Mexican Immigration and Radical Muslim Terrorism
Do the facts support a US/Mexico Border Threat?
Part 1 of 2

The two top contenders to the upcoming 2016 Republican presidential nomination have made the security of the US-Mexican border the cornerstone of their political rhetoric. Both Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have promised to seal the border between the United States and Mexico. The two candidates have used the threat to the US homeland by radical Muslims as the significant reason why the border with Mexico must be secured before any discussion about immigration reform can be had. The question that no one has bothered to ask is how many radical Muslim terrorists have used the US-Mexico border to mount an attack on the US homeland?

It has been almost 16 years since radical Muslims attacked the United States on 9/11. Since then surveillance and security have been increased along the US-Mexican border. The US homeland has been bolstered with additional security agencies and added surveillance across the country. Even then, there are almost 100 individuals currently being prosecuted or have been jailed for jihadist Muslim terrorism within the United States.

If the US-Mexico border is a dangerous route for ISIS/ISIL terrorism, then it would stand to reason that there would be evidence of the dangers within the last 15 years. If, as Cruz and Trump argue, the US-Mexico border is dangerously unguarded then surely there would be evidence of that in almost 100 Muslim extremists currently in the US judicial system for terrorism charges. More importantly, if the US-Mexico border is as dangerous as the GOP would have you believe then it would stand to reason that before the heightened security of 9/11 the border would have been used to give radical Muslim terrorists access to the US to mount an attack.

To answer these two questions, I analyzed how the 19 terrorists got into the country to mount their attacks on 9/11. An obvious question is, how many used the US-Mexico border?

However, I expect the GOP pretenders to argue that the threat is in the future. The future does not happen in a vacuum as there are historical patterns that develop towards the future. If the US-Mexico border gives radical Muslims access to attack the United States, then there would be evidence of that in the cases that have been prosecuted for terrorism within the US borders.

Many far-right proponents consistently rely on dubious publications espousing a dangerous border. All of the examples to date that show radical Muslim extremism on the border or in Mexico relies on commentary from individuals that do not want to be identified. Unable to identify them makes it extremely difficult to verify their claims. Because of the lack of supporting evidence and my own experiences on the border, I find it highly dubious that ISIS/ISIL or any other radical Islamic terrorist has mounted a US attack via the US/Mexico border. Unfortunately, my thoughts on this are difficult to prove. Therefore, I set out to try and prove my theory through irrefutable evidence.

To do this, I decided to analyze over 70 cases of criminal prosecutions tied to radical Muslims that have been prosecuted or are in the process of being prosecuted under terrorism charges. The question is simple, how many radical Muslim terrorists entered through or accessed the United States via the US-Mexico border?

But first, as always, I must dispel a myth that is often pushed forth by agenda driven politicians on the national stage. None of the nineteen 9/11 terrorists entered through Canada or Mexico.

More importantly, none of the terrorists bypassed any immigration check points. All of the terrorists had valid visas to enter the United States and all of them were inspected by US immigration officials before being allowed to enter the United States. All of them, by more than one US official.

Many of the terrorists entered and left the United States through international checkpoints more than once, some many times, before they hijacked the airplanes on 9/11. Each time they returned they were inspected by US immigration officials.

However, the important fact that needs to be understood is that none of the 9/11 terrorists used Mexico or the US/Mexico border as an entry point into the United States.

In tomorrow’s post, I’ll share with you my analysis of over 70 radical Muslim terrorists prosecuted by US officials for terrorism within the borders of the United States. I believe you will be shocked to learn how many Jihadists have entered the United States through the US/Mexico border. It is not what you have been led to believe.

Below is a list of 9/11 hijackers listing name, nationality, visa type and last point of entry into the United States:

1. Mohamed Atta: citizen of Egypt – B1/B2 Visa Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport via Madrid (American Airlines Flight 11 hijacker – pilot)
2. Fayez Ahmed Rashid Ahmed al-Qadi Banihammad: citizen of the United Arab Emirates – B1/B2 Visa Orlando, Florida from Dubai, United Arab Emirates United (Airlines Flight 175 hijacker)
3. Ahmed al-Ghamdi: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Dulles International Airport, Washington DC (United Airlines Flight 175 hijacker)
4. Hamza Saleh al-Ghamdi: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Miami International Airport via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (United Airlines Flight 175 hijacker)
5. Saeed al-Ghamdi: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Orlando, Florida via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (United Airlines Flight 93 hijacker)
6. Hani Hasan Hanjour: citizen of Saudi Arabia – F Visa Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (American Airlines Flight 77 hijacker – pilot)
7. Salem al-Hazmi: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa JFK Airport, New York via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (American Airlines Flight 77 hijacker)
8. Nawaf al-Hazmi: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Los Angeles International Airport via Bangkok, Thailand (American Airlines Flight 77 hijacker)
9. Ahmed Ibrahim A. al-Haznawi: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Miami International Airport via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (United Airlines Flight 93 hijacker)
10. Ziad Samir Jarrah: citizen of Lebanon – B1 Visa Atlanta via Amsterdam (United Airlines Flight 93 hijacker – pilot)
11. Khalid al-Mihdhar: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa JFK Airport (American Airlines Flight 77 hijacker)
12. Majed Moqed: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Dulles International Airport, Washington DC (American Airlines Flight 77 hijacker)
13. Ahmed Abdullah al-Nami: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Miami International Airport via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (United Airlines Flight 93 hijacker)
14. Abdul Aziz al-Omari: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa JFK Airport, New York via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (American Airlines Flight 11 hijacker)
15. Marwan al-Shehhi: citizen of the United Arab Emirates – B1/B2 Visa Miami (United Airlines Flight hijacker – pilot)
16. Mohand al-Shehri: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Miami International Airport via Dubai, United Arab Emirates hijacker (United Airlines Flight 175 hijacker)
17. Wail al-Shehri: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1 Visa Miami International Airport via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (American Airlines Flight 11 hijacker)
18. Waleed al-Shehri: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1 Visa Orlando Florida via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (American Airlines Flight 11 hijacker)
19. Satam al-Suqami: citizen of Saudi Arabia – B1/B2 Visa Orlando, Florida via Dubai, United Emirates (American Airlines Flight 11 hijacker)

Visa types:
B1: tourist visa
B2: business visa
F: Student visa

Sources:
Primary source: 9/11 And Terrorist Travel, Staff Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Staff Report. August 21, 2004
Additional sources include various news media reports and FBI news media releases