Immigration Failures – Terrorism, Jobs, Bogus Citizenship – Highlighted in Three-Day Period

In 30 years of studying and writing about immigration, no 72-hour period has better proven the disaster of U.S. policy on so many fronts, including refugee resettlement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the employment-based H-1B visa.

First, on Saturday, September 17, Somali refugee Dahir Adan, who an Islamic-state run news agency called “a soldier,” stabbed nine people at the St. Cloud (MN) Crossroads Mall. In his Atlantic story about Minnesota’s 33,000 Somalis, David Frum wrote: “The unemployment rate for Somali Minnesotans in 2015 was triple the state average, 21 percent. As of 2014, about 5,950 of the state’s Somali population received cash assistance; 17,000 receive food assistance as of 2014.” Frum’s analysis has many Minnesotans wondering about the wisdom of importing poverty, especially when those on public assistance may have violent tendencies. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton isn’t one of the doubters, however. Dayton’s message to Minnesotans who question immigration: “Find another state” to live in.

Hours later, an Afghanistan-born, naturalized U.S. citizen Ahmad Khan Rahami was taken into custody after a shoot-out with law enforcement, and charged with five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. Rahami, who since 2014 traveled unnoticed at least three times to Pakistan and Afghanistan, also was charged last week with using weapons of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use in explosions in New York and New Jersey the weekend of September 17-18.

Hopelessly inept, Feds cannot protect Americans.

Finally, on September 19, the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General released the results of an audit which found that 858 illegal immigrants ordered deported had instead received U.S. citizenship. Some are nationals from terrorist-sponsoring nations; two have been investigated for terrorist activities, and two worked in airports’ secure areas. The audit conclusively confirms what many already know – that DHS is a mess and cannot protect Americans, assuming that it’s even trying to safeguard citizens, a tall assumption.

Go to the CAPS Action Alert page here for opportunities to urge common sense on immigration from your legislators including HR 4731 which would cap refugee resettlement at 60,000, the average over recent years, and calls for congressional approval for increases beyond 60,000.