Homeland Security Secretary Urges Immigration Policy Changes to Safeguard National Security

Michael Chertoff, homeland security secretary, proposes fighting terrorism by streamlining his department and tightening border security while allowing more legal immigrants to enter the country through a guest worker program.

Chertoff explains that although tightening the border is important to “prevent illegal immigration and security breaches,” he believes “control of the border will also require reducing the demand for illegal border migration” by giving needed workers an avenue to legally enter the country.

These new immigration laws would be part of a larger reorganization of the Department of Homeland Security.

Other changes include eliminating layers of management between the secretary and the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection; moving the Federal Air Marshals from under the CIA to the Transportation Security Administration; and separating the Federal Emergency Management Agency from the directorate responsible for preparedness against terrorism.

“Our enemy constantly changes and adapts, so we as a department must be nimble and decisive,” says Chertoff.