Keeping out Terror Inciters

By Bill West

Shortly after the 7/7 terrorist bombing attacks in London, PM Tony Blair announced the British government would quickly move to pass stronger new laws that would allow the exclusion and deportation of foreign nationals who made statements and took other public positions that incited violence or supported terrorism. Key British parliamentary leaders voiced support for these measures. After today�s attacks in London, it is likely that such moves in the UK will only be hastened.

Ironically, these are the same kind of reasonable immigration enforcement actions the United States has been taking on a limited and selected basis since the 9/11 attacks, but for which our Government has received no shortage of criticism from various sources, to include some in the British government before 7/7. The exclusion of Swiss Islamist professor Tariq Ramadan and UK citizen Yusuf Islam, the former singer Cat Stevens, are two of the most public cases that received the most such criticism.

Unfortunately, it took the tragic events of 7/7, and now the lesser attacks of today, to perhaps make the British government and people realize why there are such immigration statutes on the books. The Brits have finally awakened to the fact they have a large number of not only home grown but foreign hate-mongers who preach and teach, openly or in subtler behind the scenes double-speak, the incitement of terror. It is entirely appropriate that a government, even a democratic Western government, enact and enforce reasonable provisions within its immigration laws to exclude and remove foreigners who engage in such activity. That is simply a matter of security and protection.

While the US Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) has, for many years, had specific provisions related to national security and terrorism, the USA Patriot Act specifically amended the INA to include a provision which excludes aliens who endorse or espouse terrorist activity, or try to persuade others to support terrorism. This provision is found in Title 8, Section 1182 of the United States Code (Section 212 of the INA).

8 USC, Section 1182 - Inadmissible aliens

(a) Classes of aliens ineligible for visas or admission
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, aliens who are
inadmissible under the following paragraphs are ineligible to
receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to the United States:
(3) Security and related grounds
(B) Terrorist activities
(i) In general
Any alien who -
(VI) has used the alien's position of prominence within
any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity, or to
persuade others to support terrorist activity or a
terrorist organization, in a way that the Secretary of
State has determined undermines United States efforts to
reduce or eliminate terrorist activities, or
(VII) is the spouse or child of an alien who is
inadmissible under this section, if the activity causing
the alien to be found inadmissible occurred within the last
5 years,
is inadmissible.

While our British allies have their own immigration laws and system, there are similarities to ours. They may perhaps look to our experience in such matters. As porous as our immigration system is, we have managed to have some notable successes in the national security arena and at least have a small cadre of current and former immigration law enforcement and legal professionals well experienced in counter-terrorism cases.

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