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Lamm: Illegals can pose risk

Ex-governor says some cross border in order to do harm

Felix Doligosa Jr., Rocky Mountain News

Published July 28, 2006 at midnight

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Illegal immigrants may someday "shoot down our airliners" and open fire in our malls and schools, former Gov. Dick Lamm said Thursday during a breakfast with business leaders.

"It used to take an army and navy to hurt America," Lamm said about the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. "Not anymore."

Lamm, who has been under fire for his recent comments about Hispanics and blacks, said illegal immigration fuels terrorism and places economic burdens on Americans. He spoke at the University Club in downtown Denver.

During a speech in Vail on Monday, Lamm said Hispanics remain an "underclass" in America because their culture is "not success-producing."

In the former governor's new book, Two Wands, One Nation, Lamm writes that Hispanics and blacks need to take responsibility for their "under performance" and should adopt the values of the Japanese and Jews.

Lamm focused on illegal immigration in the Thursday speech.

He said 12 of the people involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were illegal immigrants who had created bank accounts in America to pay for their activities.

Lamm said Americans should not tolerate giving out bank accounts to people who are in the country illegaly.

"It's not people coming to do our yard work only," Lamm said in making his point that criminals or terrorists also come into the country illegaly.

In addition to the threat to national security, Lamm said illegal immigration has cut wages and hurts Colorado. He noted that more families are coming to America, as opposed to single males.

Lamm recently visited a Denver home where three illegal immigrant families lived. There were 11 children in the home who went to public schools.

Lamm said for children who only speak one language, it takes about $11,000 to pay for each student to go through schools, and it costs just as much for health care.

"The taxpayers are being abused," he said.

Lamm said America can't become the health care provider for the world.

It's the magnet of American jobs that are attracting illegal immigrants, he said.

"You have to do something with that magnet," he said.

Lamm is behind employers verifying Social Security numbers. He showed how easy it is to obtain fake documents by showing a green card and a Social Security card bearing Bill Clinton's name. The picture on the green card was of Lamm.

Lamm supports the guest worker program and advocates employers checking Social Security cards through databases with the federal Basic Pilot Employment Verification Program.

As for the jobs illegal immigrants have in America, Lamm said America needs to "find ways to start upward mobility of America's lower economic people.

"America has to rediscover its work ethic."

Lamm is behind enforcing borders to control illegal immigration.

"It's so unfair to our people," he said.

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