U.S. Migrants, Borders and National Security: U.S. Immigration Policy Since September 11, 2001

I. Introduction

The catastrophic events of September 11, 2001 caused a tectonic shift in the United States. Ten months later, it may still seem trivial and disrespectful to discuss the policy implications of that day, much less to use it to advance particular positions. However, the terrorist attacks and ongoing threat should not preclude robust discussion of measures proposed or adopted to prevent future abominations. Since September 11th, policy changes in the immigration arena have occurred almost weekly, many with little press or fanfare through Department of Justice (DOJ) 'interim' regulations and internal instructions. With due respect to the Attorney General, it does not aid or comfort terrorists to examine policies that may not advance national security, or to identify how such policies implicate other national values or damage immigrant communities in perhaps unintended ways.

Commentators have strongly supported, in light of the terrorist threat, recalibrating or shifting the balance between individual rights and national security. In the U.S. tradition, however, respect for core rights does not conflict with security, but undergirds it. "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety," wrote Benjamin Franklin, "deserve neither liberty nor safety.” In his First Inaugural Address, Thomas Jefferson said: "Freedom of religion; freedom of the press; and freedom of person under the protection of habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected .... They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civil instruction, the touchstone by which we try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety.” The United States identifies itself as a nation of immigrants, unified by these values.