How Many Terrorist Watch "Hits" Were Illegal Aliens?

By Michael Cutler

Here is an interesting story ("6,000 terror watch list hits inside U.S.") that leads to more questions about the supposed strategy of our nation in defending itself against the next possible terrorist attack. It is clear that there are people inside our country, even as you read this, who are believed to have an involvement with terrorism. While it is hard to know how many different individuals were encountered multiple times to generate the 6,000 hits noted in the article, it is clear that there are a significant number of individuals within our borders who may pose a threat to the safety and well being of our nation and our citizens. It only took 19 terrorists to create the disaster of 9/11.

What was not noted in the article but which occurred to me as a former INS special agent, is the question as to how many of the individuals who were encountered by law enforcement officers during the course of carrying our their duties were aliens who are illegally in the United States. While it is certainly quite possible that there were people who were stopped because their names were similar to someone on a watch list, while they were not involved in terrorism, it is also entirely possible that some of the individuals who were stopped were involved in terrorism but while they are being scrutinized there is not sufficient evidence to take a law enforcement action against them. In such cases, it would be worthwhile to consider seeking their removal for committing immigration law violations if, in fact, they have violated these laws. The problem is that there are far too few ICE agents to handle these issues as effectively as they should. It would be interesting to know how many of these people who aroused suspicion were interviewed by an ICE agent, presuming that such person was, in fact, an illegal alien.

The point is that by enforcing the immigration laws from within the interior of the United States in that fashion, when individuals suspected of an involvement in terrorism are encountered, can yield benefits in two ways.

First of all, it may lead to the removal of an alien who, in addition to violating the immigration laws, is part of a terrorist organization. This random encounter with law enforcement resulting in such action being taken could conceivably disrupt the activities of a terrorist organization operating within our borders. Second, such an encounter might lead to the cultivation of an informant who might act as the "eyes and ears" of law enforcement officials engaged in investigating terrorist activities within our nation's borders. It should be remembered that terrorist activities are not limited to committing acts of violence but can include recruiting members for a terrorist organization, conducting surveillance of future targets and fund raising to bankroll terrorist operations either inside the United States or within another country.

These law enforcement activities require that we have an adequate number of special agents employed by ICE who can carry out these activities in support of our nation's purported war on terror. With fewer than 3,000 special agents assigned to the enforcement of the immigration laws at ICE for the entire United States of America, it is doubtful that ICE responded to many of these situations where their unique authority might have been brought to bear.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, as I have pointed out in previous articles I have written, many politicians sought that "sound bite" that they could put out for the benefit of their political objectives and asked the same question of various officials, "Why didn't anyone connect the dots?" So, here are the dots- there are suspected terrorists and terrorist supporters operating inside our borders at this very moment. Effective enforcement of the immigration laws can be highly helpful in removing those who are a threat to our nation and also in helping to cultivate informants. However, just as they say about the lottery, here in New York, "You have to be in it to win it!" If we do not have the personnel who can capitalize on opportunities, the opportunity will be lost forever and the consequences may truly be horrific. It is essential that our nation have an adequate number of special agents who are given effective training, effective leadership and adequate resources. To do less is to invite the next catastrophe.

Lead, follow or get out of the way!

TrackBack