Mexican Diplomat Charged With Helping Smuggle Arabs Into U.S.

humaneventsonline ^ | Dec 31, 2003 | Terence P. Jeffrey

[VU4G10]

The real life horror story that began eighteen months ago when an Arab illegal alien named Youseff Balaghi showed up at a San Diego hospital, dying from what the Border Patrol initially—and erroneously—feared was radiation sickness, has now reached high into Mexico's foreign service.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Imelda Ortiz Abdala was Mexico's consul in Lebanon. On Nov. 12, 2003, Mexican authorities arrested her, according to the Associated Press, "on charges of helping a smuggling ring move Arab migrants into the United States from Mexico." The AP said Mexico had also arrested "alleged ring leader Salim Boughader Mucharafille." Boughader earlier pleaded guilty in the U.S. to the smuggling incident that resulted in Balaghi's death.

Unfortunately, this story is not over.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Skerlos prosecuted Boughader. This week, citing Ortiz's arrest, I asked him if there were other rings still bringing Middle Easterners in from Mexico.

"Yes," he said.

Another Front

Far from Iraq, there's another front where the terror war's not over. It's on our own border—and, here, the key enemies are the smugglers who bring people such as Balaghi into California, and who collaborate with allegedly corrupt officials such as Ortiz.

In congressional testimony in 2002, then-Assistant Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Joseph Greene said: "Information available to the INS indicates terrorist organizations often use human smuggling operations to move around the globe." According to a Library of Congress study, "Organized Crime and Terrorist Activity in Mexico, 1999-2002," former Mexican national security adviser Adolfo Aguilar Zinser said in May 2001: "Spanish and Islamic terrorist groups are using Mexico as a refuge."

How is the U.S. countering the threat of terrorists using human smuggling operations and finding refuge in Mexico? Rather than securing our border generally, the government tolerates large-scale illegal immigration, while trying to selectively stop the smuggling operations most likely to move terrorists. The administration, Greene told Congress, has put in place an "enforcement initiative aimed at targeting alien smuggling organizations specializing in the movement of U.S.-bound aliens from countries that are of interest to the national security of the United States."

Balaghi was from Lebanon.

On June 5, 2002, he showed up, vomiting blood, at Scripps Memorial Hospital-Chula Vista. He quickly died. When the Border Patrol heard his symptoms, they feared radiation sickness—and dispatched an agent with a detector to check his remains.

Balaghi was clean. But he was far from the only Middle Easterner Boughader's ring had smuggled.

In an affidavit, Border Patrol Agent John R. Korkin said an investigation "positively identified at least 80 Lebanese nationals that have been, or were intercepted in the process of being, smuggled into the U.S." by the ring. Boughader admitted in court to smuggling more than 100. He was sentenced to one year in prison, and deported to Mexico in November.

Almost immediately, Mexican authorities arrested him in their own anti-smuggling case. A few days later, they arrested Ortiz.

She had worked in Mexico's foreign service for 25 years. From 1998 to October 2001, AP reported, she was Mexico's consul in Lebanon. She later directed the consular office in Mexico City.

She was fired in May, AP said, "after 150 Mexican passports were stolen and two others were found to have been issued irregularly."

Jose Santiago Vasconcelos, Mexico's assistant attorney general, told Notimex that Boughader's ring moved "a great number of Arabs" into the United States. El Occidental, a Mexican newspaper, said it was "at least 200."

I asked Skerlos to compare that number to the "at least 80 Lebanese nationals" cited in Korkin's affidavit "I think it is fair to say that the numbers we included in our affidavit were conservative," he said.

Almost a month after Ortiz was arrested, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said: "The bottom line is, as a country we have to come to grips with the presence of 8 to 12 million illegals, afford them some kind of legal status some way, but also as a country decide what our immigration policy is and then enforce it."

No, Mr. Secretary. We already have immigration laws. It's your duty to enforce them. If the arrest of a Mexican diplomat for helping to smuggle Arabs into the U.S. can't convince you of the need for that, what will?

[flamefront]

ping

[Travis McGee]

Thanks!

[txdoda]

" According to a Library of Congress study, "Organized Crime and Terrorist Activity in Mexico, 1999-2002," former Mexican national security adviser Adolfo Aguilar Zinser said in May 2001: "Spanish and Islamic terrorist groups are using Mexico as a refuge." >>>>>>

Looks like it's no big secret that terrorists groups are using Mexico as a refuge, & we've known this since May 2001.

Yet our gov't CONTINUES to *miss* a MILLION a year crossing our souther border.

[JustPiper]

pong ;) I am so mad at this!

[txdoda]

From this post, we read: Balaghi was from Lebanon. On June 5, 2002, he showed up, vomiting blood, at Scripps Memorial Hospital-Chula Vista. He quickly died.

And from this post earlier today we read about an illegal in Cochise County, AZ: "He said his brother started throwing up blood, and apparently the group left them behind, but one member of the group stopped by a rancher's home and asked for help," said Capas.>>>>>

VERY observent......

Wonder how many more have shown up "vomiting blood" & quickly dead ???

Wonder if any autopsies are performed on the many 'decomposed bodies' they find along the border ??

Wonder how many in Mexico might be dying with these same symtoms ??

Did you notice in the article that the US has KNOWN since May 2001 that terrorists groups are taking refuge in Mexico ??

[JustPiper]

Pong ;)

[putupon]

”Borders? We don’ need no steenkin’ borders.”

[douglas1]

YOU are right we should have struck while the iron was hot, we gave up to much time, and now we cant do anything because of the left and the right,this is GWB fault I believe he thinks that mexicans are hard workers and good people HE HAS NEVER HAD TO LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS THEY HAVE CREATED .

[yoe]

Dept of homeland Security
Secretary Tom Ridge
(202 456-1700
(202) 456-6337 (Fax)

Ms. Condoleeza Rice, National Security Advisor
(202) 395-6890

Put Texas, Arizona and California National Guards on our borders!

[Zipporah]

Amnesty Could Increase Public Health Risk

Since illegal aliens are less likely to have gone through normal health screenings (legal immigrants are screened at consulates), an amnesty could legalize a number of persons who are at high risk for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. The Center for Disease Control reported as recently as December 2000, that "the number of TB cases among the foreign-born is five times higher than it is among the native-born Americans." TB is just one of several infectious diseases that pose a great health risk, having been all but eradicated in the United States before being reintroduced through immigration from countries where TB is prevalent.

To see how your legislators have voted on immigration...

Immigration Record

[winker]

We still need a National Referendum on ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION! If we prevail the Government who works for "WE THE PEOPLE" agrees to send all of them home;following their noses!

[citizen]

GWB: Happy pourous border New Year! Amnesty for all illegals!

[Powder Keg]

YOU are right we should have struck while the iron was hot, we gave up to much time, and now we cant do anything because of the left and the right,this is GWB fault I believe he thinks that mexicans are hard workers and good people HE HAS NEVER HAD TO LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS THEY HAVE CREATED .

I couldn't agree more. I personally will never vote for a candidate who is for this kind of loose-border policy. To me it shows flippant disregard for national security and for the welfare of the American worker.

[King Prout]

de nada, senor colebra

[citizen]

Put Texas, Arizona and California National Guards on our borders!

Don't forget New Mexico!

[justshutupandtakeit]

I understand that this is a problem which must be addressed within a long term perspective and is not limited to the Mexican border. None of those who attacked us on 9/11 came from Mexico. Illegal aliens pour in from Poland, Russia, Ireland and other lands. Overstaying their visas is common.

However, this issue will only be settled when the local communities assist the INS or HSA in this. Many totally refuse to assist in this which severely hampers this.

Any objective analysis of the issue of illegal immigration will conclude that it will never be handled unilaterally but must include ALL of our resources and the vast majority of People.

Until they stop hiring these people they will come and there is little Bush can do about it.

At the moment he is only tackling Wars he can win which seems to totally escape the understanding of his critics in this area.

[BUSHFAN2004]

If they actually enforced laws against hiring illegal aliens, companies would be more reluctant to hire them.

[citizen]

bttt

[JDGreen123]

You are correct that it will take a "team" effort. In Tennessee, local authorities have stopped arresting illegals because the INS never comes to pick them up. The local taxpayers end up having to pay for the "room and board" for illegals for a couple of weeks and then the illegals are turned loose anyway.

On the other hand, one local talk host says that he called the INS and they told him they can do nothing unless the County Sheriff requests help. I am sure there are many places where the Sheriff is under pressure from local businessmen to look the other way.

If somehow we can get the local and federal forces communicating, maybe we can do something.

[Bikers4Bush]

What makes you think I continue to support Bush on any issue other than the war?

And before you say something about a screen name look up double entendre.