Hard Look at INS after Terrorist Visa Snafu

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As President Bush was congratulating Congress for making it easier for some illegal immigrants to remain in this country, last week's granting of student visas to dead terrorists produced calls for a crackdown on the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Since then, the INS has explained that it's overburdened and understaffed. Yet the snafu also demonstrates the failure of a budget weighted more toward enforcement than adjudication, and the critical need for intelligence sharing. At a time of heightened concern about national security, we look at American ambivalence toward immigration with former Justice Department and INS officials, immigration policy analysts, and an immigration attorney. Newsmaker: Wave of Terror Claims American Lives in Pakistan Police and the military are on high alert after a grenade attack on a Christian church in Islamabad left five people dead, including two Americans. Some reports say that the sectarian violence is the price to be paid for the support of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in the war on terrorism. Arif Nizami, who edits The Nation, an English-language newspaper in Pakistan, has more on the latest series of recent attacks. Reporter's Notebook: Cheney in the Middle East Throughout his Middle East trip, Vice President Cheney has confronted Arab leaders' concerns about violence between Israel and the Palestinians. As he arrives in Jerusalem, Israeli officials announce they'll pull out of recently occupied portions of the West Bank and Gaza. Jeanne Cummings, of The Wall Street Journal offers a progress report on closed-door meetings and the public-private face of negotiations.
As President Bush was congratulating Congress for making it easier for some illegal immigrants to remain in this country, last week's granting of student visas to dead terrorists produced calls for a crackdown on the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Since then, the INS has explained that it's overburdened and understaffed. Yet the snafu also demonstrates the failure of a budget weighted more toward enforcement than adjudication, and the critical need for intelligence sharing. At a time of heightened concern about national security, we look at American ambivalence toward immigration with former Justice Department and INS officials, immigration policy analysts, and an immigration attorney.
  • Newsmaker: Wave of Terror Claims American Lives in Pakistan
    Police and the military are on high alert after a grenade attack on a Christian church in Islamabad left five people dead, including two Americans. Some reports say that the sectarian violence is the price to be paid for the support of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in the war on terrorism. Arif Nizami, who edits The Nation, an English-language newspaper in Pakistan, has more on the latest series of recent attacks.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Cheney in the Middle East
    Throughout his Middle East trip, Vice President Cheney has confronted Arab leaders' concerns about violence between Israel and the Palestinians. As he arrives in Jerusalem, Israeli officials announce they'll pull out of recently occupied portions of the West Bank and Gaza. Jeanne Cummings, of The Wall Street Journal offers a progress report on closed-door meetings and the public-private face of negotiations.

Immigration and Naturalization Service

Immigration Extension Bill HR 1885

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Federation for American Immigration Reform

Migration Policy Institute

National Security Agency

Patriot Act: HR 2975

US Justice Department

Wall Street Journal

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney