In July 2007, in support of a $3 billion emergency border security spending bill, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn from Texas delivered a floor speech during which he heavily cited Todd Bensman’s Breaching America series about illegal immigration from the Islamic world. The speech came just after the failure of a massive immigration reform bill.
Following is a transcript of Sen. Cornyn’s floor speech citing Bensman’s work.
(NSP} (MR. CORNYN)
MR. CORNYN: MR. PRESIDENT, I RISE TO JOIN MY COLLEAGUES IN SUPPORT OF THE GRAHAM AMENDMENT OF WHICH I AM PLEASED TO BE A CO-COSPONSOR AND TO PROVIDE MY COLLEAGUES SOME INFORMATION THAT I FOUND PARTICULARLY REVEALING IN THE FORM OF A FOUR-PART SERIES IN MY HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER, THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS, THAT WAS WRITTEN IN MAY OF THIS YEAR. THE AUTHOR OF THE SERIES, A REPORTER BY THE NAME OF TODD BENSMAN, CHRONICLES THE MOVEMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL, AN IRAQI FROM DAMASCUS, SYRIA, TO DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AND I THINK IT’S PARTICULARLY INSTRUCTIVE AS WE’RE CONTEMPLATING THIS AMENDMENT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FUNDING BORDER SECURITY MEASURES THAT THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION BE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE SENATE. I WOULD ASK, MR. PRESIDENT, AT THE END OF MY REMARKS THAT THE — THAT THESE FOUR NEWSPAPER ARTICLES BE MADE PART OF THE RECORD FOLLOWING MY REMARKS.
(THE PRESIDING OFFICER): IS THERE OBJECTION?
WITHOUT OBJECTION, SO ORDERED.
{13:02:47 NSP} (MR. CORNYN)
MR. CORNYN: I THANK THE CHAIR. MR. BENSMAN IN THIS ARTICLE FOUND THESE FOLLOWING THINGS IN HIS INVESTIGATION. AND I’LL JUST SUMMARIZE. MORE THAN 5,700 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM 43 COUNTRIES WITH MAJORITY MUSLIM POPULATIONS INCLUDING STATE SPONSORS OF TERROR HAVE BEEN CAUGHT WHILE TRAVELING OVER THE CANADIAN AND MEXICAN BORDER ALONG WE WELL-ESTABLISHED, UNDERGROUND SMUGGLING ROUTES SINCE 9/11, A TRAFFIC THAT CONTINUES TODAY. MR. BENSMAN ESTIMATES BETWEEN 20,000 AND 60,000 OF THESE SO-CALLED SPECIAL INTEREST ALIENS, BY VIRTUE OF THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, BEING COUNTRIES WHERE TERRORISM IS, UNFORTUNATELY, ALIVE AND WELL OR BECAUSE THEY ARE STATE
SPONSORS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM — BETWEEN 20,000 AND 60,000 OF THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE GOTTEN THROUGH WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT AT OUR BORDERS SINCE 9/11.
THESE MIGRANTS, ALTHOUGH RELATIVELY SMALL IN TOTAL NUMBERS, ARE HIGH RISK BECAUSE THEY HAIL, AS I SAID, FROM COUNTRIES WHERE AMERICAN TROOPS ARE ACTIVELY BATTLING ISLAMIC INSURGENCES. THEY HAVE BOMBED U.S. INTERESTS OR MURDERED AMERICANS. UNGUARDED U.S. BORDERS ARE MOST CERTAINLY IN THE TERRORISTS’ PLAYBOOKS AS A MEANS OF ENTERING THE COUNTRY. SINCE THE LATE-1990’S, AT LEAST A DOZEN, MR. BENSMAN WRITES, AT LEAST A DOZEN CONFIRMED TERRORISTS HAVE SNEAKED OVER U.S. BORDERS, INCLUDING OPERATIVES FROM HEZBOLLAH, HAMAS, TAMIL TIGERS AND ONE AL QAEDA TERRORIST, ONCE NUMBER 27 ON THE F.B.I.’S MOST WANTED TERRORISTS.
THE F.B.I. IS SUPPOSED TO INTERROGATE AND CONDUCT A THREAT ASSESSMENT ON EVERY SPECIAL INTEREST ALIEN. BUT THE PROCESS, MR. BENSMAN WRITES, IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED AND OPEN TO ERROR. OFTEN THE F.B.I. SIGNS OFF ON CAPTURED SPECIAL INTEREST ALIENS ALLOWING THEM ACCESS TO THE POLITICAL ASYLUM PROCESS WITHOUT CONCLUSIVELY KNOWING THEY ARE OR ARE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS. FURTHERMORE, BORDER PATROL AGENTS ARE SIMPLY USING EXPEDITED REMOVAL PROCESSES TO KICK SPECIAL INTEREST ALIENS BACK OVER INTO THE BORDER INTO NEW MEXICO WHERE THEY WILL CERTAINLY TRY TO CROSS AGAIN WITH NO INVESTIGATION AND NO F.B.I. REFERRAL WHATSOEVER.
MR. PRESIDENT, THIS SERIES OF ARTICLES THAT MR. BENSMAN HAS WRITTEN PUBLISHED IN “THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS, I THINK, WILL BE AN EYE OPENER FOR THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY. FRANKLY, THOSE OF US WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE SENATE HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING CLASSIFIED BRIEFINGS FROM TIME TO TIME, AND OF COURSE WE CANNOT TALK ABOUT THAT INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION THAT WE ARE BRIEFED ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. BUT HERE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN ARE THE RESULTS OF MR. BENSMAN’S INVESTIGATION IN CHILLING DETAIL, AS I SAID, CHRONICLING THE MOVEMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL FROM DAMASCUS, SYRIA, TO DETROIT, MICHIGAN, VIA MOSCOW, VIA HAVANA, INTO GUATEMALA, AND THEN UP THROUGH OUR MEXICO SOUTHERN BORDER AND UP INTO THE UNITED STATES.
MR. PRESIDENT, I’M — AS I’VE IN THE WITH BORDER PATROL AGENTS AND AS PERHAPS THE CURRENT OCCUPANT OF THE CHAIR AND OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE I HAVE, I ASKED THEM OUT OF THE 1.1 MILLION OR 1.3 MILLION PAM THAT WE ACTUALLY DETAIN COMING ACROSS OUR SOUTHERN BORDER, FOR EVERY PERSON WE DETAIN, HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU THINK GET ACROSS? AND I’VE HEARD ESTIMATES RANGING FROM THEY DETAIN MAYBE ONE OUT OF EVERY THREE TO ONE OUT OF EVERY FOUR. THE TRUTH IS, NOBODY KNOWS FOR SURE WHO GETS AWAY AND WE DO KNOW THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE DETAINED AND RETURNED ACROSS THE BORDER LIKELY TRY AGAIN. SO IT’S HARD TO GET GOOD INFORMATION.
BUT THIS IS NOT A MATTER OF SO SOLELY ECONOMIC MIGRANTS COMING FROM MEXICO OR CENTRAL OR SOUTH AMERICA INTO THE UNITED STATES. THE TRUTH IS THAT CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO ARE A LAND BRIDGE INTO THE UNITED STATES FOR ANYBODY ANYWHERE AROUND THE WORLD THAT WANTS TO COME HERE. ANYBODY WHO’S GOT THE MONEY TO PAY THE HUMAN SMUGGLERS TO GET THEM HERE. OBVIOUSLY, THESE COULD BE INDIVIDUAL WHOSE WANT TO WORK AND WHO WANT NOTHING BUT A BETTER LIFE WHAT WE HAVE ALL AND WANT IN AMERICA. BUT IT CAN ALSO BE PEOPLE, VERY DANGER US WILL PEOPLE, WHO WANT TO DO US HARM. AND THAT’S THE REASON THIS FUNDING, THIS EMERGENCY FUNDING FOR BORDER SECURITY, IS SO IMPORTANT. IT’S ALSO IMPORTANT THAT WE BEGIN TO REGAIN THE LOST PUBLIC CONFIDENCE THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN ACTUALLY
DELIVER ON ITS PROMISES.
WE’VE BEEN TELLING PEOPLE FOR A LONG TIME NOW HOW IMPORTANT IT IS IN A POST-9/11 WORLD TO KNOW WHO’S COMING INTO OUR COUNTRY AND WHY PEOPLE ARE COMING HERE, RECOGNIZING THAT IF THERE’S A WAY TO SEPARATE THE ECONOMIC MIGRANTS AND TO CREATE AN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM THAT WOULD GIVE PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY THROUGH LEGAL IMMIGRATION TO COME TO THE UNITED STATES ON A CONTROLLED BASIS, IT WILL THEN ALLOW LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AN EFFORT TO TARGET THOSE WHO ARE COMMON CRIMINALS, DRUG DEALERS, OR INDEED TERRORISTS OR SPECIAL INTEREST ALIENS FROM STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM.
WE’VE GOT DO, AS THIS AMENDMENT DOES, MAKE SURE WE FUND WAYS FOR — TO POLICE VISA OVER-STAYERS. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE DOCUMENT FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT THAT MAKE IT HARD FOR EVEN GOOD-FAITH EMPLOYERS TO DETERMINE THE LEGAL ELIGIBILITY OF PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYEES TO WORK AT JOBS ACROSS AMERICA. SO THIS AMENDMENT, I THINK, IS THE FIRST BIG STEP TOWARD RE REGAINING THE PUBLIC’S CONFIDENCE AGAIN AND DEMONSTRATING THAT WE ARE AC ACTUALLY SERIOUS ABOUT DELIVERING ON OUR PROMISES, NOT ENGAGED ONCE AGAIN IN OVER-PROMISING BUT UNDER-DELIVERING, AS WE HAVE IN THE PAST. MR. PRESIDENT, I WILL BE OFFERING AT A LATER TIME SOME AMENDMENTS MYSELF, COMING AS I DO FROM A BORDER STATE WITH 1,600 MILES OF COMMON BORDER WITH MEXICO.
BY SAYING THAT THE THREAT POSED BY COMMON CRIMINALS AS A RESULT OF OUR BROKEN BORDER, TO DRUG DEALERS IS VERY REAL AND AS MR. BENSMAN’S ARTICLE POINTS OUT, THE ACCESS THROUGH OUR BROKEN BORDERS TO VIRTUALLY ANYBODY IN THE WORLD, THAT’S GOT ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY THE SMUGGLERS TO GET THEM IN, THAT IT’S AN OPEN DOOR TO PEOPLE WHO WE PREFER NOT COME HERE./ NAMELY PEOPLE THAT COME FROM COUNTRIES THAT ARE STATE SPONSORS OF INTERNATIONAL TAKE RISES AND PERHAPS PEOPLE WITH THE GOALS OF HARMING INNOCENT AMERICANS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SAME BROKEN BORDERS THAT YIELD ACCESS TO ECONOMIC MIGRANTS.