The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration, and Security Since 9/11 - Hardcover

Alden, Edward

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061558397 ISBN 13: 9780061558399

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2008

Synopsis

A provocative, behind-the-scenes investigation into the consequences of America's effort to secure its borders in the post-September 11 world argues that the Bush administration has failed in its ideals while hurting America's image and economic prospects. 35,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

"A thought-provoking study that will leave you looking at our borders in a new light."--The San Antonio Express-News

"In this revealing and richly researched account, Alden describes how the Bush administration came to rely on the blunt instrument of immigration enforcement to carry out its counterterrorism strategy after 9/11."--Julia Preston, Foreign Affairs

"Compellingly argued and meticulously researched."--Clive Crook, The Financial Times

"Alden's book reads like a case study in good intentions and bad effects."--The Wall Street Journal

A thought-provoking study that will leave you looking at our borders in a new light. --The San Antonio Express-News"

Alden s book reads like a case study in good intentions and bad effects. --The Wall Street Journal"

In this revealing and richly researched account, Alden describes how the Bush administration came to rely on the blunt instrument of immigration enforcement to carry out its counterterrorism strategy after 9/11. --Julia Preston, Foreign Affairs"

Compellingly argued and meticulously researched. --Clive Crook, The Financial Times"

From the Back Cover:

A provocative, behind-the-scenes investigation into the consequences of America's efforts to secure its borders since 9/11

On September 10, 2001, the United States was the most open country in the world. But in the aftermath of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil, the U.S. government began to close its borders in an effort to fight terrorism. The Bush administration's goal was to build new lines of defense against terrorists without stifling the flow of people and ideas from abroad that has helped build the world's most dynamic economy. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.

The Closing of the American Border is based on extensive interviews with the Bush administration officials charged with securing the border after 9/11, including former secretary of homeland security Tom Ridge and former secretary of state Colin Powell, and with many of the innocent people whose lives have been upended by the new border security and visa rules. A pediatric heart surgeon from Pakistan is stuck in Karachi for nearly a year, awaiting the security review that would allow him to return to the United States to take up a prestigious post at UCLA Medical Center. A brilliant Sudanese scientist, working tirelessly to cure one of the worst diseases of the developing world, loses years of valuable research when he is detained in Brazil after attending an academic conference on behalf of an American university.

Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to show how an administration that appeared united in the aftermath of the attacks was racked by internal disagreements over how to balance security and openness. The result is a striking and compelling assessment of the dangers faced by a nation that cuts itself off from the rest of the world, making it increasingly difficult for others to travel, live, and work here, and depriving itself of its most persuasive argument against its international critics—the example of what it has achieved at home.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0061558397
• ISBN 13: 9780061558399
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 346