Michael Chertoff

STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR CORZINE ON HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING

TRENTON - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced $25.7 million in port security funding for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and $53.8 million in funding to protect transportation infrastructure in the metropolitan area.

THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES BRING A STARK REMINDER OF OUR NEED FOR VIGILANCE AND ENFORCEMENT!

On Tuesday, July 29, 11 Egyptian exchange students entered the U.S. at JFK airport in New York en route to Montana State University for a month long program, and disappeared.

On Thursday, August 10, British authorities foiled a terror plot so unimaginably horrific it would have set the entire free world back on its heals for years.

On Friday, August 11, three middle eastern men from the Dallas area were arrested in Caro, Michigan when 1,000 cell phones were found in their van. This comes three days after two men were arrested in Marietta,Ohio with 600 cell phones.

If there is a common thread in all of these incidents it is how vulnerable we still are and how essential it is for the United States not only to remain vigilant but to strengthen our government agencies and expand our efforts to protect American citizens. Michael Chertoff, Chief of Homeland Security said this week that he believes the U.S. should give wider authority to our enforcement agencies to thwart future terrorist attacks.

But that is not enough. The war on terror should not limit us to depend on our enforcement agencies to find and remove terrorist and their cells. Our war on terror requires that every domestic agency be involved in the process and be and working together to rid our shores of any and all potential threats. It also means a crackdown on all illegal immigration. It is time that we get tough on anyone crossing our borders without permission and inspection. Securing our borders is primary! Allowing people to come across the borders without permission makes it an easy entry way for terrorists that mean to do us harm.

Therefore, a program needs to be implemented quickly to allow potential workers to apply for and receive temporary visas only after they have been subject to health, background and identity checks. Along with these visas, Homeland Security must implement a plan to track these workers once they enter the United States. All of our cabinet Departments need to be armed with the power to share information between their agencies. Particularly included in this need are the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration, which is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, which is part of the Treasury Department and the Social Security Administration which is part of Health and Human Services. If the sharing of information of immigrant visas were mandatory, it would be difficult for someone to disappear into the system.

The efforts to control our illegal population, however, have clouded problems with the rest of our immigration system that allows students to enter the U.S. and disappear into our communities. Although most of the 11 students have been arrested we cannot afford to take an “all’s well that ends well attitude. Again, we were dependent on our law enforcement to clean up what should never have occurred in the first place.

We need stricter immigration controls on all non-immigrant visas, more surveillance from our law enforcement agencies and greater sharing of information between agencies. It is not enough to catch terrorist and their cells before they put their ghastly plans into place. We must make it so difficult for them to operate within our borders that they will be discouraged from trying.

Leigh-Ann Bellew is the Republican Candidate for Congress from New Jersey’s 6th District
CONTACT: Mike Lencsak Phone: 732-670-9839 info@bellewforcongress.com

PENNACCHIO SAYS DEMOCRATS HAVE SELECTIVE OUTRAGE ABOUT HOMELAND SECURITY ISSUES

DEMS WHO ARE OUTRAGED BY PORT SALE, WERE SILENT ON CIPEL AND HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT SCANDALS

NEWARK HOMELAND SECURITY SPENDING, ONCE AGAIN, UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
NEWARK USES HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS FOR SUV'S