Sinn Fein Lobbyist Denied Entry into US

By Bill West

The Washington Times/AP has reported that Rita O�Hare, who has been Sinn Fein�s senior lobbyist in the US since 1998, was denied her �special� visa to reenter the United States after a recent trip to Ireland. O�Hare, who is reported to be a fugitive from British authorities because she jumped bail in Northern Ireland there more than 30 years ago while awaiting trial for attempted murder of British soldiers, should require what would be a waiver of inadmissibility to enter the US under the US Immigration and Nationality Act. It appears the Department of Homeland Security has decided to not grant that waiver again, at least for the moment. (The propriety of O�Hare, arguably a fugitive suspect terrorist alien, ever being granted such a waiver of inadmissibility in the first place won�t be discussed here.)

Coming on the heels of the recent arrest and detention in Miami of Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban/Venezuelan alien who is suspected of having committed terrorist acts outside the United States and having illegally entered the US, this visa denial and entry bar against O�Hare for what amounts to suspected acts of terrorism and crime she is alleged to have committed, appears to be another strong statement by Federal Immigration authorities that aliens with identifiable links to terrorism simply won�t be tolerated within the United States, no matter the politics.

If this is the case, it is the right statement being made by the Administration. President Bush made it clear after the 9/11 attacks that America is against terrorism of any sort. There has been much criticism by many that America�s counter-terrorism efforts since 9/11 have unfairly targeted Arabs and Muslims, notwithstanding the fact the largest terror threat to the US comes from radical Islamic terrorists. That said, there are, of course, non-Muslim terrorists out there and they need to be dealt with as they are identified and encountered. The Posada arrest, and now the visa denial to O�Hare, should be solid indicators that America�s counter-terrorism efforts target suspects based on what they�ve done, not who they are.

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