Many Americans have heard that 10 Russian spies were apprehended in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts a few weeks ago, but how many Americans are aware that hundreds of people from former Soviet Union countries have been apprehended for trying to illegally enter the United States via the US/Mexican border? Here is the breakdown by country for years of 2007-2009 :

Russia- 145
Ukraine-83
Georgia- 65
Uzbekistan-44
Moldova- 42
Armenia- 38
Lithuania-31
Kazakhstan- 12
Belarus-10
Tajikistan-9
Latvia-8
Estonia-7
Kyrgyzstan- 4
Azerbaijan-3
Turkmenistan-3

Total: 504

These numbers, of course, pale in comparison to the numbers of apprehended illegal immigrants from Latin America, South America, Cuba, and China  (not to mention the countless scores that evade US border patrol). It is also true that illegal immigrants from terrorist-sponsoring countries likely pose a greater national security threat than illegal immigrants from the former USSR.

Nonetheless, these statistics should give us pause to consider the extent of the consequences of leaving our southern border virtually open. The idea of Boris and Natasha crossing the Rio Grande may be seem laughable, yet the terrifying but painfully obvious truth is that an open border is an open door that anyone can enter.