President Bush continues to push for an intelligence reform bill that excludes immigration enforcement provisions. Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-California), writing in the Washington Times (”Immigration reform crucial to security“), takes the opposite tack:

If the intelligence reform bill has any chance of passage when Congress returns to the Capitol this week, it must meet all the goals outlined by the September 11 commission’s comprehensive report, not just the few selected by the Senate. Specifically, it will have to address illegal immigration as a national security threat.

Gallegly has been a strong supporter of border security for many years, so I’m not surprised to see him bravely stand up to the White House now. More background on this issue here.

If you have a few spare moments on Monday, this would be a good time to let your congressman and Senators know where you stand on immigration enforcement. The U.S. Capitol Switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.

Update: Former New York state security czar James Kallstrom seems to agree with Gallegly, according to this NewsMax article:

“As long as people can pour across the borders … largely unobstructed, the job of the terrorist task forces in the United States is going to be a moving target,” said Kallstrom, who headed up the FBI’s New York office before he was recruited as the state’s top counterterrorism official in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks.

In comments to WABC Radio’s John Gambling, Kallstrom voiced support for provisions of the intelligence reform bill that are being pushed by House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner - measures dropped from the legislation because they were deemed too “controversial.”

“The fact is that in some of the states, a 10-year-old in the backseat of a car can make a driver’s license,” the one-time top security official told WABC. “Or you can get a real driver’s license with phony documents quite easily.”

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