Homeland Defense Journal - January 2009 - 32

BOOK REVIEW The Closing of the American Border Terrorism, Immigration, and Security Since 9/11 O N SEPTEMBER 10, 2001, the United States was the most open country in the world. It was a nation that had been built upon the labor of immigrants, a destination where men and women from across the globe came to gain employment, seek political and religious refuge, and educate themselves to the highest standards. This melting pot ideal stood as one of the great political and cultural achievements of human history. The events of September 11, 2001, struck a blow to that freedom. The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11, by Edward Alden, is a compelling narrative of the decisions made by the federal government in the aftermath of the attacks. The immediate reaction was to close the borders and ports of entry, and reevaluate what measures were needed to protect the nation from further attacks. In many respects, the spirit of these measures would endure in later policies. Alden’s research is thorough, and it’s complemented by in-depth interviews with Bush Administration ofﬁcials. As a result, he is very effective in recasting the heated deliberations that took place amongst the various ﬁgures of the administration, and of the difﬁcult decisions that faced them. With the nation still reeling from the attacks, the dilemma was how to balance the needs of security against the needs of commerce and civil liberty. Despite the monolithic façade that the Bush Administration presented to the public, the internal debates were deeply fracturing, with little real consensus on how to proceed. Attorney General Ashcroft was in a camp that advocated taking a hard line in detaining immigrants with possible terrorist ties, while the INS Commissioner Jim Ziglar argued that these policies were unconstitutional. Ultimately, Ashcroft’s view prevailed. Often, it was immigrants who bore the brunt of the new policy initiatives. Many immigration laws already on the books were vaguely worded, or else were poorly enforced. The Bush Administration interpreted these laws as giving them unfettered authority to arrest non-Americans for immigration violations, increase security at the borders and restrict visas for oversees travelers. These laws allowed the government to arrest and detain immigrants, typically of Arabic descent or of Muslim religion, who they deemed suspicious. Many of these stories have received little attention, despite the fact that of the 762 people detained in the months following 9/11, more than 125 were held for a year or longer, while not a single one of the detainees were ever charged with terrorism or a terrorism-related offense. Alden’s analysis is without the partisan rancor that often attends this subject. He does, however, implicitly criticize the administration’s exploitation of immigrant laws to further the ends of its counter-terror policies. These two sets of policies have starkly different purposes, and by conﬂating them Alden suggests that what we gained in the way of increased security does not make up for the many injustices that were committed against innocent immigrants, who were denied the freedom and openness that should be the hallmarks of our “country of immigrants.” n “ Alden’s research is thorough, and it’s complemented by in-depth interviews with Bush Administration officials. As a result, he is very effective in recasting the heated deliberations that took place amongst the various figures of the administration, and of the difficult decisions that faced them. Visit www.homelanddefensejournal.com 30 | Homeland Defense Journal ”

Homeland Defense Journal - January 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Homeland Defense Journal - January 2009