President Trump says he's moving forward with plans to designate the Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, the same as ISIS. The designation is not official yet. That’s good, because someone needs to hit the pause button on this. Here's why. By Todd Bensman as originally published December 3, 2019 by The Federalist President Trump’s surprise revelation last week to talk show … [Read more...] about Why Trump Should Hit Pause On Designating Mexican Cartels As Terrorists
Securing America's Borders
Hold Off! Designating Mexican Cartels as Terrorists Could Dilute War on Jihadists
The national security justifications that proponents of FTO designation pose are unpersuasive, and there's no evidence that they or anyone in government have done the serious analysis or planning — or any deep thinking at all, frankly — to assess the impacts of adding tens of thousands of Mexican "terrorists" to America's counterterrorism efforts against Islamic jihadist organizations. … [Read more...] about Hold Off! Designating Mexican Cartels as Terrorists Could Dilute War on Jihadists
Crowd-funded ‘We Build the Wall’ Starts Texas Project Despite ‘Butterfly People,’ ‘Rogue Priests’ and ‘Freaks’
The controversial nonprofit wall-building group We Build the Wall is now in South Texas tilling the soil of its second project, a 3.5-mile build along the Rio Grande River. It took no time at all for opponents to complain. Expect the fighting to become a feature of Texas for a long time to come. By Todd Bensman as published by the Center for Immigration Studies on November 26, 2019 MISSION, … [Read more...] about Crowd-funded ‘We Build the Wall’ Starts Texas Project Despite ‘Butterfly People,’ ‘Rogue Priests’ and ‘Freaks’
American justice caught up to a smuggler of suspected Yemeni terrorists through Mexico
Moayad Heider Mohammad Aldairi's case is interesting because it briefly illuminates a fascinating kind of American counterterrorism-immigration operation reporters must do acrobatic yoga to avoid covering. The Aldairi case also demonstrates why this exotic sort of human smuggling presents a national security threat to the homeland and has spawned James Bondian foreign efforts to take other … [Read more...] about American justice caught up to a smuggler of suspected Yemeni terrorists through Mexico
What Terrorist Migration Over European Borders Can Teach About American Border Security
The Center for Immigration Studies published the results of a yearlong study of migrants who crossed Europe’s external borders and conducted attacks or who were arrested and killed committing terrorism crimes. This paper quantifies for the first time how many border-crossing migrants attacked in Europe and analyzes consequences for U.S. border security, among them: a moderate, high-consequence … [Read more...] about What Terrorist Migration Over European Borders Can Teach About American Border Security
Overturned Migrant Boat on the Mexican Coast: Bigger Picture Takeaways on Dead African Migrants
Deaths like these have causal roots in American failure to stop and deter mass migration for far too long. It was the American failure to sew up asylum abuse and catch-and-release loopholes at the southern border that, once word of them widely spread to poor countries of Africa, ignited an inexorable and dangerous mass migration. By Todd Bensman as originally published by … [Read more...] about Overturned Migrant Boat on the Mexican Coast: Bigger Picture Takeaways on Dead African Migrants
Facts About How a Deportable Criminal Alien Was Left Free to Kill Are Excluded from Murder Trial
A key element of Jared Vargas's murder was hermetically excluded from the trial: That murderer Ernesto Esquivel-Garcia was a criminal illegal immigrant from Mexico who could have been deported before he killed Vargas, but wasn't. Now the Vargas family embarks on a life-long quest, if that's what it takes, to find out who in the U.S. immigration system did this to Jared. By Todd Bensman as … [Read more...] about Facts About How a Deportable Criminal Alien Was Left Free to Kill Are Excluded from Murder Trial
The First Illegal Border-Crossing Terrorist is on Trial. But Don’t Expect the Media to Cover It
Trump, after all the media ridicule, was correct in saying that potential terrorists have illegally crossed the United States' southern border. Abdulahi Hasan Sharif of Somalia did. And it could happen again. Expect no coverage from American media, because that would require emphatic acknowledgement that a terrorist actually crossed the border and attacked. By Todd Bensman as originally … [Read more...] about The First Illegal Border-Crossing Terrorist is on Trial. But Don’t Expect the Media to Cover It
Why African Migrants Are Fighting Mexican Troops
The Mexican military is detaining thousands of Africans, Middle Easterners, Russians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Ethiopians and other migrants from around the world. They are trying with all their might to continue on to the U.S. border. Here’s what the struggle is all about and why the outcome matters to America By Todd Bensman as originally published in Townhall on October 10, 2019 More … [Read more...] about Why African Migrants Are Fighting Mexican Troops
Trial to Begin for Somali Who Crossed the U.S.-Mexico Border and Committed Alleged Vehicle Ramming Attack in Canada
The upcoming Canadian trial of a Somali terrorist may reveal new details about his travel from Africa to Mexico, then California, and finally to Canada — but a full investigation by our DHS Inspector General would be more fruitful. By Todd Bensman as published by the Center for Immigration Studies October 1, 2019 What ever happened to the House Oversight and Reform Committee's October … [Read more...] about Trial to Begin for Somali Who Crossed the U.S.-Mexico Border and Committed Alleged Vehicle Ramming Attack in Canada