Is citizenship now a tactic? Earlier today I asked foreign policy expert Stephen Yates whether or not he believes that terrorists are now using American citizenship as a tactic to thwart surveillance and investigation on the basis of their newfound civil liberties (audio below).
It’s a legitimate question. We know Tamerlane Tsarnev claimed to not have any American friends, is suspected of killing the only one he made, and judging by his own social media accounts was incredibly hostile towards America. His younger brother was the same.
The 9/11 terror attacks began as an immigration problem. I’ve said this for years. Terrorists in our country on expired visas were stopped by police for traffic reasons weeks before the attack. The Boston bombings, by looking at the suspects, was also an immigration problem. I know upstanding individuals with no criminal record or associations who have waited 12 years, paid five figures, and hired attorneys to get the same citizenship status awarded in a shorter time to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — citizenship our government was in the process of considering for Tamerlane Tsarnaev, despite his FBI interrogation and tip from Russian government.
The majority of people arguing about immigration (namely, politicians in DC) frame the conversation solely with the Mexican border. I fail to see how the Gang of Eight’s proposal, in its current form, would reform the problems which plague the system and allow for incidents like this to happen. But by all means, let’s focus on satellite phones instead of this massive oversight.
Mark Steyn in America Alone made a fabulous point in that Islamists will use political correctness to legally enforce ideological supremacy in the United States. Is it beyond the realm of possibility to believe that individuals intent on terror would also hide behind newly acquired civil liberties to avoid detection and surveillance or to shut down an investigation? Why aren’t these questions being asked? And what are we doing to remedy this without impeding law-abiding immigrants who simply want to be Americans?
*Tomorrow I’ll speak with former senator and new Heritage head Jim DeMint on immigration and the Gang of Eight.
[youtube]0zEq13ngxTM[/youtube]
Join the conversation as a VIP Member