"Whatâ??s in a Name?"

Hi Gang:
Once again the administration and members of Congress of both Houses and from both political parties are again ramping up efforts to ram an amnesty program through the legislative process and down the throats of the citizens of our nation.  These legislative betrayals go by a couple of different names.  One such program is a true “Trojan Horse.”  It goes by the deceptive name of the “DREAM Act” that would purportedly help children.  The reality is that it would enable illegal aliens up to 35 years of age to participate in this program.  I would love to know in what culture or perhaps, on what planet, a person who is 35 years old is considered a child?
I have written extensively about my opposition to the DREAM Act as well as my opposition to “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” a bit of legislative back stabbing taht I have come to refer to as the “Terrorist Assistance and Facilitation Act!”
There are a list of reasons to oppose these proposed legislative nightmares, but  first and foremost is the concern our government should have, but does not, about national security and the safety of our citizens.  The point is that these amnesty programs would require our government to issue official identity documents to millions of illegal aliens who, in the parlance of the advocates for open borders and amnesty programs for illegal aliens refer to these aliens as being “undocumented.”
They prefer this term to the legally accurate term of “illegal alien” in an apparent attempt to minimize the significance of the fact that these people are foreign nationals who are illegally present.  However, let us consider, for a moment the term “Undocumented.”  This relates to the fact that these illegal aliens have no official paperwork to attest to their true names, their countries of citizenship or anything else about them.  This means that there is no way of determining if they have criminal histories is other countries and
may, in fact, be fugitives in other countries.  There is no way of knowing if they are affiliated with criminal or terrorist organizations and no way of knowing if they are involved with transnational criminal organizations.  These folks cannot substantiate their answer to the most fundamental question that we normally ask of people we meet, “Who are you?”
 
As a senior fellow for CAPS (Californians for Population Stabilization) I wrote a posting for the CAPS website this week that addresses the issue of how terrorists and criminals make use of false identities and documents that enable them to create false identities for themselves.  As was the case during the disastrous amnesty of 1986 that provided some 4 million illegal aliens with lawful status under virtually any name that these aliens claim related to them, the focus of my commentary for the CAPS blog this week was the issue of false identity documents, the rings that produce and cell them and how this all endangers our safety and the security of our nation. 
As you may also know, I have been affiliated with CAPS (Californians for Population Stabilization) for some time and hence I decided that I would forward my posting for their blog to you. 
It is also commonsense that security begins at the borders of a nation- but for our nation, our borders have become little more than speed bumps to anyone who is determined to enter our country.  There are so many areas in which the security of our homeland has been compromised by leaders who are apparently more focused on currying favor with special interest groups and those with deep pockets than they are with truly delivering the security we are entitled to and have right to expect- especially in this particularly dangerous era!

The securing of our nation’s borders and the effective enforcement and administration of our nation’s immigration laws are, arguably, among the most important of all missions that are supposed to be carried out by our federal government.  

Nothing less than the security of our nation and safety of our citizens hang in the balance!
A country without secure borders can no more stand than can a house without walls!

I

our country is to survive and if our children and their children are to get their share of the “American Dream” the citizens of this nation must take their citizenship seriously!

We the People must be the best citizens we can be, citizens who are worthy of the gallantry demonstrated by our valiant men and women in the military, law enforcement and firefighters, who routinely go in harm’s way in defense of this nation and our citizens.  
My goal in writing this and other commentaries is to point out our nations many failings before more victims pay the ultimate price for the incompetence and ineptitude of our government.
The first step in problem-solving is to first identify the problems and vulnerabilities and then devise strategies to overcome them.
If you find yourself to be in agreement with this commentary, I ask that you forward it to as many of your friends and family members as possible and encourage them to do the same.  We need to create a “Bucket Brigade of Truth!”

The practice of good citizenship does not end in the voting booth, it only begins there.

The large scale apathy demonstrated by citizens of this nation has emboldened elected representatives to all but ignore the needs of the average American citizen in a quest for massive campaign funds and the promises of votes to be ostensibly delivered by special interest groups. There is much that we cannot do but there is one thing that We the People absolutely must do- we must stop sitting on the sidelines!


The collective failure of We the People to get involved in make our concerns known to our politicians have nearly made the concerns of the great majority of the citizens of this nation all but irrelevant to the politicians.  
I believe our nation’s is greatly benefited by the rich diversity of our people which is why I could never imagine living anywhere except New York City, arguably the most diverse city in our nation if not, in fact, the world.  However, my idea of diversity most certainly does not include members of MS-13, the Mexican drug cartels or members of other transnational gangs or members of al-Qaeda!

If this situation concerns you or especially if it angers you, I ask you to call your Senators and Congressional “Representative. This is not only your right- it is your obligation! 

All I ask is that you make it clear to our politicians that we are not as dumb as they hope we are!

We live in a perilous world and in a perilous era. The survival of our nation and the lives of our citizens hang in the balance.

This is neither a Conservative issue, nor is it a Liberal issue- simply stated, this is most certainly an AMERICAN issue!

You are either part of the solution or you are a part of the problem!

Democracy is not a spectator sport!

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

-michael cutler- 


Please check out my website:


http://www.caps-blog.org/articles/2011/05/23/%E2%80%9Cwhats-in-a-name%E2%80%9D/


What’s in a Name?

When we introduce ourselves to others we start out by telling our name.  The most fundamental conversation usually starts with the question, “Who are you?  What’s your name?”

When a person is judged to be a decent person we say that he (she) has a “good name.”

Certainly our names are an integral part of who we are.  In this era of the internet, when we meet people or are planning to do business with someone, we are likely to check the person’s name in Google or some other search engine.

The last time I spoke with my dad, as he lay on his deathbed, I recall promising him I would take care of the family name.  So important are our names to most people.

For a criminal or a terrorist, however, a name is an identifier that can thwart their efforts to commit crimes or a terrorist attack—therefore those who wish to operate “under the radar” use multiple false names as a form of camouflage the way that a chameleon uses changes in coloration—in order to hide in plain sight or, in the parlance of the 9/11 Commission, in order to embed themselves in a community as they prepare to launch an attack.

In order to protect our nation in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the government created “No Fly” lists and terror watch lists.  Even before 9/11 inspectors of the former INS used “Look Out Books” that contained the names and passport numbers and other identifiers to attempt to keep out those who, by law, were to be barred from entering the United States.

There have always been those who made money by creating false identity documents desired by all sorts of people who had a need to conceal their true identities or other facts about themselves.  When I was a college student, one of the guys I went to high school with was arrested for producing false ID that was used by underage students who wanted to buy drinks at local bars.

Given the nature of our world today, however, the production of false identity documents has never posed a greater threat to our safety or to our nation’s security and technology has made it easier than ever to produce convincing looking counterfeit and/or altered identity documents.  Today, more than underage drinking is involved in the production of false identity documents.  Today, organized fraud document rings abound and the money to be made is nothing short of astounding!

Recently a news report of a particularly violent and pernicious document fraud ring was published in the Washington Post that was entitled: Manassas man key player in fake-ID card ring.”

As an INS special agent I often found that those who were intent on violating our laws and, indeed, had been convicted of violating our laws, used multiple false identities.  It was not uncommon to find arrest records, so called “Rap Sheets” that memorialized so many false aliases that an entire page, or more, was devoted to listing all of those names.

The 9/11 Commission noted that the use of multiple false identities was an essential component of the embedding process utilized by the 19 terrorists who wrought such destruction upon our nation and our way of life, as well as causing the savage obliteration of the thousands of victims of their wanton terrorist attacks and the never ending suffering this has had on the family members, friends and colleagues of those innocent victims.

Today identity theft is described as the fastest growing white collar crime in our country and certainly those whose identities are stolen will tell you in no uncertain terms that this is not a “victimless” crime.  Yet there are those in politics and in other circles who advocate for the creation of a massive amnesty program under the aegis of “Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”  There are many reasons why such a massive amnesty program is wrong-headed and would not only represent a betrayal of our nation and our citizens but also a betrayal of those millions of lawful immigrants who have played by the rules, abided by the laws and secured their lawful status through the lawful process that, every year, provides more than 1.1 million aliens with lawful immigrant status and places them, immediately, on a pathway to United States citizenship.

This lawful system it plagued with fraud and a host of other issues I will address in future commentaries, but the point is that there is a lawful program that provides more aliens with permanent resident status than does any other country on this planet.

If our nation’s leaders prove to be so duplicitous as to enact Comprehensive Immigration Reform, then unknown millions, likely tens of millions of illegal aliens who are undocumented, will be provided with lawful status in names that cannot be proven to be their true names.

It is ironic that the open borders/pro-amnesty advocates have embraced the term “undocumented” in an effort to minimize the fact that illegal aliens are, in fact, aliens whose presence in our country represents a violation of laws and is, hence illegal.  Today, I will tell you that the term “undocumented” represents one of the most profoundly disturbing factors in Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the fact that these aliens are unable or, perhaps, unwilling to provide official identity documents that can definitively prove their true identities.

Without being able to know a person’s true identity as verified by official and reliable documentation, aliens engaged in terrorism or criminal activities would be easily able to conceal their true names, their true nationalities, their true criminal histories, or their potential affiliations with criminal and/or terrorist organizations.

In the name of national security, the citizens of our nation have experienced and continue to experience a continual erosion of their expectations of privacy and freedom, yet there are those, including high level members of the current administration that are eager to provide millions of illegal aliens with official identity documents and lawful status that would enable the criminals and terrorists among them to create new and “clean” identities for themselves that would provide them with ample opportunities to embed themselves in our country, throughout our country, and provide them with a level of credibility that would facilitate their criminal or terrorist aspirations, would threaten national security and endanger the lives of all who are present in our country.

Those who are pushing for the passage of Comprehensive Immigration Reform will talk about the fact that applications for inclusion in this program would have to undergo a “security check” and be fingerprinted.  This may sound reassuring but upon closer scrutiny it becomes readily apparent that this would not prevent those terrorists or transnational criminals from easily gaming the system.

If the applicant for Comprehensive Immigration Reform has never been fingerprinted in our country, their fingerprints would most likely not show up in the databases.  Similarly a false name would certainly not show up- remember this is a false name.  Such aliens would be granted identity documents that would immediately enable them to apply for and receive a genuine Social Security card, a driver’s license, library cards, credit cards, and other official identity documents—all in a fictitious name.

Most of the names on “Terror Watch Lists” and “No Fly” lists are not backed up with biometrics.  This means that someone whose true name is on every watch list and “No Fly” list could easily gain access to airliners, government and corporate office buildings and secure employment in a job that provides access to jobs involving critical  infrastructure!

The only thing worse than no security is false security.  Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the use of false identity documents would create the potentially devastating threat that false security represents to our nation at a particularly perilous time in history.

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