***** Immigration Chaos: Solutions to an American Crisis. By Neville W. Cramer; published by IES Publication, LLC, www.immigrationenforcementsolutions.com [1] (Web); 284 pages, $30.

Author Neville W. Cramer suggests by the title of this book that the U.S. government has created chaos within the immigration system.

Cramer, a former special agent with what was then the Justice Department’s Immigration and Naturalization Service, begins with the presumption that, despite strong opinions on the matter, most Americans have little understanding of how the current immigration “quagmire” evolved. His book, he hopes, will help people understand it, while suggesting innovative solutions to bring illegal immigration under control.

In the first part of the text, Cramer takes us through his 26-year career to show the disastrous failures of the nation’s immigration enforcement efforts. For decades, he writes, Congress’s knee-jerk response to illegal immigration has been to hire more agents to guard our southern borders. This, however, does not deter illegal entries, he says.

History has shown that illegal immigration has increased despite the rise in agents posted along the Mexican border. While the failed strategy assumes that most or all illegal immigration occurs along the southern border, Cramer notes that illegal immigrants enter the country along all borders and at all ports of entry, including our international airports.

In the second part of his book, Cramer proposes solutions. As a nation, he writes, we must realize that employment is the magnet that draws most illegal aliens to America. Congress must, therefore, mandate workable compliance programs that allow employers to cooperate with the government. Taking the prospect of employment away is the best way to deter those who would enter the country illegally.

The Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program does attempt to get at this issue; it offers employers a Web portal for using Social Security numbers to check the legal status of any prospective or current employee. While it is operational, it is not mandatory at this point, and the implementation date has been pushed back at the behest of the business community.

Cramer argues that “if we are to maintain ourselves as a world leader, we must reduce illegal immigration to a manageable level, secure our physical borders, and allow America to once again become a nation that welcomes immigrants and not a nation flooded with illegal aliens.

Cramer presents his case well. No matter what your views on the issue, Immigration Chaos is a book well worth reading for all security professionals in America. As in any security analysis, the first step is to identify the problem and its cause; only then can we find a solution

Reviewer: Frederick D. “Rick” Arons, CPP, CRT (Certified in the Reid Technique), is President/CEO and founder of ACSI, Inc. (Analytical Consultants for Security and Investigations). He specializes in corporate security investigations and threat analysis.

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