It is now more than seven years after September 11th 2001 and still, we are not prepared. Our state was hit, New York was the target, and make no mistake about it; New York is still a target. Our state and New York City are not secure.

As the years have passed the national homeland security fund has become a cash cow for other states, many of which have a much lower security risk, to use and manipulate to fill their spending gaps. Meanwhile, our men and women in uniform and our first line responders are under funded, overtaxed, undermanned and not fully trained. When it comes to securing the homeland, there is no clearer or more vociferous voice in the New York State Assembly than Greg Ball.

When Governor Spitzer unveiled his plan to distribute drivers licenses to illegal aliens, Assemblyman Greg Ball spearheaded the effort to defeat this plan that experts called a "National Security Nightmare." By rallying legislators, local officials and concerned citizens from all political persuasions, Greg Ball was able to turn up the heat to expose and defeat three incarnations of this plan.

Greg Ball later helped expose a portion of this plan that removed the "temporary resident" stamp from driver's licenses from people here on visas. Some, who were only authorized to be in the United States for six months, received a driver's license good for seven years. Greg Ball joined 9/11 Families for a Secure America, County Clerks, and former DMV commissioners to call upon the State DMV to recall these licenses. In total, 23,000 had been issued, and to this day the situation is still unresolved.

Assemblyman Ball also derailed a similar ID card scheme in the village of Brewster, New York, where then Mayor John Degnan invited the Guatemalan consulate to offer its mobile ID card services to illegal aliens. These ID cards were a sanctuary city initiative that critics say they pose a threat to national security and encourage illegal immigration.  The town of Southeast no longer accepts consular cards as proof of residency or identity.