ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS A THREAT

Since the tragedies of 9/11, Americans have become increasingly aware
that illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. While some try to
paint those wanting tougher enforcement of immigration laws as anti-
immigrant, xenophobic or worse, most Americans understand the
difference between orderly, fair and legal immigration and the
uncontrolled, illegal kind.

Most Americans -- including many recent immigrants -- also appreciate
the real benefits that immigrants provide our nation while
understanding the grave dangers associated with lax immigration laws
and porous borders.

As the American-born son of legally admitted Cuban political refugees,
I am extremely grateful that America welcomes those ''yearning to
breathe free.'' We rely on the vitality, creativity and patriotism of
our numerous new Americans. I thanked America by serving on three
continents as an officer in the U.S. Marines. Others are equally
grateful. One of the first Americans killed in the recent Iraq war was
Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, a Guatemalan national who only
posthumously became a U.S. citizen.

Today, there are many more like him. Approximately 7,000 foreign
nationals (non-citizens) serve in the U.S. Marines. More than 4,000
are Hispanic, and many are Mexican. Some may even have entered the
country illegally. They are role models for all Americans.

But not all immigrants are like them.

Open immigration advocates lump legal and illegal immigration together
and focus on the benefits that all immigrants bring, emphasizing that
most come here only searching for a better life. Yet, while the media
pays scant attention to the problem, we can't deny that a large number
of foreigners come here to commit crimes.

Even in this era of heightened security, somewhere between one and two
million undocumented aliens enter the country annually. It is
difficult to gauge how many of these are criminals or potential terrorists.

According to U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., of the roughly 400,000
individuals who have been ordered deported, some 80,000 are criminals
convicted of crimes here.

Four of the five men involved had U.S. criminal records but had never
been deported. John Malvo, one of the accused Beltway snipers, is
another example. A Jamaican, he entered illegally in Miami and had
been detained by Border Patrol agents in Washington state not too long
before the shooting spree began. Sadly, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (now part of Homeland Security), following a
disturbing pattern of ''catch and release,'' simply let him go rather
than incur the costs associated with following the law and promptly
deporting him.

In response to these issues Rep. Norwood recently introduced a bill to
assist federal agents assigned to enforce immigration laws. Norwood
believes that local law enforcement needs to be encouraged to help.

While more needs to be done to detain and deport those convicted of
crimes, the problems start at the borders. The 2,000-mile Mexican
border is the most important. That region has increasingly become the
scene of serious cross-border violence, drugs, arms and alien smuggling.

Some believe that these Mexican government forces are providing
protection to drug and other criminal cartels operating on both sides
of the frontier.

In the Florida Straits, too, organized operations are smuggling human
cargo into the country. In addition to better enforcing our
immigration laws to deal with anyone who entered without inspection,
we also need to do a better job of controlling our borders. Only then
can we separate the good immigrants and legitimate refugees from the
potential criminals and terrorists.

Paul Crespo is a writer and public-policy consultant.