Posted on 08/14/2004 7:49:04 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
Arab terrorists 'are getting into the US over Mexican border'
By Julian Coman in Washington
(Filed: 15/08/2004)
President Bush has launched a drive to halt illegal immigration across America's porous southern border, amid growing fears that terrorists may be using Mexico as a base camp before heading to Arizona, Texas and California.
A string of alarming incidents has convinced Bush administration officials that lax immigration rules, designed to cope with the huge numbers of illegal entrants from Mexico, have become a significant loophole in the war on terror.
Over the past month, border agents from Arizona and Texas have anonymously reported recent encounters with dozens of Arab men, who have made their way across the 2,000-mile Mexican border.
Patrol agents told one Arizona newspaper that 77 males "of Middle Eastern descent" were apprehended in June in two separate incidents. All were trekking through the Chiricahua mountains and are believed to have been part of a larger group of illegal immigrants. Many were released pending immigration hearings. According to Solomon Ortiz, the Congressman for Corpus Christi in Texas, similar incidents are "happening all over the place. It's very, very scary".
The two groups of Arab males were discovered by patrol guards from Willcox, Arizona. "These guys didn't speak Spanish," said one field agent, "and they were speaking to each other in Arabic. It's ridiculous that we don't take this more seriously. We're told not to say a thing to the media." A colleague told the paper: "All the men had brand-new clothing and the exact same cut of moustache." Local ranchers have also reported a rise in the sightings of large groups of young males.
Last month, border patrol agents at McAllen airport, Texas, arrested a woman believed to be Pakistani, who was carrying a false South African passport. The woman, Farida Ahmed, is still being questioned by the FBI. She was travelling to New York, and admitted to having illegally crossed the Mexican border. She was still carrying a pair of wet jeans in her travel bag.
More than 1.2 million people attempt to cross US borders illegally each year. The vast majority are Mexicans who are immediately repatriated. But under existing laws, which take account limited detention facilities, many non-Mexican illegal immigrants are released prior to a hearing with an immigration judge, which most fail to attend. Almost 22,000 non-Mexican immigrants have been released pending a hearing since last October. Once released, they are free to travel on their own throughout the United States. According to one Texas immigration official, those who slip through the net come "from all over the world".
"If you want to enter the US illegally," said the official, "the way to do it is to get to Mexico first." The possibility of a southern border loophole for potential terrorists was recognised as early as last year. In testimony before Congress, Steve McCraw, the assistant director of the FBI's Office of Intelligence, stated that "the ability of foreign nationals to use [the hearings procedure] to create a well-documented but fictitious identity in the United States, provides an opportunity for terrorists to move freely within the US without triggering name-based watch lists. It also enables them to board planes without revealing their true identity".
According to new laws, approved by President Bush and announced last week by the Homeland Security Department, illegal immigrants who are not Mexican will be repatriated within days, without a hearing. The effort comes in response to a prolonged campaign by Texas congressmen, who have argued that the president's home state was in danger of becoming a gateway to America for terrorists.
In a letter to President Bush last week, Mr Ortiz wrote: "Law enforcement agencies across the south-west border are alarmed that the US is releasing thousands of OTMs [Other than Mexicans]. Those released include individuals from nations the US defines as state sponsors of potential terrorism, or from those nations that have produced large numbers of al-Qaeda militants."
Mr Ortiz also claims that immigration officials have privately warned him that a number of suspicious foreigners have been detained on the Mexican border and then released, including some who claimed to have travelled from South and Central America but were unable to speak Spanish.
The rules are to be tried out first in Tucson, Arizona, and Laredo, Texas. Any non-Mexican illegal immigrant found within 100 miles of the border, within 14 days of their arrival, will be immediately expelled. D'Wayne Jernigan, a sheriff in Del Rio, Texas, believes that the rule change should be immediately implemented across the entire Mexican border. Last month, immigration authorities told Sheriff Jernigan to release 17 Brazilians from his jail, before the FBI had located an interpreter in order to interview them.
"My concern is, are we serious about terrorism?" said Sheriff Jernigan. "Or about homeland security? Because we're turning loose non-Mexicans by the thousands. Entering this country illegally is a crime, and we're turning our heads and ignoring it."
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27 April 2004: Desert Indians face flash flood of illegal migrants |
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18 July 2001: Bush backs down on amnesty for immigrants |
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Jermaine Jackson(L), brother of Michael Jackson, Jackson family spokesman Firpo W. Carr(C) and Khawaja Khurshid Reshi hold a rug with a woven picture of Michael Jackson April 19, 2004, in Manama. Jermaine Jackson, in the Gulf to promote understanding between Muslims and his fellow Americans, said Tuesday that Muslims are 'the new Negroes in America.' Jermaine, a convert to Islam and dressed in white Arab garb, has been speaking about Islam and U.S. 'adventures' in Iraq to enthusiastic audiences at Koranic centers and universities in the Gulf Arab state of Bahrain. (Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters) |
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BIG OLE BTTT!
____________________________
Onward Muslim Soldiers Ping.
(Well, DUH!)
We are taking action:
Border Patrol to Get Increased Deportation Authority
http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/august/0812_border_security.shtml
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Earlier this week, Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security Asa Hutchinson announced plans to increase the authority of border patrol agents to quickly deport persons crossing U.S. borders illegally. The plan is also aimed at "facilitating travel for legitimate Mexican visitors."
The new plan involves expanding the use of "expedited removal from the ports-of-entry to locations along the U.S. border," and "increasing the amount of time a border crossing card will allow a card-holder to remain in the U.S."
"We want to send a clear message that those individuals who follow legal immigration procedures will benefit while those who choose to break our nation’s immigration laws will be promptly removed from the U.S.," said Under Secretary Hutchinson.
"Expedited removal" has been used at official ports of entry in the U.S., such as airports and seaports, since 1997. However, it has not been applied on the land borders between the ports of entry.
According to the DHS, the expansion of expedited removal processing will allow the department to "speed the removal of illegal aliens who are caught while attempting to enter the United States by fraudulent means or while attempting to elude Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents." DHS says the new procedure will only apply to those caught within 100 miles of the Mexican or Canadian borders, and only if they are apprehended within their first 14 days in the U.S.
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Your Local FBI Office
Field Divisions |
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Photograph of and link to Amer El-Maati | |
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Photograph of and link to Aafia Siddiqui | |
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Photograph of and link to Adnan G. El Shukrijuma | |
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Photograph of and link to Fazul Abdullah Mohammed | |
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Photograph of and link to Adam Gadahn | |
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Photograph of and link to Abderraouf Jdey | |
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Photograph of and link to Ahmed Khalfan Ghailan | |
Why not any illegal, reguardless of where or when? This is a BS, kiss Fox's butt policy.
"has convinced Bush administration officials that lax immigration rules"
It is about time. We need troops on that border. Guess we will have to wait until one of our cities is nuked to over come the PC presumption against getting tough on these slimes.
bump
I Ditto that!!! BTTT
PING!
I have long advocated installing publicly declared, clearly demarcated minefields along the US-Mexican border. If illegals want to brave the hazards of a minefield, so be it.
I think we knew this a few years ago! About time this administration started doing something. So far it seems like a band-aid on a major artery!
Hope this is true, but I've written to Mr. Bush several times about it and never heard a word back. He should have known about this (Governor of Texas) and done something about it 9/12/2001.
Three years too late for me to feel secure.
President Bush has launched a drive to halt illegal immigration across America's porous southern border
LOL Yeah, right. As long as he keeps business happy with illegal cheap labor, they will continue to pour over the borders and Arabs along with them. Who's he kidding?
Notice the fudge on numbers. Notice they state 1.2 Mil as a stat from last year. That's the number of apprehensions by the border patrol and they estimate they catch 1 in 5. That means 4.8 million got in last year alone. And you wonder why your wages are so low you can't eat? You wonder why you're losing your job and can't find a replacement? This is why.
Get a clue, Jorge. You've let millions upon millions in since you've been in office. You've tied the hands of border patrol. You've done nothing about drying up the jobs for them, punishing the businesses who hire them and nothing about the ones caught except turn them loose. You've done nothing to stop the bleeding wallets of taxpayers who have to substitute your patron's cheap labor. When you do these things we'll know you're serious. When you do these things we'll feel safer. When you do these things, I'll vote for you again. But not until. Rhetoric won't cut it anymore. We all know where your sympathies lie.
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How many Islamic terrorists per 1 million border crossers?
The Administration is swooping into action. Why do I still feel like our lives are gambling chips on a political craps table?
Many were released pending immigration hearings.
Like, they're really going to show up for their hearings.
Unbelievable.
CNN was broadcasting negative reports about border crossings and the lack of enforcement. Also, Karl Rove's house was surrounded by illegal immigrant advocate groups. Maybe the sympathy dried up?
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