February 13, 2009
Fairus.org
Department of Homeland Security Warns of Continued Terrorist Threats
According to the findings of a new research study by the Federation for American Immigration
As if we really needed to be reminded that poorly guarded borders pose an ongoing threat to homeland security, the Thanksgiving weekend attacks in Mumbai, India, demonstrated that terrorists can and will exploit any weakness with deadly consequences.
According to the Associated Press, the DHS assessment warns that terrorists "will continue to try to evade U.S. border security measures and place operatives inside the mainland to carry out attacks." In addition to gaining access to the U.S. through illegal entry, sophisticated terrorist organizations are likely to exploit weaknesses in our refugee and asylum programs, and take advantage of the visa waiver program. The visa waiver program was expanded last year so that citizens of 35 nations are now able to enter the U.S. without first obtaining a visa.
While the out-going Bush administration has fought to expand the number of countries covered by the visa waiver program, FAIR has fought to eliminate it. Many terrorist groups with roots in the Middle East and elsewhere have operatives who hold passports from countries covered by the visa waiver program. The report of the 9/11 Commission similarly warned that the visa waiver program amounts to a glaring weakness that can be exploited by terrorists. FAIR's 2008 analysis of the security threat posed by our uncontrolled borders and programs like the Visa Waiver Program, Immigration and National Security, is available here and here.
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The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest. FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interestmore traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.
