December 13, 2017

Lottery System

By Tammy Derouin

It is encouraging to see that the Trump administration is not giving up on the need to end the Diversity Visa Lottery program. We really need to tighten up our security and this is certainly a program which needs to be highly scrutinized and more than likely, eliminated. This program, which begun in the 1990's and received bipartisan support, may have originally began with good intentions, however, times have changed. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, which was a declaration of war by Middle Eastern Jihadist on the United States, our security and the way we admit people into the United States should have changed.

Unfortunately, during the Obama administration our security was extremely lax. There was an ever present mindset to ignore law enforcement and to side with criminals. Our military, border security and the law enforcement community in general was disrespected. All levels of security were continuously being ignored and denied the support they needed to do their job of protecting the homeland and the American people.

In our post 9/11 reality, the Diversity Visa Lottery program could be used to gain entry into the U.S. by those who wish to destroy us. With so few stipulations, it is an easy way to gain access. In our current reality, we should not be allowing 50,000 individuals into our country simply because their names were randomly drawn. This lottery system was set up to get a more balanced mix of immigrants from countries which were being under represented. Immigrants should be considered based on merit and or what they can contribute to our society. What may have seemed like a nice thing to do in the 1990's is no longer the case. This is an open door, a welcome mat, an invitation to those who could take advantage of such an easy way to gain entry and use it to cause harm.

The eligibility requirements are low. An individual only needs a high school degree and two years of work experience to be considered for this program. If they meet these low standards to obtain a visa, they can become U.S. citizens after living here for five years. Once they become citizens, the process of chain migration begins. This creative policy allows new immigrants to bring foreign relatives into the United States. If our enemies have the potential of gaining entry through this program, wouldn't it be fair to say that once they gain entry they will bring more like minded individuals with them?

Why would Congress, or anyone for that matter, continue to support such a potentially dangerous policy? This program does not put the best interests of the American people first. If anything, it makes us vulnerable because our enemies can gain entry much more easily, short of just walking across an unprotected border. We need proper security not lax policies which could provide a potentially harmful outcome.

If individuals are truly coming here for the right reasons, they will follow the correct path to enter our country and will follow the legal steps to become citizens. We need people who believe in the American way, our system of government and who want to live free. The first test is how someone enters our country. Did they enter our homeland legally or illegally? Someone who knocks on our front door with the desire to contribute to our country should have preference over someone who sneaks in the back door with an unclear agenda and sidesteps the process.

I don't think immigration, legal immigration, is a concerning problem for most Americans. Immigration without accountability, however, has become the problem. Through reckless policies, we have created an environment where non-citizens feel that they are entitled to become citizens simply because they are here. No, they are not entitled. Citizenship is a priceless gift. We should be protecting our homeland and should only be considering individuals for citizenship who wish to contribute to our country and do not wish to destroy it.

We have a formal, legal immigration process in place. It is in place for a very good reason. The Diversity Visa Lottery program encourages mass immigration from highly questionable regions and possibly individuals who are looking to gain entry without a vetting process. We must protect our homeland. When individuals sidestep the process, a very simple question should be asked, why? We should also question a program, which is currently legal, which could be used as a potential gateway for enemy infiltration.

“National security begins with border security. Foreign terrorists will not be able to strike America if they cannot get into our country.”

Donald Trump