“News Coverage of the Terror Attack in Kenya Ignores the Obvious” Michael W. Cutler, Senior Special Agent, INS (Ret.)
On September 21, 2013 more than a dozen members of al-Shabab, a terrorist organization closely associated with al-Qaeda launched a horrific terror attack on a mall in Kenya. The attack on civilians left dozens dead and dozens injured. Initial reports indicated that Americans and Europeans were among the terrorists.
As soon as the information about some of the terrorists being “American” was broadcast, reporters began discussing how America’s malls and other such facilities in the U.S. might be vulnerable to terrorist attacks and what could be done to protect them.
Incredibly, not one discussion ever focused on the issue of America’s borders or immigration laws that could be America’s first line of defense and last line of defense against the entry and embedding of international terrorists if our borders were actually made secure, including the process by which visas are issued and the inspections process conducted by CBP inspectors are carried out.
These are issues that are not being discussed in the media or in Congress, even as the number of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program, which strips a major layer of America’s security away, has recently been increased to 37.
On July 12, 2011 Californians for Population Stabilization posted my commentary which provides an analysis of how dangerous the Visa Waiver Program is, it was entitled:
“Visa Waiver Program Endangers our Safety and Security”
Perhaps the news organizations that have been cheering for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” made a conscious decision to ignore the national security implications of failures to address border security and the lack of integrity to the visa process that were so clearly articulated in the preface of the “9/11 Commission Staff Report on Terrorist Travel:”
“It is perhaps obvious to state that terrorists cannot plan and carry out attacks in the United States if they are unable to enter the country. Yet prior to September 11, while there were efforts to enhance border security, no agency of the U.S. government thought of border security as a tool in the counterterrorism arsenal. Indeed, even after 19 hijackers demonstrated the relative ease of obtaining a U.S. visa and gaining admission into the United States, border security still is not considered a cornerstone of national security policy. We believe, for reasons we discuss in the following pages, that it must be made one.”
“The 9/11 Commission Report” noted:
“Mayors in cities with large immigrant populations sometimes imposed limits on city employee cooperation with federal immigration agents.A large population lives outside the legal framework.
Fraudulent documents could be easily obtained. Congress kept the number of INS agents static in the face of the overwhelming problem.”
Finally, the 9/11 Commission Report discussed how visa fraud and immigration benefit fraud facilitated the entry of terrorists into the United States and made it easy for them to embed themselves to hide in plain sight.
Notwithstanding these facts, so called sanctuary cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York continue to ignore immigration laws with impunity and most recently, Fox News reported on September 24, 2013 on pending legislation in California:
“California lawmakers move to shield illegal immigrants from deportation”
Here is an excerpt from the report:
“The so-called Trust Act would bar police from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on a variety of cases. Proponents say the bill is narrowly focused and only applies to those illegal immigrants arrested for minor crimes.”
The issue being ignored is that the goal of terrorists is to maintain a low profile so that they can go about their preparations for a terrorist attack. They do everything that they can to not get arrested prior to an attack. Title 8, United States Code, Section 1182 provides a list of the categories of aliens to be excluded from the United States and makes the purpose and importance of our immigration laws crystal clear. In point of fact, the Immigration and Nationality Act was enacted to prevent the entry of criminals, terrorists and others whose presence would threaten national security, public safety and the wellbeing of Americans.
Actions and statements of the administration, members of Congress and politicians around the United States run contrary to the findings and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. News agencies are also guilty of ignoring the fact that America’s borders and immigration laws are supposed to be our first line of defense and our last line of defense.
It is not “Anti-Immigrant to be Pro-American!
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