Securing the Border: Building on the Progress Made

Fellow and Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program, before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

"Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the invitation to appear before you today on a subject that is of critical importance to the security of the nation and to the viability of our immigration system. My name is Doris Meissner and I am a Senior Fellow and Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), an independent, non-partisan policy research organization in Washington, D.C. I served as Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) from 1993-2000 and have been engaged in immigration matters for more than 35 years in government and now in non-governmental policy research roles.

My core message today is to urge the administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), working with Congress, to define what constitutes effective border control and establish measures of effectiveness for managing and assessing border-control efforts. Clear definitions and indicators of what constitutes effective border control are essential as a basis for promoting a more informed public discussion and broader consensus about the effectiveness of border enforcement, especially along the Southwest border. [...]"