The Domino Theory
By
A.P. American

On November 14, 2008, in the Netherlands the new world record for dominos was set. During this attempt, 4,345,027 dominos out of 4,500,000 were successfully toppled. It was really amazing to watch the video of the event. If you are not familiar with what I am speaking of please allow me to explain. The dominos used in world record attempts are the same dominos utilized in a regular dominos game kit; small rectangular black blocks. The object is to set the dominos up so when the first domino falls, it starts a chain of events that will ultimately topple the rest. I guess you could say that it was “cause and effect” in action. The cause of the dominos falling was the first domino being felled, and the effect was a chain of dominos being toppled until none were left standing. The falling dominos could teach us a very important lesson in life; for each action or decision, there is a consequence.

America is currently faced with many challenges, with the priority for most people being the economic situation. Many of us have had our “golden years” turned into more “working years”. Who would have ever thought that we would see GM, Chrysler and Ford in danger of becoming extinct? They are American business icons. Foundational strengths and traits that made America the greatest country in the world now seem to be voluntarily discarded by some, including our elected officials. The world in general has changed dramatically, and threats to America’s future stability are growing steadily. While the economic situation must be addressed for the sake of our future, we must not forget how vitally important security of our nation is. One of the greatest threats to the homeland is the porous state of our border and illegal immigration.

Each time we begin to debate the illegal immigration issue, cries of racism and hate mongering are raised. I can’t understand this because it is not racist to deeply care about your country and the safety of its citizens. There are many legal immigrants who have come to this country and contributed tremendously to strengthening America, and have fought honorably under its banner. The argument has been made that we are all immigrants to a certain extent, and there exist undeniable truth in that statement. Our ancestors came in search of a new world, and out of that search a great republic was created. Our history has not always been perfect, but America has always attempted to use mistakes of the past to be a greater country in the future. But we all must realize that illegally breeching the borders of a sovereign nation is unlawful and a clear and present danger to a country’s security and well being.

The issue pertaining to border security is not just an issue concerning illegal immigration. It is an issue of much greater proportion. In 2005 the border authorities apprehended 1.2 million illegal aliens who were attempting to cross illegally into America. Of those 1.2 million, 165,000 were from countries other than Mexico. In fact, 650 were from countries of special interest. Special interest countries are those “designated by the intelligence community as countries that could export individuals that could bring harm to our country in the way of terrorism.”

Republican Congressman John Culberson reported in 2005 that an al-Qaida operative who was on the FBI’s terrorist watch list was arrested near the Mexican border. The operative was subsequently held within the Brewster County Texas Jail. Culberson also reported FBI Director Robert Mueller had previously "confirmed" in testimony before his committee "that there are individuals from countries with known al-Qaida connections who are changing their Islamic surnames to Hispanic-sounding names and obtaining false Hispanic identities, learning to speak Spanish and pretending to be Hispanic immigrants."

In a U.S. government report entitled, “A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border”, U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement stated the following:

-Illegal aliens were smuggled from the Middle East to staging areas in Central and South America, before being smuggled illegally into the United States.

-Members of Hezbollah have already entered the United States across the Southwest border.

In 2006 the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General released a 52 page report that stated between 2001 and 2005 an estimated 45,008 illegal aliens from countries listed as state sponsors of terrorism, or states that protected terrorist members and terrorist organizations were released into the American public with no 100% confirmation of identity. This was not a document compiled by some “right wing” conservative news source, but rather a document released by our own Department of Homeland Security.

We can also look at crime and the economic consequences of the illegal alien issue. In Los Angeles 95% of some 1,500 outstanding murder warrants are for illegal aliens. Illegal aliens account for 67% of the 17,000 outstanding fugitive felony warrants. In 2005 border officials confiscated the following illicit drugs destined for American streets at the border:

222, 714 kilograms of cocaine

1,162,509 kilograms of marijuana

 
5,470 kilograms of methamphetamine

 
A 2004 statistic showed that approximately 267,000 illegal aliens were incarcerated in American correctional facilities with an annual cost of 6.8 billion dollars. And let’s not forget about the safety of our children when a report stated that there may be 240,000 illegal alien sex offenders within the borders of the U.S. It is obvious that the illegal immigration problem solicits a much larger question than just the issue of not wanting illegal aliens to come here and pursue the American dream.

I am in no way saying that without illegal immigration America would be safe. If we closed our borders tomorrow we would still have crime committed by American born citizens. Timothy McVeigh is a prime example of home grown terror. But I am saying the refusal of our government to enforce current immigration laws and protect American citizens to the fullest extent is negligence. Al-Qaida has already stated in its strategic plan that crippling the American economy is one of its primary goals. If you really want to see cause and effect, just think what would happen to our economy if another catastrophic attack occurred within our borders. The enemy is cunning enough, why should we help them. Security really is America’s first domino. Right or wrong, that is how A.P. American sees it. Yeah baby!!!!!