American Legion members hear their organization lauded for its support of secure borders

August 27, 2006

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, told members of the American Legion in August that as he sees it, Congress is still a few vertebrae short of a backbone when it comes to immigration reform. It will take, he said, citizens like members of the American Legion to make a difference.

'There are currently no large organizations that are standing up for secure borders in the United States,' he added..

Krikorian spoke to a ballroom full of American Legion members during a meeting of the Legion's Americanism Committee. He applauded the Legion's efforts to lobby for securing the nation's borders.

'I call on you to serve your country again,' Krikorian said. 'Your service in this conflict in trying to make sure our borders are enforced is as important as one of our soldiers serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.'

Krikorian noted that in the five years since September 11, Congress has not gotten serious about controlling immigration. Border enforcement has gone up over the past 10 years, but the nation is failing to back up border patrol agents.

One of the problems is that illegal immigrants come to the United State to get jobs, and 'We do nothing to turn the magnet of jobs off,' he said.

Businesses have no way to know which new hires are illegal and which are not. A Social Security number verification program exists, but businesses aren't required to participate. So many don't, Krikorian said.

Krikorian said there needs to be a way of tracking who comes into the country and when they leave.

'If you don't know who has left, you don't know who's still here,' he said.

He also stressed that more border agents need to man the Canadian border, and concluded with a final appeal for action.

'We've gotta get Congress to change their thinking,' he said. 'They're growing a backbone, but taking a while.'