Thread: Congress: Terror-Tied Aliens Seeking Asylum in U.S.

Congress: Terror-Tied Aliens Seeking Asylum in U.S.

Letter demands to know how many asylum-seekers have links to terror outfits


BY: Adam Kredo
May 22, 2015 4:20 pm

Congress is demanding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) release documents detailing how many foreigners seeking asylum in the United States have been found to have ties to terror groups, according to a recent letter sent to the agency by leading lawmakers.

The letter comes on the heels of revelations by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that at least 638 aliens seeking asylum in America have been found to have connections to terrorists.

This “recent disclosure regarding the numbers of aliens found to have a ‘credible fear’ in cases where the terrorism bar to asylum eligibility may have applied raised the concern that hundreds of known and suspected aliens with terrorist connections may be attempting to take advantage of our country’s asylum system,” according to the letter, sent by leaders of four House committees on national security, the judiciary, and government reform.

The USCIS found that “the terrorism bar to asylum eligibility may be applicable to 299 aliens who were found to have a ‘credible fear’ of persecution in the first four months of Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, and to 339 aliens who were found to have a ‘credible fear’ in FY 2014,” the lawmakers disclosed.

The lawmakers are seeking to obtain from the DHS “key documents” providing further information and transparency about the USCIS’s disclosure. They have given the DHS a June 3 deadline to respond with pertinent information.

These documents include a copy of the files on each of the aliens seeking asylum who also were found to have potential connections to terrorism.

For each of these foreigners, the lawmakers are seeking to discern “whether the alien has been released, and for each alien who has been released, whether the release decision was made by officers of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or by an Immigration Judge (IJ) or the Board of Immigration Appeal,” according to the letter.

The lawmakers are have asked that DHS brief them about the situation.

Congress has expressed concern for years that foreigners with extremist views could exploit the U.S.’s immigration system in order to gain entrance to the country.

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson heightened concerns in December when he revealed that two foreigners tied to terror groups had escaped to Canada after being released from custody by a U.S. judge.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) also has released reports that illegal aliens have been working to bring suspected terrorists into America.

The DPS report “disclosed information about multiple cases of illegal aliens or asylum refugees with terror ties entering the country through Texas,” according to Fox News.

The concerns come as Iran has stepped up its presence in Latin America, where it has stationed many agents and other officials. Lawmakers have expressed concern that Iran could plot potential terror attacks on America using resources in the region.

http://freebeacon.com/national-secur...asylum-in-u-s/

DPS REPORT: ILLEGAL ALIENS WITH TERROR TIES ENTERING THROUGH TEXAS

by ILDEFONSO ORTIZ26 Feb 2015206

Illegal aliens with ties to terrorist organizations have been working to bring other suspected terrorists into America through a wide open Texas border. This is just one of the many red flags raised by the state’s top law enforcement agency in a leaked report.

In a 68-page “law enforcement sensitive” report prepared by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to inform lawmakers about the ongoing border surge, the agency addressed the many security concerns currently facing the state. Chief among them is the threat from terrorists crossing the border and Mexican cartels already operating in Texas. The report was originally leaked by the Houston Chronicle. In their reporting theChronicle did not focus on the threats. Instead, they focused on the costs of the surge and how it was having a negative effect on crime fighting in other areas.

The report which was not made for public disclosure and was marked law enforcement sensitive, disclosed information about multiple cases of illegal aliens or asylum refugees with terror ties entering the country through Texas:

• In June 2014, a Somali member Ofal-Shabaab arrived at the Hidalgo International Bridge seeking immigration benefits, the report revealed. The man stated that he had been trained in April 2014 for a suicide attack in Mogadishu. While authorities have not fully vetted his information about the attack, he told them that he escaped from the group and informed African Union troops who were able to stop the terrorist attack. The man claimed he was trained with 13 other Somalis for about 10 weeks to use suicide belts, AK-47s, and grenades.
• In March 18, 2012 Border Patrol agents in McAllen arrested three illegal aliens from Sri-Lanka. One of the men said he belonged to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a group that authorities have designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The man claimed that the group was headed to Canada.
• For a period of several years until January 2010, a U.S. citizen smuggled a total of 272 Somalis into the U.S. through Cuba and Mexico. During the investigation, authorities learned that the leaders of the terror group Al-Shabaab had solicited the man’s services. The man claimed he had not worked with the terror group; however, authorities found an email where he stated “I helped a lot of Somalis and most are good but there are some who are bad and I leave them to Allah.”
• The FBI investigated and charged Ahmed Muhammad Dhakane, a Somali Guerrilla fighter and human smuggler with ties to terror groups who entered the country through Brownsville Texas seeking asylum. What Dhakane never told immigration authorities was that he was a member of al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad Al-Islam. As part of his smuggling activities Dhakane worked to smuggle into the country other suspected Somali terrorist “whom he believed would commit violent acts if ordered to do so”.
• In another case of Somali terrorist entering America, Abdullah Omar Fidse along with Deka Abdalla Sheikh arrived at the Hidalgo International Bridge in 2008 demanding asylum which they received. What authorities did not know was that Fidse was a terrorist sent to American to carry out “operations” and had been part of a plot against the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya at the time. According to information from Fidse’s trial, federal agents accused Fidse of working with Somali terrorists and that prior to coming to America he been a cook for Osama Bin Laden and had purchased weapons and vehicles that had been used in Somalia. A federal judge sentenced Fidse in 2013 to eight years in prison.

According to the DPS report, the agency believes that terror groups are aware of America’s porous borders — particularly in Texas. It states that Mexican cartels can successfully get them into major metropolitan areas. The DPS has been trying to keep track of the number of illegal aliens from countries with known terror group’s. These are primarily Middle Eastern countries.
“The Terrorist Screening Center reported 143 land border crossing encounters with watch-listed individuals in southwest border states between November 2013 and July 2014, which is the only time period for which data is currently available,” the DPS report states. “These included 97 in Texas, one in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and 43 in California.”

Breitbart Texas reported on February 14th, the capture by U.S. Border Patrol agents of a Middle-Eastern man who was attempting to cross the border from Mexico into Texas. The man was captured just outside the city of Pharr, Texas. Border Patrol agents did not reveal the nationality of the man, but he was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer for expedited removal.

Follow Ildefonso Ortiz on Twitter and on Facebook.
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/...through-texas/

These two stories are so discouraging about the condition of Congress, those representatives elected to , to do what, are the only words that come to mind. Drawing that blank it seems that it has been along time since Congress took care of business. As a matter of fact, it is strongly implied that had not Texas started taking care of Congress business, Congress still would not be "concerned."

It does not escape me that all they are doing now is demanding reports from DHS. This late after 9/11 that is dog and pony show again. Demanding those reports semi-annually should have been common place for 13 years. Not one of 535 "representatives" thought to stay informed on this? Are you scared yet? The most dangerous people in the United States are in Washington D.C. Why is s that?

Yes, good question! Why are the most dangerous people to our nation in D.C.? Look into a mirror, if that person has voted for either democrat or republican in the past 14 years, you probably played a part, that now you must accept responsibility for getting that changed, not in 14 more years, but immediately!

I think it was 33 or 34 (D)'s and (R)'s that were sent to Congress last fall for 6 more years. Short of dying or scandal we are stuck with them, so it is best that we do not get stuck with any more.

This border and alien thing has been percolating for 30 years, so it is not as if you did not have time to get it solved, if you procrastinated you may have sank what you profess to love. Procrastinated for thirty years, now, today is the day to "Git'er done!!"