Terror arrests show why we must tackle immigration Thursday, May 10, 2007

By MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST





Tony, Elvis and Shaheen – three Jersey guys, with diverse American names but a deeply troubling American story.

Tony, Elvis and Shaheen Duka of Cherry Hill were linked this week by federal authorities to a terror plot to attack Fort Dix and murder "as many soldiers as possible." But what distinguishes the Dukas from three other Muslim men charged in the conspiracy is a common American reality our nation refuses to face.The Dukas are illegal aliens.

Their story underscores a nightmare feared by many in law enforcement – terrorists living in America as illegal immigrants. Will this week's arrests be enough of a warning that America needs to get serious about the millions of undocumented residents?FORT DIX PLOT
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This is not a call to deport, arrest or harass illegal immigrants, most of whom come here from Latin America or South America and only want to work and earn enough to give their poverty-stricken families back home a better life. There is nothing wrong with such idealism.

But there is something wrong with U.S. politicians and others – including far too many naﶥ religious leaders -- who continually deflect legitimate concerns about America's open borders by playing the race card and labeling critics of illegal immigration as bigots. Is it bigotry to ask how Tony, Elvis and Shaheen Duka lived illegally and then allegedly plotted to kill?
Only sketchy details have emerged so far about the Duka brothers, whose real names are Dritan, Eljvir, and Shain. But what is already clear is that they did not sneak into America as terrorists after training elsewhere. They grew up here. Their alleged plan to murder American soldiers evolved after they had put down American roots.

Their family arrived in the mid-1980s from Albania. Dritan (Tony), 28, Eljvir (Elvis), 23, and Shain (Shaheen), 26, were young boys, not even old enough for school. The family applied for asylum but was turned down, said a source familiar with their story.

The family should have returned to Albania. But they stayed and built lives, with the three brothers going to public high school and then starting a roofing business.

It's still not clear why the Dukas applied for asylum or why they were rejected. The Dukas reportedly arrived in the U.S. several years before their Albanian homeland and the rest of the Balkans boiled over in ethic and religious strife.

Just as important, it's also not clear why U.S. immigration officials did not order the Duka family to return to Albania. That piece of the story may take time to explore. What is clear, however, is that two of the Dukas – Shain and Dritan – ran a pizza shop for a few years. Then, with younger brother Eljvir, the brothers started a roofing business.

How these three industrious Jersey guys became alleged jihadists is yet another mystery.

Court papers depict Shain watching a terrorist video and laughing as a U.S. Marine's arm is blown off. Dritan reportedly boasted that "we can do a lot of damage" when discussing the Fort Dix plot. And Eljvir is quoted in federal court papers as declaring that he would "go jihad" if his religion was attacked.

Who are these guys really?

We don't know the full story. But we know it begins with a family living under the immigration radar screen illegally. Isn't this warning enough to have an open debate about America's open borders?

We've been warned.


E-mail: kellym@northjersey.com



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