I’ve Changed. This Is War. Seal the Borders. Stop the Visas.

 
shutterstock_332801315

Asylum seekers arriving at train station in Munich. Jazzmany / Shutterstock.com

I know this is not my usual position. But this is a war. Therefore I have come to believe there should be no immigration or visa waivers until the US adopts a completely new system to stop radical Islamic terrorists from entering the country. A wartime lockdown. And a big change in my thinking.

ISIS and related Islamic terrorists are already here. More are coming. We must stop them.

Until FBI director James Comey gives us the green light, I say seal the borders.

Here’s what we must do: Completely reform the vetting process for immigrants and foreign visitors. Change the screening process. Come up with a new visa-application review process. Stop this nonsense of marriage-visa fraud. And in the meantime, seal the borders. I agree with Jessica Vaughn, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, who argued many of these points in excellent detail on the National Review website Friday.

Again, why am I taking this hardline position? In the past I have been an immigration reformer, not a restrictionist. But we are at war. That changes everything.

Let me emphasize that my support for wartime immigration restrictions is not based on religion. I think Donald Trump made a big mistake here. Instead, I agree with this Rupert Murdoch tweet: “Complete refugee pause to fix vetting makes sense.”

Fortunately, the Republican House voted to tighten restrictions on travel to the US by citizens of 38 nations who presently enter our country without a visa. This covers 20 million visitors a year who are allowed to stay 90 days. And of course this system is abused, big time.

But I say seal the borders. People hoping to relocate to the US from Syria, Iraq, and anywhere in the Middle East, and people coming here from France, England, Sweden, and wherever will be upset, at least for a while. There may be some unfairness to this. But I don’t care. Wars breed unfairness, just as they breed collateral damage.

We may set back tourism. We may anger Saudi princes whose kids are in American schools. But so be it. We need a wartime footing if we are going to protect the American homeland.

Of course, President Obama doesn’t get it. He never will. Already we should have led NATO into a declaration of war against ISIS. Already we should have pushed a resolution of war against ISIS through the UN Security Council. Already we should have convened meetings with our Mideast allies to formally declare war against ISIS. Already the US Congress should have issued a formal declaration of war against ISIS.

The president had his last chance last Sunday night. And he didn’t do it. He is not a wartime commander in chief. In fact, he is not a commander in chief.

As I have written before, if the US wants to destroy ISIS, it can destroy ISIS. We won’t end terrorism around the world. But we can destroy ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Prominent generals are telling us that. Prominent national-security strategists are telling us that.

So let’s do it.

If there is to be a true wartime effort to destroy ISIS, our leaders must communicate a sense of urgency and energy. Define the clear goal: the destruction of ISIS. Speak to that goal constantly. Take steps at home and abroad to back up that goal. Lead the country. Rally the country.

Republican and Democratic commanders in chief have done this in the past. We must do it again.

I don’t believe a visa or immigration lockdown here in the US will solve the Islamic terrorist threat. Many other steps must be taken. And I am not suggesting this in the name of religious profiling. Instead, I am hardening my position on immigration because we are at war and I fear we may be losing this war.

My shift in thinking comes from a deep desire to strengthen homeland security. Hopefully an immigration freeze will not be in place for very long. But for now I believe we must do it. (By the way, keeping America safe is a prerequisite for growth.)

And let me add, as I have in the past, if the US has the will, the urgency, and the energy to destroy ISIS, then we will destroy ISIS.

Published in Immigration, Islamist Terrorism
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  1. Judithann Campbell Member
    Judithann Campbell
    @

    Thank you.

    • #1
  2. Tom Riehl Member
    Tom Riehl
    @

    Seal all the borders.  There are people just roaming across our southern border right now.  Our problem isn’t vetting, it’s lack of will as a nation to protect ourselves.  Gun and ammo sales are through the roof.  As well as firearms training.  I’m personally ready, but I sure wish some of the bed-wetters in DC would grow a pair.

    • #2
  3. billy Inactive
    billy
    @billy

    So does this mean you have finally decided to run for that Connecticut Senate seat?

    • #3
  4. MJMotley Inactive
    MJMotley
    @MJMotley

    Larry,

    Glad to see you come over to the Dark Side and have come to grasp the peril of our times. However, your proposal regarding declaring war on ISIS is a non-starter. Let me explain.

    There was a purposeful reason we called the “Vietnam War” a police action instead of a formal declaration. Legally, a Sovereign can only declare war against another Sovereign which bestows a legitimacy and the formal trappings of state that come with, like say the right to have embassies in any or all the Sovereigns that might not sign on to your declaration. An ISIS with diplomatic immunity is too insane to contemplate.

    In other words, do not issue a formal declaration unless you are prepared to give ISIS a seat in the UN.

    Addendum: And yes, the UN has far outlived its usefulness and would fade from existence if we just stopped providing around a quarter of it’s financing.

    • #4
  5. Marion Evans Inactive
    Marion Evans
    @MarionEvans

    Sooo no visas for skilled engineers, no family reunification, no nothing?

    No visa waivers either? Since Europe will retaliate, you too Kudlow will need a visa for London. Not certain you will get it after this post, based on the UK reaction to Trump’s ban idea.

    You started with immigrants and at the Murdoch tweet, you switched to refugees. Same thing for you? Most immigrants are not refugees and are not Muslims.

    The “we are at war” justification could be used for anything. Let’s be more careful.

    • #5
  6. Ball Diamond Ball Member
    Ball Diamond Ball
    @BallDiamondBall

    Marion Evans:Sooo no visas for skilled engineers, no family reunification, no nothing?

    No visa waivers either? Since Europe will retaliate, you too Kudlow will need a visa for London. Not certain you will get it after this post, based on the UK reaction to Trump’s ban idea.

    You started with immigrants and at the Murdoch tweet, you switched to refugees. Same thing for you? Most immigrants are not refugees and are not Muslims.

    The “we are at war” justification could be used for anything. Let’s be more careful.

    We do not owe a single foreign person a damned thing.  We do owe Americans something, and they are not getting it.  Just because failure is the status quo does not make it a decent starting point for debate.

    I can’t think of a better place for the Army than our southern border.  As for the rest, immigrants, refugees… pffft.  I don’t care.  I don’t have to.

    • #6
  7. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Glad to hear it.

    • #7
  8. Ball Diamond Ball Member
    Ball Diamond Ball
    @BallDiamondBall

    This is where the Trump thing comes into focus.  Stipulating that he’s a bad man and an oaf and a demagogue, so what?  The US could mount another military effort to clean out (say) Iraq and Afghanistan, or the same thing further west in (say) Syria and Iraq, or Yemen and Somalia, and no matter what success may be achieved, it will be discarded.  We could save the Air Force some money and just let men like Major Nidal Hasan simply slaughter our soldiers at home.

    Obama’s a bad man, an oaf, and a demagogue.  Trump is a symptom, and I urge those with sniffy disdain to consider this: what if the Republic is already broken?  Yeah yeah, hope and change, I hear ya, but that’s not where we are.  Who is going to cast out the million faithless pubic servants whose union owns our government workforce?  Who will even enforce existing laws, much less faithfully execute new ones?  Elections as business-as-usual have lost the faith of the American people, and I don’t think they are wrong.

    If we view the war against Islamist Terrorists as a single piece beginning in (say) 1993, then Obama’s action are clearly treason.  From publishing a date to quit Afghanistan right up through pretending to pursue ISIS with pinprick attacks that cost millions but destroy very little, we are losing this war on purpose.

    Mr. Kudlow, we aren’t going to seal anything.  Sorry.

    • #8
  9. LilyBart Inactive
    LilyBart
    @LilyBart

    ….my support for wartime immigration restrictions is not based on religion.

    Exactly!   Its not about religion.  We are not cautious because of their *religion*, we’re cautious because of their ideology – their approach.   We have to move cautiously.

    And no non-citizen has a RIGHT to be here.

    • #9
  10. Mike LaRoche Inactive
    Mike LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    Ball Diamond Ball:

    Marion Evans:Sooo no visas for skilled engineers, no family reunification, no nothing?

    No visa waivers either? Since Europe will retaliate, you too Kudlow will need a visa for London. Not certain you will get it after this post, based on the UK reaction to Trump’s ban idea.

    You started with immigrants and at the Murdoch tweet, you switched to refugees. Same thing for you? Most immigrants are not refugees and are not Muslims.

    The “we are at war” justification could be used for anything. Let’s be more careful.

    We do not owe a single foreign person a damned thing. We do owe Americans something, and they are not getting it. Just because failure is the status quo does not make it a decent starting point for debate.

    I can’t think of a better place for the Army than our southern border. As for the rest, immigrants, refugees… pffft. I don’t care. I don’t have to.

    Word.

    • #10
  11. Carey J. Inactive
    Carey J.
    @CareyJ

    I guess that means Larry won’t be supporting Rubio the Amnestymonger for the GOP nomination.

    • #11
  12. Mike LaRoche Inactive
    Mike LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    The times, they are a changin’.

    • #12
  13. Bob W Member
    Bob W
    @WBob

    Im glad Larry changed his mind, but what exactly happened that made him do it? The attack in California? That would mean that he didn’t understand previously that terrorists wanted to do something like that… and now he does. I’m not sure what to make of that.

    • #13
  14. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Bob W:Im glad Larry changed his mind, but what exactly happened that made him do it?The attack in California?That would mean that he didn’t understand previously that terrorists wanted to do something like that… and now he does. I’m not sure what to make of that.

    Don’t knock it. That’s the way it always works.  There is always a tipping point.  For one person it may be here, for another it may be there.  It’s not going to be the same for everybody.

    • #14
  15. Mark Camp Member
    Mark Camp
    @MarkCamp

    Hey, let’s somebody start a blog for Ricochet members who share Ricochet values!  It could be called “Ricochet Ricochet”.  If that too started to get taken over by people who don’t share our values, if it began to seem like just another web site for miscellaneous angry people, we could start Ricochet Ricochet Ricochet, and so on.

    • #15
  16. Ball Diamond Ball Member
    Ball Diamond Ball
    @BallDiamondBall

    Mark Camp:Hey, let’s somebody start a blog for Ricochet members who share Ricochet values! It could be called “Ricochet Ricochet”. If that too started to get taken over by people who don’t share our values, if it began to seem like just another web site for miscellaneous angry people, we could start Ricochet Ricochet Ricochet, and so on.

    So, no Kudlow for you?

    • #16
  17. Ball Diamond Ball Member
    Ball Diamond Ball
    @BallDiamondBall

    Bob W:Im glad Larry changed his mind, but what exactly happened that made him do it?The attack in California?That would mean that he didn’t understand previously that terrorists wanted to do something like that… and now he does. I’m not sure what to make of that.

    I’d say welcome him to the club.  Fruit cup on the coffee table.  Have a seat.

    • #17
  18. billy Inactive
    billy
    @billy

    Bob W:Im glad Larry changed his mind, but what exactly happened that made him do it?The attack in California?That would mean that he didn’t understand previously that terrorists wanted to do something like that… and now he does. I’m not sure what to make of that.

    I refer you to comment #3. He has been considering a run for the Connecticut Senate seat in 2016.

    This is a convenient backpedal without being obvious about it.

    • #18
  19. Mike LaRoche Inactive
    Mike LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    My come-to-Jesus moment on immigration/border security came ten years ago, when there was a drive-by shooting by some narcotraficantes in my parents’ upper middle class neighborhood in Laredo, Texas.  On Thanksgiving Day, no less.

    • #19
  20. Yeah...ok. Inactive
    Yeah...ok.
    @Yeahok

    Yo Larry, glad to see you over at VDare.

    Did anyone ask senator cheekbone, Liz Warren, if her ancestors were happy with their open border policy?

    • #20
  21. Quake Voter Inactive
    Quake Voter
    @QuakeVoter

    Thanks Larry.  Uncompromising assertions are clarifying.  Are we at war with ISIS or not?  Honestly I think more eastern elitists are more concerned with whether to call the outfit ISIL, ISIS or Daesh than with taking any decisive action.

    This proposal is better than the status quo, but, Good Lord, if this is the only option, we are infected with a terminal, malignant case of political correctness.

    My Icelandic sister-in-law is subject to the same exclusion this Christmas as Tashfeen Malik’s relatives?

    All the smart set talk about the impossibility of making critical judgments about foreign travelers is unpersuasive.

    How does Ben Gurion Airport operate?  The fourth busiest airport in the Middle East, surrounded by brutal terrorists regimes that thirst for Jewish blood.  In a country where 20% of its own “citizens” would cheer the destruction of the other 80%.

    • #21
  22. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Yes!  Yes, Larry, yes.  And we need to go into a wartime mode regarding civil liberties.  Read my post on how Farook was allowed to operate because they didn’t want to violate his civil liberties, here.

    • #22
  23. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Quake Voter: My Icelandic sister-in-law is subject to the same exclusion this Christmas as Tashfeen Malik’s relatives?

    Wouldn’t your Icelandic sister-in-law and her relatives be willing to make this small sacrifice in order to get this process started?  It will be crude at first, and can be better-tuned as we go along.

    Dunno if it would apply to my daughter, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country.  But it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had temporary setbacks.

    • #23
  24. HVTs Inactive
    HVTs
    @HVTs

    The Reticulator:

    Bob W:Im glad Larry changed his mind, but what exactly happened that made him do it?The attack in California?That would mean that he didn’t understand previously that terrorists wanted to do something like that… and now he does. I’m not sure what to make of that.

    Don’t knock it. That’s the way it always works. There is always a tipping point. For one person it may be here, for another it may be there. It’s not going to be the same for everybody.

    truth - schopenhauer-quote

    • #24
  25. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    billy:

    Bob W:Im glad Larry changed his mind, but what exactly happened that made him do it?The attack in California?That would mean that he didn’t understand previously that terrorists wanted to do something like that… and now he does. I’m not sure what to make of that.

    I refer you to comment #3. He has been considering a run for the Connecticut Senate seat in 2016.

    This is a convenient backpedal without being obvious about it.

    I do believe sir that you may have nailed it.

    It would certainly be a rather convenient do-si-do for a Democrat looking at higher office in the current harsh landscape facing that party in Congress. I do believe Mr. Kudlow is still a Democrat, is he not? Correct me if I am wrong.

    • #25
  26. Quake Voter Inactive
    Quake Voter
    @QuakeVoter

    The Reticulator: Wouldn’t your Icelandic sister-in-law and her relatives be willing to make this small sacrifice in order to get this process started? It will be crude at first, and can be better-tuned as we go along.

    It is not a question of sacrifice, but what altar are you sacrificing upon?  Here the altar is self-destructive political correctness.

    We can “better tune” our existing system today if we possess the political will.

    We don’t:  I just passed through TSA screening an hour ago.  Young Muslim males pass through with no issues.  Eighty-year old African American woman in a wheelchair was selected for additional screening, including a standing (seemed painful) pat down.

    Maybe crude is all we can do, but it is a real indictment.

    Honestly I believe your average liberal is more devoted to their gospel of political correctness than most Muslims are to sharia.

    • #26
  27. BrentB67 Inactive
    BrentB67
    @BrentB67

    I endorse your position.

    • #27
  28. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Marion Evans: Sooo no visas for skilled engineers, no family reunification, no nothing?

    Regardless of anything else we do or don’t do with regard to the border,  “family reunification” should absolutely be axed, and never reinstated.

    You want to be with your family, go to whereever they are.

    • #28
  29. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    Quake Voter: Honestly I believe your average liberal is more devoted to their gospel of political correctness than most Muslims are to sharia.

    I would agree with that. Geesh.

    • #29
  30. HVTs Inactive
    HVTs
    @HVTs

    The Reticulator:

    Quake Voter: My Icelandic sister-in-law is subject to the same exclusion this Christmas as Tashfeen Malik’s relatives?

    Wouldn’t your Icelandic sister-in-law and her relatives be willing to make this small sacrifice in order to get this process started? It will be crude at first, and can be better-tuned as we go along.

    But it won’t be refined later.

    We should rip the PC bandage off quickly instead of waiting for several more San Bernardinos. Icelanders are not a threat. Most people are not a threat!

    Most Muslims are not terrorists. But most terrorists are Muslims. How about we grow up and face reality before banning ALL tourists, ALL business travelers, ALL immigrants?  We need to stop certain tourists, certain travelers, certain immigrants.  Where is it written in the Constitution that because we want equality before the law for citizens, we must therefore never, ever discriminate about anything, towards anyone, at any time?  This tripe serves only to extend the Democrat Party’s vast shaming operation, designed to end debate before the voters’ commonsense has a chance to undermine the Left’s demographic agenda.

    The reason we’re even talking about an across the board moratorium is because we’ve allowed the Left to set the terms of the debate.  And having done that—having ruled out discrimination of any kind—the Left will decry the in-discrimination of our solution!

    You can’t beat the Left while on defense. Period.

    • #30
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