Some US Cities, like San Francisco, have declared themselves as "Sancturary
Cities" where
police officers may not even ask if somebody is illegal and above
all, must not report them
to the feds if they are. Their attitude is that somebody's
status is a federal problem and none
of their business.
After September 11 and several thousand of their citizens had just
been murdered, New York
and some surrounding cities didn't seem to think this was "none
of their business" (although
many have changed their minds, since).
Following are a few items where local law enforcement didn't think
somebody's legal status
was important - - and the consequences of that decision:
Item: Saudi National, Nawaf al Hazmi entered the US through L.A.
Airport with a B2 tourist visa
on Jan. 15, 2000. He rented an apartment with fellow hijacker,
Khalid al Mihdhar in San Diego
and lived there for more than a year. The B2 is good for only
six months, so by July 15, 2000,
he was illegal.
On April 1, 2001, he was stoped for speeding in Oklahoma while traveling
cross country with
fellow hijacker, Hani Hanjour. Had the officer making the
stop asked a few questions and
determined that Hazmi was in violation of US Immigration law
at the time, he could have
arrested him.
Mohammed Atta, the Egyptian ringleader of the 9/11 attacks who was
at the controls of
American Airlines, Flight 11 when it crashed into the World Trade
Center, entered the US
on numerous occasions, using B1 and B2 visas which are for temporary
visits for business
and tourism, respectively, beginning June 3, 2000.
On April 26, 2001, a police officer in Broward County, Florida, stopped
Atta for a traffic
violation and ticketed him for possessing an invalid driver's license.
The officer did not
know, but could have found out Atta had overstayed his visa.
Within days of this stop,
Atta obtained a valid Florida driver's license, despite his illegal
status. He failed to appear
on April 26 for the ticket and a bench warrant was issued for
him.
On July 5, 2001, Atta was pulled over for another traffic violation
in Florida_ this time in
Palm Beach County. The police officer was unaware of the
bench warrant in a neighboring
County and issued a warning and let him drive away.
During this time, Atta, using phony documents took a ride on an
American Airlines flight in
the Jump seat of the cockpit, where he learned some of the procedures
he needed to know
to pilot a plane. The pilot realized something was phony
about him, but didn't follow up.
Hani Hanjour, the Saudi who was at the flight controls of American
Airlines, flight 77 when
it hit the Pentagon, entered the US on a student visa on December
8, 2000. He was in violation
immediately when he failed to show up for classes at the ELS languange
center in Oakland,
CA.
Hanjour was pulled over for speeding in Arlington County, VA on
Aug. 1, 2001. Blissfully
unaware of Hanjour's immigration status, the officer issued him
a ticket and allowed him
to drive away.
Ziad Jarrah who was at the controls of United Flight 93 entered the
U.S. on June 27, 2000
through the Atlanta airport, on a B2, tourist visa. He immediatly
violated his tourist status
by going directly to the flight training center in Venice, FL.
He was therefore, detainable and
removable from the US almost from the moment of entry.
Jarrah , at 12:09 a.m., on Sept 9, 2001, two days before the attack,
was clocked doing 90 mph
on I 95 in Maryland. He was traveling from Baltimore to
Newark to rendezvous with other
members of the team. The trooper did not know that
Jarrah was in violation (his visa had
also expired), so issued him a ticket with a $270 fine - - which
was found in the glove
compartment of the car left at the Newark airport.
In each of these cases, the officers could have easily determined
the immigration status
by calling the Law Enforcement Support Center (open 24/7), designed
to let officers know
if a person is here illegally.
Had officers detained Atta, Hanjour, and Jarrah, three of the
pilots, they would have been
out of the picture. It is difficult to imagine that the
attack could have been carried out
successfully with three of the pilots, plus the leader and second
in command in custody.
Yet, the US Senate passed s.2611 last
month which strips local police of arrest authority
over aliens. It seems the US Senate
is marching backward toward total freedom for
aliens to do whatever damage they want
to AMERICA.
Any politicians who voted for this monstrocity
(including Washington States two), is
demonstrably incompetent and needs to be
replaced.
SEE ALSO How is could have been stopped - But for politicall correctness