Fox Pulse: Terrorists being smuggled in from Mexico

Fox News via American Patrol Report ^ | July 11, 2002 | Geraldo Rivera

[spycatcher]

If you missed the new Fox Pulse newsmagazine's 9-month exclusive investigation, here's a streaming audio link...

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It's estimated that 500,000 of unknown national origin have crossed over the border with Mexico since 9-11-01.

And from the following article some agents estimate 10% are now from he Middle East..

'Arab terrorists' crossing border: Middle Eastern illegals find easy entrance into U.S. from Mexico

And here's a related article from a few months back

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Iraqi reportedly smuggled hundreds from Middle East across Mexican border

New York Times News Service
Oct. 25, 2001 10:05:00

EL PASO - An Iraqi-born smuggler led hundreds of illegal immigrants from the Middle East across the Mexican border into the United States in the 1990s, prosecution documents filed in a federal conspiracy trial here say.

The Iraqi, George Tajirian, who forged an alliance with a Mexican immigration officer, smuggled Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian, Iraqi, Yemeni and other undocumented immigrants through Mexico and into the United States, sending them to wade across the Rio Grande or pass border checkpoints with counterfeit travel documents from Greece, Mexico and other nations, the prosecutors said.

Tajirian appears to have had no political or other agenda, and prosecutors have provided no evidence that any of the people smuggled by him had terrorist ties. But prosecutors said he had paid little heed to whether his clients were criminals, merely raising his smuggling fees when he became aware of such complications.

The record of prosecution proceedings against Tajirian and Angel Molina Paramo, the Mexican official who prosecutors say was a major confederate, suggest that the Mexican border has been a thoroughfare for hundreds of Middle Eastern migrants crossing illegally into the United States.

Tajirian, who is a naturalized Mexican citizen, was arrested in Miami in 1998, pleaded guilty to smuggling undocumented foreigners in a plea agreement that erased conspiracy and other charges, and is serving a 13-year sentence. Molina was extradited to Texas this spring. A federal judge here accepted his guilty plea last week, also the result of a plea bargain, and sentencing is set for next month. Tajirian's wife, who is a Mexican citizen, and a fourth suspect, a Lebanese woman who ran Tajirian's travel agency in Quito, Ecuador, are fugitives.

The documents pertaining to Tajirian's smuggling operations were presented to the court as part of the case against Molina and the two fugitives. Among the documents was one in which prosecutors said they collected evidence on 132 illegal immigrants Tajirian smuggled into the United States from 1996 through 1998.

The prosecutors estimated that since he began to build his smuggling organization in 1980 he had led more than 1,000 Middle East natives across the southwest frontier.

Tajirian showed "no scruples" in deciding whom he would smuggle into the United States, Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Brandy Gardes wrote in a brief before Tajirian's sentencing in 1998. One citizen of Yemen whom Tajirian brought to the U.S. in December 1997 was wanted for genocide in South Yemen, the prosecutors said. Tajirian, the prosecutors said, was aware of this and, accordingly, raised his fee. A Syrian native who was smuggled across the frontier in September 1996 had a criminal record in Germany.

"The tightening of our borders and our internal security," Gardes wrote, "is a priority and the desire of the American public. The defendant's criminal activity, through its sheer magnitude and cavalier attitude, struck deeply at these goals."

In documents presented to the court, prosecutors said Tajirian routinely charged clients $10,000 to $15,000 or more. They documented earnings of $230,000 from 1996 through 1998, and estimated that he grossed as much as $2 million during that period. Prosecutors say Tajirian is 60 years old. He says he is 70.

Statistics gathered by the Immigration and Naturalization Service suggest that citizens from countries with majority Islamic populations seek to gain entry to the United States illegally much more frequently at the Canadian border. Last year, American agents detained 254 undocumented immigrants, from 16 Middle Eastern countries, Sudan, Pakistan and Malaysia, at Canadian border checkpoints, according to the INS statistics.

By contrast, at the Mexican border, agents detained 90 undocumented immigrants last year from countries with majority Islamic populations: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Pakistan. The Mideast migrants were moving in a human tide that was overwhelmingly Latin. Some 99.9 percent of the 1.64 million undocumented immigrants detained at the southwest border last year were from Mexico and 16 other Latin countries.

The documents presented here detail more than any other case the nature of the smuggling pipeline by which illegal Middle Eastern immigrants cross the Southwestern border.

Tajirian, who was born in Baghdad, came to the United States and settled in Detroit, where he was convicted in the late 1970s for illegal possession of visas and served eight months in prison. Almost immediately after his release, Tajirian began building his smuggling network, prosecutors said.

He recruited Middle Eastern clients in Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Greece, the prosecutors said, and he established travel agencies in Havana and Mexico City as well as Quito. In a typical smuggling transaction, Tajirian would recruit his clients, arrange lodging for them in Greece, Havana, Quito and Mexico City, and eventually arrange for local smugglers in northern Mexico to bring them into the United States, usually at El Paso or Laredo in Texas or through Tijuana, south of San Diego.

[Satadru]

We should give them amnesty, citizenship, welfare dollars, health care, education, and a place setting at the White House dinner table. Maybe then they will stop bombing our national landmarks, and vote for Bush.

[I_Love_My_Husband]

YIKES!

[PatriotReporter]

thanks for the post

[spycatcher]

ping

[Lysander]

At least it isn't pot coming in...

[sarcasm]

ping

[skeeter]

Importing hundreds of Iraqi operatives over the Mexican border seems like a real smart move by Saddam. It's the only way available to him to bring the war to us, once it starts.

[FITZ]

Yes, he can get many Americans killed by having a vast network set up and I'm sure he's been working away at it for the past 8 years or more.

[spycatcher]

Drugs are still getting in too thanks to corrupt Mexican troops (unfortunately our Border Patrol is also very corrupt when it comes to drug money)

My question is, since Arabs pay a few thousand more than other nationalities to be smuggled across the border, is the Mexican Army also being bribed to escort terrorists into US territory? If so we need to find out ASAP.

[Tancredo Fan]

Thanks for the ping, spycatcher and sarcasm. I caught this show last night. Personally I thought the part about the Mexican military "trying to do something about it and help the U.S." was bunk, because I suspect that corrupt mob is big part of the problem. This is no big surprise to many Southern Arizona residents. This has been going on for a long time. What's really outrageous is that, after all the time that has passed since 9/11, we have no military on the border..... for "cultural and historical reasons". What utter hogwash.

[PhilDragoo]

Almost immediately after his release, Tajirian began building his smuggling network, prosecutors said.

Let subsequent smugglers die resisting arrest.

[KansasGirl]

This may come back to bite Bush in the *ss.

[browardchad]

I thought the part about the Mexican military "trying to do something about it and help the U.S." was bunk

I had the same reaction, especially since Whoraldo was on Fox & Friends yesterday to promo the show, and told how the Mexican police confiscated a crewmember's camera, then gave it back for $250.

[bok]

Why should the politicians in the ivory hotel worry about the peasants down below? They're rich and live in gated communities and send their children to private schools.

[TomGuy]

Some 99.9 percent of the 1.64 million undocumented immigrants detained at the southwest border last year were from Mexico and 16 other Latin countries.

That still leaves 1640 (approximately) from non-Hispanic countries. And these are just the ones who were detained. What about the ones who slipped through? According to some reports, for every detainee between 4 and 10 slip through undetained. That could increase that 1640 number up to 16,400.

[Spiff]

The primary breach in the US/Mexican border through which all the illegals, drug smugglers, and potential terrorists are coming is in Arizona - Cochise County, Arizona to be specific. This area has been "represented" by RINO Rep. Jim Kolbe for 18 years. In that 18 years the border problem has become exponentially worse under his "representation".

Last week, RINO Kolbe visited his district and held a few Town Halls. Residents here soundly blasted him for his refusal to do anything about the border and his terrible voting record on the issue. Kolbe, himself, characterized the Town Halls as "contentious" because of the loudly expressed dissatisfaction with his "representation".

Those shouting Kolbe down had good reason to - just take a look at his voting record on the border issue:

March 2002 - RINO Kolbe voted with 182 Democrats (almost all of them) and against 123 Republicans for the Section 245(i) Amnesty for Illegal Aliens. This action excused the criminal status of hundreds of thousands (possibly up to 2 million) of illegal aliens in this country. It rewarded them for their illegal border crossing and it even excused them from the normal U.S. Embassy security screening in their home countries to become American citizens. Don't you think this rewarding if illegal border crossers is going to encourage more people to violate our borders and pour into our country illegally? Isn't this going to make the problem worse? This is not the first time the RINO Kolbe has voted to extend 245(i) amnesty to illegals.

September 2001 - After the September 11th attacks, one of the most obvious, necessary actions that needed to be taken was to secure our borders. RINO Kolbe voted against 191 Republicans and with 147 Democrats against an Amendment to HR2586 which would have authorized the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury to request that members of the Armed Forces assist the INS with border control duties. This is not the first time that Kolbe voted with the Democrats to keep the military from protecting our borders - see May 2000.

May 2000 - RINO Kolbe voted against 184 Republicans and with 151 Democrats against an amendment to HR4205 which would have authorized the Secretary of Defense to assign, under certain circumstances, members of the Armed Forces to assist the INS with border control duties.

A couple of weeks ago, RINO Kolbe announced his support for a measure that would create a new kind of student visa. This new visa would allow even "non-academic students" to come in to the country - "non-academic" as in flight school students.

It is clear that it is time for Kolbe to go. The good news is that he is being challenged in the Primary Elections in September by a true Republican who's primary focus is securing our border. Jim Behnke, a pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, conservative candidate is a decorated Viet Nam War veteran, a retired Lt. Colonel, an ordained Lutheran minister, and a father of two. This means that Republicans will now have an opportunity to get rid of the RINO that has been misrepresenting them in Washington and elect a true, conservative Republican.

You can find out more about Jim Behnke and offer your support and donations by visiting his website at www.behnkeforcongress.com.

[healey22]

This may come back to bite Bush in the *ss.

Just like the LAX terrorist shooter and his adjustment of status from illegal to legal under 245i (AMNESTY).

[Arthur McGowan]

When 500,000 aliens crossed into another country they used to call it things like "invasion" or even "blitzkrieg." We are not only at war, we are being invaded, and government policy prohibits talking about it.

[FITZ]

That's a very good point, the corrupt in Mexico (including drug cartels) do not care about lives of Americans or anyone. Money is the only thing that talks ---they'll bring any kind of drugs or terrorists if the money is right. Life means nothing at all to them, they only care about money.