INS: The Best Defense Is a Good Fence

Re “Flight School Gets Student Visa OK--for Two Sept. 11 Hijackers,” March 13: This should have been front-page news. The Immigration and Naturalization Service, already doing a dismal job of controlling both legal and illegal immigration, cannot even single out terrorists after they’ve already killed thousands. The CIA and airline security get blamed for the September attacks--how about asking how we should revamp the INS?

Deborah Lopez

Agoura Hills

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As I attempt to reenter the job market I worry that I’m not qualified for anything. But then I think, “Hey, why not run the INS?”

Kurt Sipolski

Palm Desert

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Re “Bush Calls for Probe of INS After Hijackers’ Visas OKd,” March 14: President Bush was shocked that the INS approved visas for terrorists. He should not have been surprised. We under-fund the INS because there is no profit in it. Meanwhile, we spend billions for unneeded and unwanted weapons systems that do not even work.

The solution is simple. Tracking foreign visitors is necessary for our defense, so we should give the job to defense contractors. They could buy the best computers and hire the most expensive, politically connected consultants for a fraction of the cost devoted to useless weapons development. Defense workers could be retrained for jobs at good salaries that would actually provide a service we need, homeland security. But we cannot be cheap. Only big spending will make it worthwhile for contractors to adapt to the new threats in a useful way.

Art Gittleman

Huntington Beach

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Regarding Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge’s goofy five-color-coded warning system (March 13), it looks like government officials think we need only one color, Code Green.

The INS used a Code Green as it just approved student visas for two of the dead hijackers.

And Congress gave its own Code Green so more illegals can stay here with our blessing after breaking our laws (“Illegal Immigrants Aided on Residency Bid in House Vote,” March 13).

Maybe we can fly a properly colored flag over LAX every week under the auspices of our new, more highly paid federal-employee screeners.

The only things worse than our lack of real security since 9/11 are such misdirected actions by our government, which doesn’t seem to understand where resources really need to be applied.

David Anderson

Los Alamitos

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While Congress was approving an extension of the 245(i) measure that would allow up to 200,000 illegal aliens to buy a green card without submitting to a criminal background investigation in their home country, Ridge said that the U.S. is in a state of heightened security. What hypocrisy!

Bush needs a carrot to hang out to Mexican President Vicente Fox; at the same time he risks allowing potential terrorists to buy their legal status. Is this a great country?

Byron Slater

San Diego