Jawad insists he's no terrorist, and that may be true. But American homeland security authorities at the U.S. border won't want to take him strictly at his word, nor should they. Whether Jawad and his friend were with the Pakistani Taliban, against them, or indifferent to them is a question that American law enforcement intelligence officers on the U.S. border will almost certainly want to get … [Read more...] about A Rare Interview with a Pakistani Migrant in Costa Rica en Route to the U.S. Border
Securing America's Borders
Four U.S.-Bound Iranian Migrants Underline National Security Concerns about Migration from Special Interest Countries
(As published by the Center for Immigration Studies) By Todd Bensman on December 13, 2018 GOLFITO, Costa Rica — The four Iranians told me they first saw me hundreds of miles south, in a Panamanian migration camp 15 miles off the main road, at the end of a dirt track in the Darien jungle. The one who spoke some English told me they had been … [Read more...] about Four U.S.-Bound Iranian Migrants Underline National Security Concerns about Migration from Special Interest Countries
Video: How America Filters Potential Terrorists in Central America
By Todd Bensman PASO CANOAS, Costa Rica – At least every other day, the long arm of America's counterterrorism effort reaches out and touches this essentially lawless, smuggler-ridden town on the Panama-Costa Rica border According to an agreement between Panama and Costa Rica, busloads of northward-moving migrants that American homeland security authorities know as "special interest … [Read more...] about Video: How America Filters Potential Terrorists in Central America
Four U.S.-Bound Iranian Migrants Underline National Security Concerns about Migration from Special Interest Countries
Maybe they'll achieve their asylum claims. But whatever happens, they're all in for serious interrogations once they reach the American border; At issue for American intelligence personnel who will flock to whatever detention center they're in, of course, will be determining whether they are Iranian intelligence agents, members of Hezbollah's notorious Unit 910, or merely victims of a harsh … [Read more...] about Four U.S.-Bound Iranian Migrants Underline National Security Concerns about Migration from Special Interest Countries
VIDEO Report: How America Uses Bio-metrics to Filter Potential Terrorists in Distant Lands
American homeland security authorities have long been wary about unidentified migrants who emigrate from Muslim-majority countries where Islamist terrorist organizations operate. So the U.S. has provided equipment and training to Panama, Costa Rica and other Central American countries to collect fingerprints, facial-recognition photos and retinal eye scans. By Todd Bensman as originally … [Read more...] about VIDEO Report: How America Uses Bio-metrics to Filter Potential Terrorists in Distant Lands
More than 100 migrants on terror watch lists caught at U.S. southern border or enroute 2012-2017 – New Center for Immigration Studies Report
On several occasions in October 2018, President Donald Trump and some administration officials suggested that migrants from Middle Eastern countries might have traveled among the thousands of Hondurans in a U.S.-bound column. Later, the president stated he had "very good information" that Middle Eastern migrants had been traveling through Latin America for a number of years, independently of … [Read more...] about More than 100 migrants on terror watch lists caught at U.S. southern border or enroute 2012-2017 – New Center for Immigration Studies Report
Column in The Federalist: If Recent Patterns Hold, Terrorists could end up in any Migrant Caravan
By Todd Bensman Middle Easterners do travel the same routes as Hondurans to the U.S. southern border, and rising numbers of suspected terrorists have been apprehended at the border in recent years. President Trump’s recent claim that some Middle Easterners might be among caravan members moving north from Honduras provoked a storm of inquest seeking proof. The president had none to … [Read more...] about Column in The Federalist: If Recent Patterns Hold, Terrorists could end up in any Migrant Caravan
Dispatches from Army Tex-Mex Border Op Formerly Known as ‘Operation Faithful Patriot’
Photos and Video from Bensman's unauthorized visit with U.S. troops of the 19th Engineer Battalion deployed to the Texas-Mexico border Hidalgo, Texas – Unauthorized. That was pretty much the mark on my forehead as far as all the public information officers were concerned. On the morning of my second day to check in on the border military operation formerly known as Operation Faithful Patriot, … [Read more...] about Dispatches from Army Tex-Mex Border Op Formerly Known as ‘Operation Faithful Patriot’
What’s at Stake when Bangladeshis Arrive at the U.S. Southwest Border, in a Migrant Caravan or Not
Out of President Donald Trump's suggestion that "unknown Middle Easterners" might be traveling with the Honduran migrant caravans came disclosures about other nationalities who were traveling either with the caravans or on the same U.S.-border-bound routes. Univision reported that Bangladeshis were spotted moving northward in the migrant caravan alongside Central Americans. … [Read more...] about What’s at Stake when Bangladeshis Arrive at the U.S. Southwest Border, in a Migrant Caravan or Not
Eight Recommendations to Congress and the White House to Counter Potential Terror Travel to the U.S. Southern Border
In recent years, unusually elevated numbers of migrants from countries of special interest reaching the U.S.-Mexico border have been found to match U.S. terrorism "watch lists" — the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE), or the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB). Such migrants are known as "special interest aliens" (SIAs). These are aliens with citizenship in some 30 countries of … [Read more...] about Eight Recommendations to Congress and the White House to Counter Potential Terror Travel to the U.S. Southern Border