WASHINGTON (September 2003) -- Despite the new attention given to immigration enforcement in the two years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, many recent immigration proposals have been based on the assumption that there is nothing that can realistically be done to stop the flow of illegal immigrants or to return those already here. The futility of any effort to make the immigration law work is the starting point of the various plans for an amnesty-guestworker program, whether from the White House, Mexico's Fox Administration, Sen. McCain and Rep. Kolbe, or elsewhere.

But is this true? Is it possible to enforce the immigration law, or does the United States need to accommodate itself to an inevitable flow of people by way of repeated amnesties, "temporary" worker programs, and ever-increasing levels of immigration?

To examine this question, the Center for Immigration Studies has brought together an expert panel, which will meet on Friday, September 26, at 9:30 a.m., at the National Press Club's Zenger Room. The panelists will be:

* Jessica Vaughan, former Foreign Service officer and Senior Policy Analyst at the Center, and author of "Bar None: An Evaluation of the 3/10-Year Bar", on line at:
http://www.cis.org/articles/2003/back1003.html

* Michael Cutler, Former Senior Special Agent at the New York District Office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service

* Craig Nelsen, director of Friends of Immigration Law Enforcement (FILE), which recently prepared "RICO: A New Tool for Immigration Law Enforcement" (by Micah King), on line at:
http://www.cis.org/articles/2003/back1103.html

* Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies

The panel discussion is free and open to the public. For more information, contact John Keeley at (202) 466-8185 or jmk@cis.org.
 

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The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research
institute which examines the impact of immigration on the United States.