US can stop border-crossing terrorists with – Obama administration policies?

By Todd Bensman as published June 12, 2024 by The New York Post

Near-misses from the worst mass migration border crisis in American history keep coming at us like machine-gun fire.

This month, FBI counterterrorism agents arrested six Tajikistani nationals on terrorism charges after they illegally crossed the southwest border from Mexico, apparently foiling a terror plot linked to the ISIS-K terror group in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The arrests came soon after a Russian who illegally crossed the border was convicted and sentenced in California on terrorism charges for buying weaponry for an al Qaeda group in Syria, as the FBI said he would have gone kinetic had he not been charged.

In May, a Jordanian national who illegally crossed the border from Mexico staged a vehicle ramming attack on Marine Corps Base Quantico that all involved federal agencies refuse to publicly rule out as a terror incident.

This year, Border Patrol agents overrun by the mass migration crisis have accidentally released at least seven immigrants who were on the FBI’s terrorism watch list when they illegally crossed the southern border, according to multiple reports, sparking frantic manhunts to capture them.

That’s just a fractional few of many disturbing cases.

For years prior to the historic mass migration crisis that President Biden kicked off on his inauguration day in 2021, the US media laughed off the threat of terrorist border infiltration as the stuff of baseless right-wing fear-mongering — such as when then-President Donald Trump said in 2018 that Middle Easterners were moving with US-bound caravans through Central America and Mexico.

Much good company has joined the once-ridiculed Paul Reveres, including FBI Director Christopher Wray and the apparently spooked authors of a surprisingly anxious Foreign Affairs magazine essay published this week.

But while many are sounding border infiltration alarms, few have offered solutions.

Perhaps Republican border hawks should turn to an unexpected ally: Democratic Party stalwart Jeh Johnson, President Barack Obama’s secretary of homeland security.

In 2016, during his final months in office, Johnson became a true believer in the threat posed by “special interest aliens,” or SIAs: border-crossing migrants from 35 to 40 nations where Islamic terrorist groups are active.

After 9/11, one of the most important counterterrorism protocols implemented on the border required agents to detain all SIAs until they could undergo face-to-face interviews to determine if these total strangers harbored potential terror connections or intent.

In June 2016, Johnson was so fearful about SIA border crossers that he sent a memorandum to his top deputies demanding their “immediate attention” to “the increased global movement of SIAs.”

He ordered the formation of a “multi-DHS Component SIA Joint Action Group” that would assess the entire program and create a tightly coordinated international action plan to “counter the threats posed by the smuggling of SIAs.”

“I want to ensure we are bringing the full resources of the Department to bear in a coordinated manner on the issue of SIAs,” he wrote, to build on existing counter-SIA programs.

Johnson’s completely prudent plan to intensify the vetting of SIAs at the border and to take down terrorist smugglers in other countries got lost in the chaos of the transition to Donald Trump’s presidency.

His intended revamp never happened — and the catastrophic Biden-engineered mass migration crisis vaporized whatever was left of it.

While SIA traffic over the border had previously amounted to 3,000 to 4,000 individuals annually, SIA traffic since 2021 has reached an unimaginable 70,000 to 80,000 per year.

Federal intelligence and law enforcement officials could no longer interview even a smidgeon of those SIAs, who are mostly waved into the country with no interviews.

“Due to massive numbers of illegal aliens overwhelming CBP, in-depth face-to-face interviews are nonexistent,” former Chief Border Patrol Agent Rodney Scott testified before the House Judiciary Committee last September on the subject of terrorist border infiltration.

The first fix is, of course, almost too obvious to mention: Reduce the total numbers of illegal aliens pouring over the southwest border.

But the far less obvious fix is this one, regardless of how many are crossing: We must resurrect Johnson’s 2016 initiative to interview SIAs before they are released on asylum, and target their smugglers for prosecution and prison.

As importantly, we must adequately fund and equip this massive effort — no matter how many SIAs arrive.

If Johnson’s 2016 plan was nonpartisan enough for the Obama administration, it should be good enough for the Biden DHS, or a Trump one. And, we can hope, not too late to stop the next terrorism attempt within the United States.

Todd Bensman, a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, is the author of “America’s Covert Border War” (2021).

Related Topics:#BorderCrossingTerrorists #NewYorkPost #ToddBensman #USIllegalImmigrationTerrorists

Up Next

Hunter Biden May Never Have Been On Trial Were It Not For Whistleblowers And No-Nonsense Judge

Don't Miss

New York and Vermont Seek to Impose a Retroactive Climate Tax

Todayville

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

Andrew Scheer exposes the Mark Carney Canadians should know

Daily Caller / 3 hours ago

NEWT GINGRICH: Europe’s Elites Were Finally Told To Take A Look In The Mirror

armed forces / 3 hours ago

Trump fires chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, appoints new military leader

illegal immigration

Trump signs executive order cutting off taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens

Published on February 20, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday night barring illegal immigrants from receiving federally funded benefits, a move he says will ensure taxpayer dollars are reserved for American citizens in need.

Key Details:

The order directs federal agencies to identify and cut off benefits to illegal immigrants.
Trump argues the Biden administration “undermined” federal law and improperly expanded benefits to non-citizens.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, is tasked with reviewing all federal funding sources for illegal aliens.
The order mandates stricter eligibility verification systems and calls for improper payments to be referred to the DOJ and DHS.

Diving Deeper:

President Donald Trump took executive action Wednesday night to block illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded federal benefits, calling the move necessary to uphold the rule of law and protect resources for American citizens, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

In signing the order, Trump pointed to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), which was supposed to bar most illegal immigrants from accessing government benefits. However, he argued that multiple administrations—especially President Joe Biden’s—had worked to “undermine” these restrictions, effectively allowing taxpayer funds to support illegal immigration.

“The Biden administration repeatedly undercut the goals of that law, resulting in the improper expenditure of significant taxpayer resources,” Trump said. He further asserted that these benefits had acted as a “magnet” for illegal immigration, drawing more people across the border unlawfully.

The order directs the heads of all federal agencies to identify programs that currently allow illegal aliens to receive taxpayer-funded benefits and to take “all appropriate actions” to bring them in line with federal law. It also aims to prevent federal funds from subsidizing sanctuary policies, which shield illegal immigrants from deportation.

One of the most significant aspects of the order is the role of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a relatively new federal agency led by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. DOGE is tasked with reviewing all sources of federal funding for illegal immigrants and recommending additional measures to align spending with Trump’s directive. Trump has praised Musk and DOGE for cutting through bureaucratic resistance to implement his policies.

Additionally, the order calls for enhanced eligibility verification systems to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining benefits in the first place. Federal agencies are also required to refer any improper payments to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security for further action.

The move is the latest in Trump’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration, a central issue of his presidency and his 2024 re-election campaign. With a focus on border security, ending sanctuary policies, and tightening federal spending, Trump’s executive order represents yet another step in his administration’s effort to reverse the policies of his predecessor and enforce strict immigration laws.

Crime

Cartel threats against border agents include explosives, drones

Published on February 18, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

Cartels are intensifying their threats against U.S. Border Patrol and ICE agents, employing increasingly sophisticated tactics, including drones, wireless tracking devices, and potential explosive attacks. As President Donald Trump strengthens border security measures, agents face growing dangers both at and beyond the southern border. Experts warn that these threats are an effort to counteract the administration’s immigration enforcement policies.

Key Details:

Cartels are using drones and wireless tracking to monitor and potentially attack Border Patrol and ICE agents.
The discovery of a security risk tied to body cameras has led CBP to suspend their use to prevent agents from being tracked.
Leaks of ICE raids pose additional threats, increasing the risk of ambushes against agents conducting enforcement operations.

Diving Deeper:

Cartels along the U.S.-Mexico border are becoming more aggressive as President Trump enforces stricter immigration policies, with reports indicating that border agents are facing an escalating range of security threats. Fox News reports that Mexican cartels are leveraging new technology to track and potentially harm Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, emphasized that cartels are feeling the pressure from Trump’s border policies and are resorting to dangerous countermeasures. “The cartels are losing business. The encounters at the border are the lowest they’ve been in decades, and the cartels are not just going to give up that business quietly,” Ries told Fox News.

Among the threats agents face are drones used for surveillance, gunfire from across the border, and even the possibility of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). A recent internal memo warned that cartels might be planning to use snipers positioned in Mexico to attack U.S. agents. Additionally, agents are now vulnerable to tracking through wireless technology, prompting CBP to suspend the use of body-worn cameras after a social media post revealed they could be exploited via Bluetooth scanning apps.

The suspension of body cameras has raised concerns about increased false claims against border agents. Ries warned that “the number of claims of abuse are about to jump to exploit this lack of camera use,” underscoring the challenges agents will face without recorded footage of their encounters.

Beyond external threats from cartels, agents must also contend with internal security risks. Leaks about upcoming ICE raids have made enforcement operations more dangerous, potentially exposing agents to ambushes. Ries noted, “That subjects ICE agents to an ambush… Worse would be if aliens stay here and attack ICE agents, that is a risk.”

To counter these threats, border security experts stress the need for increased congressional funding to provide CBP and ICE agents with enhanced technology, equipment, and manpower. Ries urged lawmakers to act swiftly, stating, “Congress needs to hurry up” to ensure agents have the necessary resources to carry out Trump’s mass deportation efforts and secure the southern border.

As cartels escalate their tactics in response to Trump’s immigration policies, the safety of border agents remains a growing concern, highlighting the urgent need for stronger enforcement and security measures.