[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4392]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  IMMIGRATION, CITIZENSHIP, AND NATIONAL SECURITY: THE SILENT INVASION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. THOMAS G. TANCREDO

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 10, 2005

  Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the foreword to an 
article I authored in the Fall 2004 special migration issue of 
Mediterranean Quarterly.

People on the Move: The Security, Social, and Economic Implications of 
                               Migration


                                Foreword

       The long cycles of history are revealing to those who study 
     them but may harbor surprises for those who choose to ignore 
     them. The editors of Mediterranean Quarterly, cognizant of 
     lessons learned or ignored, decided to take a closer look at 
     a pattern of history that seems to be at the core of current 
     global instability: the mass migration of people in search of 
     basic means of survival, or just survival from brutal rulers.
       On an annual basis, approximately 100 million people either 
     attempt to or actually do leave their place of birth, often 
     not knowing where they will end up. More than 10 million 
     illegal immigrants have entered the United States since the 
     last ``amnesty'' in 1986, and the flow continues despite the 
     promises of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Close to 
     1 million Albanians, almost one-fourth of the country's 
     population, have sought refuge in neighboring countries since 
     the collapse of their country's communist regime. Tens of 
     thousands of Turks leave their country annually in search of 
     work in Western Europe and endure the consequences of 
     cultural discrimination. More tragically, young women from 
     the poorest components of the former Soviet Empire have 
     vanished into the jungle of human trafficking and become 
     commodities in an ugly form of trade that is managed by the 
     new barons of a dangerous underworld. Recent statistics 
     assembled by Greek authorities estimate that seventeen 
     thousand women are being exploited by sex merchants in the 
     Balkans alone. Albanian mafia lords, in association with 
     their former enemies and with links all the way to 
     Afghanistan, control lucrative drug, gun, and human-smuggling 
     operations across national borders with relative impunity. 
     And as in times past, the Mediterranean Sea has become the 
     crossroads of people on the move and the stage on which human 
     tragedy unfolds almost on a daily basis.
       Human cargoes float from island to island in the eastern 
     Aegean, with boat crews waiting for the opportunity to dump 
     these people on dry land, after having extracted the last 
     ounce of resources from their helpless victims. On the 
     African shores of Gibraltar, thousands of Africans patiently 
     wait for the first opportunity to cross the narrow stretch of 
     water and set foot on European soil. Egyptians, Iraqis, 
     Pakistanis, Filipinos, and Bangladeshis have landed on 
     Italian, Greek, French, and Spanish shores over the years. 
     They bring along their poverty, their energies, and their 
     hopes. They also bring social, political, and now security 
     concerns.
       More than a dozen scholars, policy makers, and political 
     leaders present diverse views on this critical issue in these 
     pages. The lead essay, on the security implications of 
     illegal migration for the United States, is written by 
     Congressman Tom Tancredo, Republican of Colorado, and the 
     unfolding drama of African refugees is provided by Francis M. 
     Deng, United Nations representative for internally displaced 
     persons. Rochelle Gershuni, head of Israel's Ministry of 
     Justice, addresses sex exploitation and human trafficking and 
     its consequences for her country. Scholars of diverse origins 
     and viewpoints deal with migration issues in Spain, Egypt, 
     Turkey, and Greece and the South-North migration in the 
     United States and Canada. Naturally, we do not pretend that 
     we provide a complete picture of a huge historical 
     phenomenon, but we do hope to spark a debate on the social, 
     policy, security, and economic implications caused by 
     ``people on the move.''
       Historical patterns show that mass population movements 
     have altered cultures, demolished empires, given birth to new 
     ones, and ultimately compelled humankind to organize itself 
     into nation-states, with sovereignty determining their 
     national characters. Now the nation-state that saw its birth 
     in the Treaty of Westphalia is in retreat as an organizing 
     concept of human events. Multiculturalism, globalization, 
     poverty, and the North-South global economic divide have 
     altered the patterns of civilization to a degree 
     unprecedented since the eastern tribes overwhelmed the Roman 
     Empire and the Ottomans reached the gates of Vienna.
       The advanced industrial democracies, the ultimate 
     destination of people on the move, have shown a lack of 
     vision about the implications of mass movements of people in 
     search of a livelihood. In their pursuit of high profits with 
     cheap labor in the shortest time, they have adopted 
     immigration policies that no longer facilitate the orderly 
     integration of cultures and the peaceful evolution of new 
     forms of ethnic identity. Instead of inviting potential 
     citizens seeking a better life, the industrial nations have 
     institutionalized the transplantation of ethnic communities 
     and have set in motion a process for their own national 
     balkanization.
       The essays included in this special issue of Mediterranean 
     Quarterly (with more to follow in future issues) examine 
     problems caused by migration both in countries of destination 
     and countries of origin. It behooves the first to examine 
     their social policies and the latter to come to grips with 
     their inability to match national resources with their 
     peoples' needs. By selectively examining problems on both 
     sides of the divide, the editors hope to spark a debate that 
     will be grounded on the reality that a silent invasion is 
     under way that could, if left unattended, transform world 
     politics and foment global turmoil for generations to come.

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