Tougher border security helps all who aspire to legal citizenship; stops illegals

DENVER — President Donald Trump understands that our current immigration and border security system is failing nearly everyone. Working together to fix it will benefit not just Americans but foreign citizens who aspire to live and work here legally. Before Trump, the president most interested in immigration reform was John F. Kennedy, who planned to campaign for reelection in 1964 on the issue. Being "a nation of immigrants," as Kennedy explained in his book of that title published after his assassination, is a measure of national strength, not weakness.

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One of those immigrants was my Dad, the late Edward Eid. He came to the United States solo on a student visa in 1957 at age 17 with just $100. My Dad was never prouder than the day during the Kennedy administration when he became a U.S. citizen. Unfortunately, our current immigration policies bear little resemblance to Kennedy's vision. Our laws have it exactly backwards: they incentivize illegal immigration over naturalized U.S. citizenship. A record 4.4 million foreign citizens are currently on the immigrant visa waiting list. Yet the average wait-time for a Mexican citizen to obtain a visa to enter the U.S. legally is now 18 years. Small wonder so many people — an estimated 11.3 million — come here illegally from Mexico and around the world. Meanwhile, the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act encourages foreigners to come here illegally, which they can often do in months or even weeks — at little risk to their U.S. employers. IRCA dramatically relaxed criminal penalties for businesses that knowingly hired illegal aliens. As a federal prosecutor, I confronted large-scale hiring of illegal aliens by U.S. employers. Yet thanks to IRCA, U.S. Attorney’s Offices can only charge those employers with misdemeanors, not felonies — with nominal fines and little prospect for jail time.

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President Trump has vowed to overhaul IRCA and curtail federal funding to "sanctuary cities" whose elected officials shield illegal aliens — and not incidentally, their often politically powerful U.S. employers — by refusing to cooperate with federal authorities who enforce immigration laws. Another prudent measure: The president's order temporarily suspending entry to the U.S. for citizens of seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen — until improved screening processes are implemented to boost homeland security. The list of nations is no surprise: President Barack Obama identified these countries in 2015 and 2016 as raising special terrorism concerns. As Obama’s director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey testified before Congress that the vetting process for screening refugees from Syria should be further strengthened to protect Americans. President Trump has pledged to start with Syria and the other nations on Obama’s list and can add or subtract others if necessary. Trump also pledges to prosecute illegal aliens who commit violent crimes here. The facts bear out why this priority — targeting “criminal aliens” — is vital.

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According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, one in every four criminals sentenced to federal prison is an illegal alien who, after committing at least one felony in our country, was deported but returned illegally to the U.S. The average criminal alien in federal custody has already been deported 3.2 times before returning. Half have committed at least one violent crime after reentering the US but before being caught. Then there is border security. Trump’s approach relies on virtual protections, such as expanding E-Verify so employers don’t hire illegal aliens. Yet the need for stronger protection along America’s southern border is unmistakable. The benefits of doing so are hardly speculative: When Israel finished its security fence along its Egyptian border in 2013, 36 people were caught trying to cross compared with 10,440 the year before. Immigration reform demands an Immigration President. Helping Donald Trump become that president serves the national interest. Troy A. Eid served as Colorado's United States Attorney and was the first Arab-American appointed to any U.S. Attorney position in history. He has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a law degree from the University of Chicago. Readers may write him at Greenberg Traurig Law, 1200 17th Street, Suite 2400, Denver, CO 80202

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