Terror plot puts focus on student visas

12:12 AM CDT on Saturday, September 26, 2009

By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV

Student Visas
September 25th, 2009

Video

DALLAS — News 8 has learned that federal authorities have begun a nationwide investigation of the foreign student visa process as a result of Thursday's attempted bombing in Dallas.

The suspect in that case — 19-year-old Hosam Maher Husein Smadi — was in the United States under an expired student visa.

Two weeks ago, Smadi was cited for driving without a license in Ellis County. Police do not routinely ask suspected traffic offenders about their immigration status. If they had in his case, they would have found the Jordanian national was in the United States on an expired student visa.

It's another example of an immigration policy that some say is best described by two words: "Weak" and "weaker."

"Overstays on student visas is a tremendous problem," said Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), a member of the House Immigration Subcommittee. "Now approximately 60 percent of the people in the United States are here illegally. They overstayed. They never went home. And some of the 9/11 hijackers were people who did that very thing."

Smadi took a full-time job at a barbecue restaurant in Italy, Texas last year. His friends said he never attended school in Texas, meaning he was in the country illegally.

Smadi was originally admitted to the U.S. to attend high school in Santa Clara, California.

"When you give people visas, unfortunately it's very, very difficult to ferret out who's there to get an education versus who's there to do a crime," said former U.S. Attorney Richard Roper.

Corrupt immigration is an increasing concern for the FBI. An undercover video provided by the agency shows a corrupt law enforcement official at the U.S.-Mexico border. He's seen bribing a man he believes to be an immigrant to enter the country illegally.

The border official in the video was paid $5 million by drug cartels to help them smuggle narcotics.

Over the last five years, 94 federal customs officials have been charged with corruption related to their jobs, all the more reason to tighten the focus on immigration.

"We must continue to have border security; to make sure that border security remains a national security issue; that we control people coming into the United States; and we know who they are," Poe said.

Foreign students spend money on their schooling in the United States. Education is, in fact, one of America's biggest exports.

The question is: Which is more important? Income from foreign students or national security?

E-mail bharris@wfaa.com

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