The security officer’s parable

The May weather was perfect, and the 20 people on the deck behind the OR/MS analyst’s house were enjoying the party. In one corner, however, the conversation had turned a little tense. Pete, a political scientist, had asked,“So what do you all think of this new law Arizona passed against illegal immigration? Do you believe Los Angeles will actually boycott Arizona, or that Arizona will retaliate by stopping sales of electricity to L.A.?”

This provoked a lively discussion,as many of those present turned out to have strong feelings about this thicket of issues. Pete told the others about the connection to election fraud, going back to the administration of John Adams.Party bosses had gotten new citizens to the polls with free liquor, “Which,” Pete noted,“is why we now have laws keeping the bars closed on the one day we might most want a drink or two, as we contemplate our choices.” That got a laugh from the others.

“But in addition to closing the bars,” Pete went on,“they tried to close the borders. The backlash was one big reason why John Adams was a one-term president.” “But those were citizens,”Amy, a lawyer, quickly objected.“This is about illegal aliens coming in and taking jobs and benefits away from citizens. And there are hunger and disease spreading in other parts of the world, and people want to come here and freeload off our prosperity. Shouldn’t we stop them?”

Alan, the host, was considering intervening to get the group to change the subject. Just then, though, Amy’s husband, Joe, broke his silence to say, “The real trouble here is that the solution doesn’t fit the problem. I’m surprised you systems analysis types aren’t talking about that. Solve the wrong problem, get a bad solution, right?”

“Well, sure, right,” Bruce, another OR/MS analyst, acknowledged, “but what do you mean?”

“I’m a security officer for a big company,” Joe explained, “so I’ve thought a lot about protecting assets from intruders. And one thing I know for sure: Amateurs almost always want to put all their security on the perimeter, while professionals understand defense in depth. Think about it: How many places have you been where they really hassled you about getting in, but then you could roam pretty freely once you were inside? Or maybe you needed an escort at all times if you were a visitor, but an employee with an ID badge could go anywhere, any time? Most thefts of major property and trade secrets are by employees, so perimeter security doesn’t help.”

“Good point,”Amy conceded,“but what does that have to do with immigration?”

“Same question as in building security,” Joe responded.“Have you carefully thought through what you’re trying to protect and how people might get at it? If not, your knee-jerk reaction is a big presence at the perimeter and not much else. But think about it: This argument over immigration isn’t really between people from other countries who want to come here and Americans who want to keep too many of them from coming in. A lot of it is between American citizens who don’t want more people coming in here and other American citizens who do want them here! Remember the fuss 20 years ago over the new federal law requiring employers to certify U. S. work eligibility? That was defense in depth against the threat of low-priced foreign labor competing for jobs, and it was certain employers who protested most strongly. You can guess why, right?”

Bruce chimed in, “You know Carlos Mencia, the Mexican-American comedian? I think he got it right. A few years ago, in a show I saw on TV, he said, ‘OK, so they’re gonna kick out all the illegals and then put up a big fence to keep ‘em out.Who’s gonna build it?’”This got another good laugh.

“But there’s more,” Alan added. “I worked on the border-control issue some myself, a few years ago.U. S. Customs and Border Patrol had noticed that some of the people they caught came from far away –

Most thefts of major property and trade secrets are by employees, so perimeter security doesn’t help.

Central America, mostly. They had walked, hitchhiked, whatever, weeks or even months of travel just to try to cross the U. S. border. If they were just sent back right across the border, they’d try again the next night. So somebody decided, instead of just turning them away,why not find out where they were from and put them on a plane all the way back there?”

“A bit too considerate for my taste,” Amy growled,“but I see the logic.”

“Well,” Alan resumed, “here’s why that didn’t work out so well. It did make it harder on people who were trying to move to this country, or seasonal workers who want to make money here and then go home to their families during the off season. But those aren’t the only people trying to cross the border. Think about the people who want to cross the border as often as they can: the smugglers! What the new policy did for a lot of them, in particular those who were caught after they had been in the U.S. for a day or two, is just speed up and subsidize their return trip! How’s that for getting a bad solution by not understanding the problem?”

“And then there are the enforcement difficulties from being seen as too strict,” Joe added.“My teenage son told me a few years ago, ‘I can get marijuana more easily than alcohol, because it’s illegal.’ Think about that!”