Aloha to New York
rescuers and familiesThe issue: A grateful Hawaii extends
a welcome to the gallant firefighters, police
officers, emergency workers and their families.
For the 600 men, women and children from New York who are vacationing in Hawaii this week, their visit is likely bittersweet. They are savoring the winter season in a beautiful tropical setting as guests of the state and its people, yet if not for the losses they suffered in the September attack in New York City they would not be here.Who among them would not choose the lives of their loved ones over a holiday in Hawaii? They were not given the choice. The fate of their parents and grandparents, siblings and cousins, their uncles and aunts, their neighbors and friends were decided by others who sought to destroy indiscriminately.
This no one can undo. What can be done is to render comfort through a smile, an embrace and a simple kindness. Gestures of appreciation can convey to these special visitors the feeling of unity that Hawaii -- often as far away from the national consciousness as the islands are from the continent -- holds strong with the rest of the country.
The idea to invite rescue workers to the islands came from many quarters. A few saw the free vacations as a way to entice tourists to a listing industry, but most wanted to provide a respite, a chance to seek solace. The notion was to share a place where a glorious sunset and the frothy curl of a wave can soothe and console.
Like the visitors from New York, this state has seen the destructive work of its enemies. Like Hawaii's people, they may glean strength and vigor from the vestiges of conflict. There is a touch of poetry that the visit of the survivors of Sept. 11 are here during the week that we observe the anniversary of Dec. 7, 1941.
To all of our guests, like Anne McCann, who lost her husband, Thomas, a 22-year veteran firefighter, we offer a pledge to honor their sacrifices as we have done for those who died on that Sunday morning in December 60 years ago. Their bond to duty was as significant and as steadfast.
E komo mai, welcome.
U.S. visa restrictions
should be tightenedThe issue: A Senate proposal
would tighten immigration laws,
including student visas.
EFFORTS to keep track of foreign visitors have been so lax that U.S. immigration officials have no idea how many are in this country illegally. The Sept. 11 attack on America revealed the dangerous consequences of such a lapse, and the Bush administration has tightened immigration policies since then. However, legislation is needed to provide more safeguards without building a wall around the country.Sens. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. and John Kyl, R-Ariz., last week introduced what is likely to be the legislative vehicle for closing loopholes in the immigration laws. The 19 terrorists who carried out the attack entered the United States on temporary visas; at least two entered the country as students but violated the terms of their visas.
Attorney General John Ashcroft has issued rules barring the entry of foreigners belonging to groups that endorse terror and is requiring more biographical and other information from visa applicants. However, the main problem is tracking the visitors after they enter the country. The proposed bill would provide for an interagency database of aliens with more detailed information and accessibility to all law-enforcement officials.
A month ago the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted a review of records of the nation's half-million foreign students, including 3,761 from terrorist-supporting countries. Next summer the agency plans to complete an computerized system for keeping track of foreign students, who total more than 3,300 in Hawaii alone.
Under the congressional proposal, the Justice Department would be required to notify schools of the student's entry into the country. In turn, schools would have to notify the INS if a student has not reported to school within 30 days after the academic year begins. Colleges also would be required to collect more information about each student, such as the student's date and port of entry, date of school enrollment and major field of study.
The bill would prohibit routine issuance of visas to students from countries that the Department of State regards as sponsors of terrorism -- Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. However, the bill would allow exemptions for individuals who are not considered threats to the United States, a provision that David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, calls "a good compromise."
Similar compromises may be needed in constructing a comprehensive reform of the nation's immigration laws to deal with the new threat of terrorism.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, managing editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
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