Budapest, Hungary Parliament Building, Photo by Todd Bensman The arrest of Hassan also raises the question of whether Greece, as a key refugee transit country, is properly vetting higher risk migrants for potential ties to ISIS before granting refugee status and conferring its benefits. The United States has reportedly been assisting Greece, to some extent, in vetting incoming migrants … [Read more...] about ISIS Commander Arrested in Hungary Held Refugee Passport Enabling Unrestricted Air Travel
Securing U.S. Borders
Reporting from Panama and Costa Rica: Evidence that Central American Countries Help Middle Easterners and Terrorist Suspects Illegally Enter The United States
In December 2018, the Center for Immigration Studies dispatched Senior National Security Fellow Todd Bensman to Panama and Costa Rica to investigate President Donald Trump’s widely ridiculed assertions that suspected terrorists had been apprehended among Middle East migrants through Latin America. Hint: It was all true. Video reports, photos, and writings from the trip can be found here. and … [Read more...] about Reporting from Panama and Costa Rica: Evidence that Central American Countries Help Middle Easterners and Terrorist Suspects Illegally Enter The United States
Yemenis Smuggled over Texas Border Wearing Hard-Hats and Reflective Vests
The latest on an eight-count alien-smuggling indictment charging that a Jordanian with dual Mexican citizenship illegally transported at least seven Yemenis over the southern border in 2017 — near the same Piedras Negras (Mexico)-Eagle Pass (Texas) border-crossing that members of the last Central American migrant caravan were hoping to reach before Mexico detained them. By Todd Bensman on … [Read more...] about Yemenis Smuggled over Texas Border Wearing Hard-Hats and Reflective Vests
Can and Should Mexican Cartels be Designated as Terrorist Organizations?
By Todd Bensman as published at Center for Immigration Studies on February 26, 2019 Calling for Mexico's drug-trafficking cartels to be designated as foreign terrorist organizations has long earned easy gold stars for the GOP side of the ledger, with really no possible downside. After all, who is not repelled by organizations that behead victims, run houses of torture, co-opt … [Read more...] about Can and Should Mexican Cartels be Designated as Terrorist Organizations?
Two Senators Ask What Became of Obama-Era Program to Counter Terrorist Infiltration at Southern Border
former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson feared "special interest alien" migration over the southern border to such an extent that he ordered a major interdiction program in June 2016 By Todd Bensman as published by the Center for Immigration Studies on February 25, 2019 Last August, the Center for Immigration Studies exclusively published a three-page memorandum by former DHS … [Read more...] about Two Senators Ask What Became of Obama-Era Program to Counter Terrorist Infiltration at Southern Border
Video: Panel Discussion at The National Press Club, Center for a Secure and Safe Society regarding migrant caravans and Latin America security
Full video is now available of the February 12 panel discussion on which I participated at The National Press Club, for the Center for a Secure and Free Society. Topic: Migrant Caravans and security in Latin America. I recommend watching the whole thing; my part begins at about Minute 37. But Guatemala's Minister of Intelligence was on hand and was very interesting as well. … [Read more...] about Video: Panel Discussion at The National Press Club, Center for a Secure and Safe Society regarding migrant caravans and Latin America security
Inside Mexico’s Migrant Caravan Shelter near the Texas Rio Grande Border
During a mid-February visit to the Texas-Mexico border, Bensman gained exclusive, rare access to the improvised migrant detention camp in Piedras Negras and also toured the American law enforcement defense arrayed on the other side against a potential mass entry into Texas. In the end, he found, it is the migrants who will get everything they wanted. Originally published by the Center for … [Read more...] about Inside Mexico’s Migrant Caravan Shelter near the Texas Rio Grande Border
A Terror Case the Travel Ban Would Have Prevented
Opponents have decried the policy as a racist and religiously discriminatory "Muslim ban." But this defies the fact that Muslim-majority countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, and many other Muslim-majority countries are not designated. Why would this be? Because these Muslim-majority countries keep criminal and intelligence records and share them with America. As … [Read more...] about A Terror Case the Travel Ban Would Have Prevented
An Open Call for Corrections to the New York Times for Misleading on Illegal Migration from Islamic Countries
I call on Linda Qiu’s editors at The New York Times to issue up to four corrections and clarifications regarding migration to the U.S. southern border of migrants from the Middle East and Muslim-majority nations where terrorist organizations are ubiquitous. Qui claimed that such migration is not happening and is a baseless conspiracy theory. The former Politi-fact reporter is hardly alone in … [Read more...] about An Open Call for Corrections to the New York Times for Misleading on Illegal Migration from Islamic Countries
From Panama and Costa Rica: Video and Reports from Terror Travel Threat Investigation
President Donald Trump's claims that Middle Eastern migrants were traveling Central American routes to the U.S. border, among them some Islamic terrorists, spawned a confused national debate that never quite moved past disputes over just the basic facts. Such as: Can, have, and do migrants from countries of terrorism concern, where Islamic terrorist groups operate, actually travel through Latin … [Read more...] about From Panama and Costa Rica: Video and Reports from Terror Travel Threat Investigation