the floor of the van.  They ordered the man out of the vehicle.  He seemed to not understand commands issued to him in English so the INS special agent repeated the instructions in Spanish (fortunately, in those days, INS special agents were required to speak Spanish, unlike today where Spanish language ability has been eliminated as a job requirement).  The man behind the wheel still seemed to not understand what was going on. 

 

The police pulled this man, initially thought to be a Mexican, from the vehicle and handcuffed him.  As I recall, they obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and in the process of searching the vehicle they came up with a large sum of cash and narcotics.  But it was what they within the springs under the front seat that surprised them. There, torn into numerous pieces, they found an Israeli passport.

 

I was contacted because I had a long-standing working relationship with the Israeli National Police dating back to 1976 when I stumbled across a PLO operative who had attempted to enter the United States to get the money with which he and his cohorts were intending to buy explosives to blow up an oil refinery in Israel. The Israeli government was extremely helpful to us by providing us with all they information that they could concerning this drug trafficker's background in Israel. The information they promptly provided to me greatly enhanced our ability to pursue the investigation.  

 

The point is that here were a number of highly experience law enforcement officers who encountered a man from the Middle East and were convinced that he was a Mexican national.  Again I ask, "What does a Mexican look like?"

 

While we consider that question, I would ask another question: "What does a terrorist look like?"  When my kids were in public school I was often requested to come to school to talk about my job.  I would advise the children in those classes to stay away from illegal drugs and not to mess around with firearms should they come across one in someone's home or on the street. I would also tell them that it was important not to go near strangers no matter how nice they may seem. 

 

I recall one incident that occurred when I visited my daughter's fourth grade class.  To make the point clearer about the risks concerning strangers approaching a child, I asked the kids in the class if they could look at someone and determine if the person was a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy.'   One little boy in the back of the class quickly raised his hand and with the sureness that only a 4th grader could possess, he proclaimed, "Mr. Cutler, I know how to tell if someone is a bad guy!" 

 

As you can imagine, I was interested in this young man's view of the universe so I asked him to explain what he looks for.  He told me, "It’s really easy, if the guy is wearing a black ninja suit, has a bad complexion and is carrying numchuk sticks, he is a bad guy!"  Perhaps that kid has become Mr. Chertoff's advisor.

 

It would be far better for all of us if Mr. Chertoff listened to no less an authority on terrorism than Robert S. Mueller, the Director of the FBI, when he has testified about his concerns regarding "sleeper agents."  Mr. Chertoff should also consider the report issued by staff members of the 9/11 Commission concerning terrorist travel.  That report can be found at:

 

http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrTrav_Monograph.pdf

 

Perhaps Secretary Chertoff should also consider the findings of Janice Kephart, a counsel for the 9/11 Commission who was involved in the writing of the report I noted above.  She conducted a study about how terrorists have been able to game the immigration system to either enter the United States or to embed themselves within our country once they managed to enter the United States. 

 

You can read her report at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/kephart.html

 

Among her findings noted in this report:

 

Of the 94 foreign-born terrorists who operated in the United States, the study found that about two-thirds (59) committed immigration fraud prior to or in conjunction with taking part in terrorist activity.

·         Of the 59 terrorists who violated the law, many committed multiple immigration violations -- 79 instances in all.
 

·         In 47 instances, immigration benefits sought or acquired prior to 9/11 enabled the terrorists to stay in the United States after 9/11 and continue their terrorist activities. In at least two instances, terrorists were still able to acquire immigration benefits after 9/11.
 

·         Temporary visas were a common means of entering; 18 terrorists had student visas and another four had applications approved to study in the United States. At least 17 terrorists used a visitor visa -- either tourist (B2) or business (B1).
 

·         There were 11 instances of passport fraud and 10 instances of visa fraud; in total 34 individuals were charged with making false statements to an immigration official.
 

·         In at least 13 instances, terrorists overstayed their temporary visas.

·         In 17 instances, terrorists claimed to lack proper travel documents and applied for asylum, often at a port of entry.
 

·         Fraud was used not only to gain entry into the United States, but also to remain, or "embed," in the country.
 

·         Seven terrorists were indicted for acquiring or using various forms of fake identification, including driver's licenses, birth certificates, Social Security cards, and immigration arrival records.
 

·         Once in the United States, 16 of 23 terrorists became legal permanent residents, often by marrying an American. There were at least nine sham marriages.
 

·         In total, 20 of 21 foreign terrorists became naturalized U.S. citizens. 

Last year, USCIS, the agency that would administer the Guest Worker Amnesty Program advocated by Secretary Chertoff managed to "lose" more than 111,000 immigration files relating to aliens seeking various immigration benefits.  These files are virtual dossiers that contain all sorts of relevant information that is critical to the adjudication process.  Yet, in an effort to clear their tremendous backlog, the USCIS blithely naturalized 30,000 aliens without those critical files. 

The bottom line is that a Guest Worker Program will do nothing to enhance national security but would, in fact, provide many more opportunities for terrorists and criminals to secure official identity documents in false names.  A Guest Worker Amnesty Program would not take the pressure off the border at all. On the contrary, pressure would be greatly increased as many more aliens would be convinced that if they can only get themselves on our land, we will ultimately reward them with legal status, the ability to work in the United States and the ability to send money back to their relatives back home.  This is why the Amnesty of 1986 resulted in the greatest influx of illegal aliens in the history of our nation.

Incidentally, once an alien has lawful status in the United States, he will no longer be desirable to unscrupulous employers who hire illegal aliens.  They hire illegal aliens because they know that they can get away with paying them substandard wages under substandard and often illegally hazardous circumstances.  Once an alien has lawful authority to live and work in the United States and demands fair pay and conditions, the employer will most likely replace him or her with a new illegal alien.  

I think I have made it clear that the Guest Worker Program is absolutely the worst way to deal with the immigration crisis confronting our country today.  As would-be “workers” enter our nation, it is impossible to know if and when any of them will commit such horrific crimes as opening fire at their workplace. It can also be extremely frustrating to distinguish physically between, say, a Mexican worker and an Israeli drug dealer (not to mention the “racial profiling” nightmare that is certain to follow any attempt to do so).

In short, the Guest Worker Program would imperil our safety and, at the same time, encourage more illegal immigration. Consider it one more myth “busted.”

Lead, follow or get out of the way!