This is the first of a three part discussion of the new 884 page Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act

Eight years ago while serving with the FBI, the press often reported that there were 11 million illegal immigrants in the US, information I had access to indicated the numbers were higher.  Today, the left of center liberal media establishment still reports there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US, indicating for over the last 8 years not one single illegal immigrant has entered the United States.   According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration/to the United States  between 700,000 and 1.5 million illegal immigrants enter the US and take residency each year.  If you the lower figure of 700,000 were used, then 5.6 million illegal immigrants would have entered the US over the last 8 years; using the low estimate of how many illegal immigrants have taken residency over the last 8 years and the 11 million figure the press has been using for many years, a very conservative figure of 16.6 million illegal immigrants is a more correct number that are in the country according to the Wikipedia study.  Another source for the number of estimated illegal immigrants in the US is to use the number listed in the NPR’s  Study Details Lives of Illegal Immigrants in U.S., of 20 million which is a corrected number often used today in other editorials.  Using both studies, the most probable average number of illegals Immigrates in the US today is somewhere between 16.6 and 20 million; the conservative figure would be 18+ million, not the 11 million figure promulgated by the press year after year. The 844 page Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act currently being negotiated in the US Senate by the gang of 8 Senators keeps referring to 11 million illegal immigrants, not the 18+ million illegal immigrates currently residing in the US.

The terrorist bombing attack in Boston that was executed by two Chechen terrorists on April 15th should be considered for National Security reasons in drafting the new Immigration Act, because of how the two Chechen terrorist operated under DHS’ radar, the new Immigration Act must reviewed with knowledge of the below listed information being considered before it becomes the law of the land.    Because of how the strike went down, most experienced counterterrorism analysts will tell you the two terrorists had to have significant and sustained training on how to build the explosive devices used, and how to employ them to create the largest number of casualties.  In light of the background information being developed on the Boston attack, the Senate should proceed slowly with an abundance of caution in considering its proposed new immigration policy, and the manner in which the new Act would require DHS to provide intelligence agencies with information on criminal and terrorist activities perpetrated by resident immigrants in the US.  DHS failed in that area of responsibility with regard to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the 26-year-old terrorist killed in a wild shootout while he was aggressively charging,  firing his weapons, and throwing explosives devices at the Watertown Police Officers and members of the Massachusetts State Police. 

In January 2011, the Russia’s intelligence service warned the FBI that Tamerlan Tsarnaev had global Jihadist connections and was a follower of radical Islam. In January 2011, two Special Agents of the FBI from the Bureau’s Boston Field Office interviewed Tamerlan and his family members; they told Tamerlan it was “a prophylactic interview, so that no one sets off bombs on the streets of Boston.”  The FBI relayed to Russian intelligence that they did not find any terrorism activity, domestic, or foreign in their investigation.  One year later in January 2012, Tamerlan traveled to Chechnya, and Dagestan, the predominately Muslim Republics of the north Caucasus region of Russia to work with underground groups in Dagestan for 6 months, including the Caucuses Emirates.  When Tamerlan returned to the US he created a YouTube page in August 2012 in support of the Global Jihadist effort.  According to the New York Times: “Tamerlan’s page created and featured multiple jihadist videos, that he had endorsed. One video featured the preaching of Abdul al-Hamid al-Juhani, an important ideologue in Chechnya; another focused on Feiz Mohammad, an extremist Salafi Lebanese preacher based in Australia. He also created a playlist of songs by a Russian musical artist, Timur Mucuraev, one of which promoted jihad, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors statements by jihadists”.  It was readily apparent that Tamerlan had been converted by the radical Islam outreach and probably had sympathizers to his views posted on the Internet in his local Mosque.   The FBI never questioned Tamerlan when he returned from Dagestan in August 2012.  In addition, nothing was done by DHS when Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as a resident immigrant, was arrested and convicted of domestic violence in 2009 and his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaev, was caught shoplifting (she is back in Russia). 

There are some similarities in background with the Fort Hood terrorist attack executed by Major Nidal Hassan, who had also been affected by the same radical Islam outreach that affected Tamerlan Tsarnaev.  While yelling “Allah Akbar” at the top of his lungs, Major Nidal Hassan killed 13  Army personnel in uniform (including a pregnant soldier), and wounded 32 additional military and law enforcement personnel in a premeditated terrorist attack on the Fort Hood US Army Base.  Nidal Hassan’s terrorist attack is still being referred to as work place violence by the Obama Administration (those personnel who were murdered and wounded in that terrorist act against the US military should have been issued Purple Heart Medals).  In both instances where two US citizens, perpetrated two separate terrorist attacks  (Major Hassan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev the surviving 19 year old Chechen terrorist), by federal law they can be legally re-classified as “enemy combatants, ”and they should no longer be accorded the same protection accorded to US citizens.  They should both be properly interrogated in depth to ferret out any knowledge they may have of terrorist networks in the US, and also to protect Americans from future terrorist attacks (will the Obama Administration treat Dzhokhar as an “enemy combatant” or as an American citizen and will he be given his Miranda rights so intelligence agencies will not be able to obtain important information by interrogating him?).  A review of how the current Immigration laws permitted the two Chechen terrorists to operate under the radar of DHS, even with an abundance of warnings discussed above, and how the new proposed Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act will be drafted in its final form to prevent future potential terrorists like Major Hassan and Tamerlan Tsarnaev from escaping the scrutiny of the FBI and DHS, the new Act must be reviewed and certain provisions incorporated in the act to protect the American people form potential terrorist among the 18+ million illegal Immigrants in the US.  To rapidly push thru this bill in the senate to allow 18+ million Illegal Immigrants from all over the world to be issued Work Permits, then Green Cards, that would eventually lead them to become US citizens, without proper safeguards, would be another irresponsible legislative act by Congress, like the passage of the flawed and irresponsible Obama Health Care Bill that will eventually cost $6 trillion according to the CATO Institute.