Houston Chronicle:
Nearly 900 "special interest aliens" from 35 nations with suspected ties to terrorism have been apprehended along the border between Texas and California over the past 17 months, the Lone Star State being the land route of choice, according to a Border Patrol report obtained by the Chronicle.
The arrests include the high-profile case of former Montreal imam Said Jaziri, a native of the watch-list country of Tunisia, who was arrested for unlawful entry by the U.S. Border Patrol near San Diego in January.
Yet none of these recent suspects has faced terror-related charges or carried out a terrorist act, according to senior federal law enforcement officials who have checked government records.
"There are a lot of people crossing the border who came from scary parts of the world," said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "An individual with enough money and enough determination can penetrate our southwestern border and make their way into the United States."
In the past five years, 739 such suspects were nabbed crossing into Texas illegally, according to Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi.
...
Ironically the lawlessness in Mexico may be a deterrent to some who would try to pay their way into the country. For others it might be seen as an opportunity, but they never know when they might be held for ransom. Yet the 900 who tried show that not everyone was deterred, and we just do not know if some terrorist did make it across. Hezballah has attempted to work with some of the gangs. Since they are a proxy for Iran it is likely that they would be working on a mission for that country. Venezuela has also worked with Iran and Hezballah to get their men into Latin America and possibly the US.
Image by conner395 via Flickr
Comments
Post a Comment