The New York Analysis is pleased to present this guest editorial by Judge John H. Wilson, who recently retired from the Bronx/Brooklyn Criminal Court Bench
In February of this year, I moved to North Dakota from New York City, where I had resided for most of my life. Besides the usual culture shock one would expect, the real surprise came when I first visited the North Dakota state capitol.
I was amazed at the lack of security. No checkpoints, no armed guards, not even unarmed security patrols. I took this as a testament to the peace and safety of my adopted home.
You see, I was in New York City on September 11, 2001, specifically at my home in the Bronx. That day, my wife lost her best friend, and I nearly lost my brother and two other close friends when Islamic terrorists drove commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center. My other brother, a now-retired Lieutenant with the NYPD, spent months searching the pile of rubble that had been the Twin Towers, looking for the body parts of those murdered that terrible day.
Thus, you can understand my being surprised at the utter lack of security I found at the North Dakota State Capitol. In New York, I routinely saw police officers and soldiers on the streets of Manhattan, dressed in riot gear, flak vests, and carrying automatic rifles.
Like much of the Midwest, North Dakota is a friendly place, full of people who trust to the good will of their fellow human beings. I was therefore not terribly surprised to learn that North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple had not immediately joined the other governors who told the federal government that they would not accept Syrian refugees. Though his position was interpreted as a “no” to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in North Dakota, his position was actually more nuanced. In reality, the governor stated that he would “urge President Barack Obama to halt resettlement of Syrian refugees in the U.S. until security and screening measures can be reviewed.”
In fact, at last count, 31 states, with both Republican and Democratic governors, have stated their intention to reject Syrian refugees.
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President Obama has claimed the moral high ground on this issue, comparing the refugees from Syrian to the Pilgrims, calling them “men and women who want nothing more than the chance for a safer, better future for themselves and their families.” In pointed language, the President has also criticized Republicans for being “scared of widows and orphans coming into the United States of America as part of our tradition of compassion. At first they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of three-year-old orphans. That doesn’t seem so tough to me.”
New York City learned the hard way not to trust the federal government and its supposed vetting processes. The September 11 hijackers were all present in America on student, tourist or business visas. But it wasn’t until AFTER the 911 attacks that the federal government significantly tightened its requirements for the issuance of a visa, ineffectively, and almost literally, closing the barn door after the cows had escaped.
Since 911, The New York Police Department handles its own security on behalf of New York City. This includes the establishment of an overseas program in 2003, under which New York City Police Officers are stationed in various hotspots around the globe. As then Commissioner Ray Kelly stated, ““The terrorists knew no national boundaries. Why should the New York City police?”
The NYPD cooperates with the federal authorities. But they also follow Ronald Reagan’s famous maxim – trust, but verify.
There can be no doubt that as President Obama stated, many of these refugees are simply seeking a better life. But at the same time, it is equally true that many are dangerous. In fact, the debate has only been sharpened by the revelation that one of the recent Paris terror attack participants was a “Syrian refugee.”
Until effective measures can put into place to distinguish refugees from terrorists, is it so unreasonable for the governors of 31 states to not trust the safety of their citizens to a federal government that has a different agenda?