One example from 2006 was the supposed illegal Mexican Miguel Alfonso Salinas, who turned out to be Ayman Sulmane Kamal, a Muslim from Egypt (Links between illegal immigration, terrorism, drug trade worry U.S officials). There are clearly many more like him who are vaguely categorized as OTMs (other than Mexicans) and SIAs (Special Interest Aliens) for the potentially nasty ones.
Another example was the brief report last May of hundreds of Somali al-Shabaab members crossing the border into the US (Feds Issue Terror Watch for the Texas/Mexico Border).
However, Washington doesn’t want us little citizens to worry over this obvious threat to national security, so the government honchos strenuously pretend open borders are not a problem to protecting the country. It’s nice that occasional reporters are curious about the issue…
Channel 2 Uncovers Proof Terrorists Crossed Mexican Border, WSB-TV Atlanta, November 1, 2010Interestingly, the text closely followed the video version, but left out the final sentences asked by reporter Justin Farmer:ATLANTA – The U.S. Border Patrol has captured thousands of people they say are classified as OTM which stands for ”other than Mexican.” Documents show many of them are from terrorists nations like Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan and Yemen. Federal authorities call those groups SIAs, which stands for ”special interest aliens”.
Federal officials have offered few details about the number of actual terrorists caught along the border.
Retired immigration agent Michael Cutler says the actual threat is being covered up. ”Incredibly the government is attempting to keep the citizens like a bunch of mushrooms. Keep us in the dark and feed us a bunch of manure.”
Government officials have denied that terrorists have crossed our open border. Still, Channel 2 Action News has proof they have. Channel 2 Anchor Justin Farmer found documents filed in federal court in San Antonio, Texas, in May. They show an indictment against Ahmed Muhammad Dhakane for allegedly smuggling hundreds of people from Brazil to Mexico, then into the U.S. The federal indictment states it includes some Somalis from the terrorist group Al Shabob. Terrorism experts say the group is responsible for terrorist attacks and suicide bombings worldwide.
”To this day we do not know where those 300 Somalis are,” said Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas. ”We do know they are in the United States.”
A 2009 Government Accounting Office report confirmed agents have picked up three known terrorists who crossed the southwestern border of the United States. No other information was released.
”There are many people not only being apprehended, but slipping through the cracks on our southern flank that are very dangerous,” said McCaul.
Intelligence officials have admitted on record there is a terrorism threat. In 2007, former National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell told the El Paso Times that terrorists have been crossing the border. He said there are many situations where people are alive today because the terrorists were caught.
Sheriffs along the southwestern U.S. border also are aware of the threat.
”There is (intelligence) we have that is very troubling”, said Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County, Ariz. ”Things are not getting better, they are getting worse.”
”And we ask why all the secrecy surrounding the terror threat? Some critics say it’s politics and centers around the debate over amnesty for illegals.”Here is a follow-up report from WSB about the low arrest goals of DHS (Channel 2 Raises Questions About Border Security):
