Adjusting to Terrorism

Since September 11, 2001, the United States has taken as many precautions as necessary, implemented new acts through congress, adopted the Patriot Act and gone to war. Our country was brought to its knees unlike any other time in our history. When it comes to terrorism in the United States, it is hard to "adjust."

There are many things within the criminal justice agency that can be changed in an effort to combat terrorism more effectively though. One of those changes could come from keeping track of the thousands of foreign nationals that enter this country on a yearly basis. Although this may sound like an impossible task to complete, it should not be considered as such when it comes to knowing who is in our country and what their purpose is in being here. The United States has gone through many obstacles throughout history and where there is a will, there usually is a way.

The United States does not know who is actually in our country or even what their reasons are, because no tracking has been done. According to the NATIONAL JOURNAL, the following information was provided, "In 1996, Congress passed a plan--Section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996--that required the INS to begin collecting and organizing data on individuals who crossed into the United States by land. Such information is already collected from visitors arriving by air and sea. However, business interests--especially those in border communities--objected to Section 110 and lobbied Congress to delay implementation. Congress agreed." (GovExec, 2001)

In order to track foreign nationals, one system that comes to mind is one that the United States already uses to keep track of its own residents, "social security numbers." A general database would need to be developed and then implemented by the government. This general database would not only provide the foreign nationals with a number, it would keep track of the individuals by gathering information such as: names and aliases used, the United States address in which they will be living, foreign addresses (from the country they reside), phone numbers (where they are staying within the U.S. borders), their entrance date and expected exit from the United States date.

Some government officials may feel that this is a lot of work and that it would