Can You Detect the Suspicious Immigrant?

Oddly enough, the Boston Marathon bombing has fed the arguments of both defenders and opponents of U.S. immigration reform.

Supporters assert that the proposed measures will end the illegal immigration status of millions of people who are in no way terrorists or criminals. This means the latter will be confined to a smaller group of people among which to hide. Supporters also affirm that the bill currently being debated by the Senate envisages toughening border controls.

On the contrary, as far as opponents are concerned, the U.S. government can in no way facilitate the acquisition of U.S. citizenship, given that the Boston terrorists were originally from faraway Chechnya. They adapted poorly to the way of life and values of their adopted country and became monsters. Let us not forget that the Tsarnaev brothers legally arrived in the U.S. with their father as refugees about 10 years ago and that one of the brothers, Dzhokhar, acquired U.S. citizenship last year.

Minor Differences of Opinion

It is estimated that around 11 million foreigners have illegal immigrant status in the U.S. The Tsarnaev family is not a part of this statistic. Generally speaking, we can affirm that the Democrats wish to regulate — under certain conditions — the immigration status of most of these illegal immigrants. For Republicans, on the other hand, more often than not, the priority is tightening border controls.

We cannot say, however, that immigration is a subject that irreparably divides the two main political parties in the U.S. For instance, it was a bipartisan group of eight senators, four Republicans and four Democrats, which introduced the bill concerning the reform last week, just three days after the Boston Marathon bombing.

According to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., there is no difference between children that arrive in the U.S. when they are very young and become extremists at a later age — like the Tsarnaev brothers — and those that are born on U.S. soil and also become extremists. “You can't just say no one can ever come to the country,” remarked this elected Republican, one of the eight senators that form the Gang of Eight supporting the bill.

Along the same lines, a former government immigration official said, “You can set up the best procedures for selecting which candidates can immigrate to the United States, but that doesn’t mean that you can predict their behavior in 10 years.”*

Last week, other Republican senators suggested that the immigration reform debate be postponed in light of what happened in the Massachusetts capital. In their eyes, the system does not work very well. One cannot exactly understand what they want to achieve, since everyone agrees on this point. The debate is more about how we can improve the immigration system.

According to America’s Voice, one of the main activist lobby groups for the reform, certain leaders fail to distinguish between the Boston Marathon bombing and the immigration reform bill in order to gain support through impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the general population.

A Necessary Reform

The Boston Marathon bombing should not serve as an excuse for blocking this reform, a viewpoint also shared by a great number of representatives in Congress. Graham thinks this drama should encourage the government to act more quickly instead. Another member of the Senate, Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who is also part of the Gang of Eight, remarked that those who are taking advantage of the situation by trying to delay the reform were, in any case, against the reform from the start.

It is unlikely that the Boston bombing will change public opinion in the U.S. (except maybe in the very short term); rather, people are in favor of immigration and the systematic regulation of those with illegal immigrant status. However, we cannot forget that the Senate itself recently rejected half-hearted gun control legislation, even though the majority of the American people supported the bill. Sometimes, Washington’s politics are structured this way: Powerful lobbies impose their will.

On the other side of the world, many spokespeople for the Caucasus rebels — in Chechnya and Dagestan — have denied all involvement in the terrorist attack, pointing out that they are just fighting against Russia and asking the press not to relay the propaganda of Vladimir Putin, whom they suspect of wanting to take advantage of the situation.

*Editor's Note: While translated accurately, this quote could not be verified.