Among the nation's media — and therefore the political establishment and its organs of federal government — the first apparent terror attack in North America by a border-crossing migrant drew no curiosity or interest. Now a congressional committee has fired off a letter demanding a DHS Office of Inspector General investigation. The September 2017 vehicle-ramming attacks by a Somali migrant in … [Read more...] about Column: Congressional Committee Calls for Investigation of First Terror Attack by Border-Crossing Migrant
Securing U.S. Borders
Obama administration feared terrorist border infiltration and ordered major homeland program to counter it
As published by the Center for Immigration Studies The Obama Administration feared terrorist border infiltration among "special interest aliens," as I disclose in my latest column January 9, 2019, meaning President Trump is in good company that his critics are reluctant to acknowledge. By Todd Bensman Much of the noise accompanying President Trump's partial justification for a wall … [Read more...] about Obama administration feared terrorist border infiltration and ordered major homeland program to counter it
Parting Shot: House GOP Homeland Security Committee Report on Terror Travel Details Migration to U.S. border; Dems Promptly Delete
Originally published by the Center for Immigration Studies Research based on visits to six nations of the migrant trails was posted by the GOP-controlled House Homeland Security Committee and then removed the next day when Dems took control. My take on the report: By Todd Bensman In early 2018, a half-dozen staff members of Texas Rep. Michael McCaul's House Homeland Security Committee … [Read more...] about Parting Shot: House GOP Homeland Security Committee Report on Terror Travel Details Migration to U.S. border; Dems Promptly Delete
Notes on the Trump Administration’s Claim of 3,000-Plus Terrorist Apprehensions at U.S. Borders
From a former intelligence worker once immersed in the numbers To clear all this up and regain some semblance of credibility on the issue of terrorist infiltration along the border, the Trump administration needs to pick up data from the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center and the National Counterterrorism Center, which houses everything they need By Todd Bensman on January 7, … [Read more...] about Notes on the Trump Administration’s Claim of 3,000-Plus Terrorist Apprehensions at U.S. Borders
Video Report: Panama and Costa Rica Doing Smugglers’ Work with “Controlled Flow” Policy
Under a policy known as "controlled flow", the governments of Panama and Costa Rica grease the skids to get them smoothly and safely to Nicaragua, Honduras, and Mexico, where organized smugglers can take over again, CIS is told. By Todd Bensman as originally published by the Center for Immigration Studies on December 27, 2018 YAVIZA, DARIEN PROVINCE, Panama — Out of an … [Read more...] about Video Report: Panama and Costa Rica Doing Smugglers’ Work with “Controlled Flow” Policy
Interview with an Iranian Migrant in Costa Rica En Route to the U.S. Border
Four Iranian migrants found in Costa Rica en route to the U.S. southern border talk about their long journey, travel methods and hopes for U.S. asylum. But might they be part of Iranian intelligence or worse, Hezbollah operatives? By Todd Bensman as originally published December 20, 2018 by the Center for Immigration Studies GOLFITO, Costa Rica — Iranian citizen Sina Zandi … [Read more...] about Interview with an Iranian Migrant in Costa Rica En Route to the U.S. Border
An Interview with a Bangladeshi in Costa Rica en Route to the U.S. Southwest Border
Whether 29-year-old Omar Farouk, 29, is hiding a forbidden past and present as a terrorist operative is a question for American homeland security officers to answer when he finally reaches the American southern border in a month or two. I found him in a Costa Rican immigration processing center, after he crossed in from Panama and, before that, from Brazil and Colombia. He is from Bangladesh, … [Read more...] about An Interview with a Bangladeshi in Costa Rica en Route to the U.S. Southwest Border
Video Report: How Migrants from Countries of Terror Concern Travel Through Central America
Thousands of non-Spanish-speaking migrants, known in U.S. homeland security circles as "special interest aliens", from Muslim-majority countries like Iran and Afghanistan cross through Panama once they depart initial landing zones in South America. Here's how the get the U.S. southern border, the easy and the hard way. By Todd Bensman as originally published December 18, 2019 by the Center for … [Read more...] about Video Report: How Migrants from Countries of Terror Concern Travel Through Central America
A Rare Interview with a Pakistani Migrant in Costa Rica en Route to the U.S. Border
Jawad insists he's no terrorist, and that may be true. But American homeland security authorities at the U.S. border won't want to take him strictly at his word, nor should they. Whether Jawad and his friend were with the Pakistani Taliban, against them, or indifferent to them is a question that American law enforcement intelligence officers on the U.S. border will almost certainly want to get … [Read more...] about A Rare Interview with a Pakistani Migrant in Costa Rica en Route to the U.S. Border
Four U.S.-Bound Iranian Migrants Underline National Security Concerns about Migration from Special Interest Countries
(As published by the Center for Immigration Studies) By Todd Bensman on December 13, 2018 GOLFITO, Costa Rica — The four Iranians told me they first saw me hundreds of miles south, in a Panamanian migration camp 15 miles off the main road, at the end of a dirt track in the Darien jungle. The one who spoke some English told me they had been … [Read more...] about Four U.S.-Bound Iranian Migrants Underline National Security Concerns about Migration from Special Interest Countries