Immigration: Terrorist Grounds for Exclusion of Aliens

Abstract

In the years following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, considerable concern has been raised because the 19 terrorists were aliens (i.e., noncitizens or foreign nationals) who apparently entered the United States on temporary visas despite provisions in immigration law that bar the admission of suspected terrorists. The report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission) contended that (t)here were opportunities for intelligence and law enforcement to exploit al Qaeda's travel vulnerabilities. The 9/11 Commission maintained that border security was not considered a national security matter prior to September 11, and as a result the consular and immigration officers were not treated as full partners in counterterrorism efforts. The 9/11 Commission's monograph, 9/11 and Terrorist Travel, underscored the importance of the border security functions of immigration law and policy. Several proposals in the 108th Congress to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission had notable implications for U.S. counterterrorism efforts and border security. The most significant of these proposals were H.R. 10, the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act, as amended, introduced by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert and passed by the House as S. 2845 on October 8, 2004, and S. 2845, the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, as amended, introduced by Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman and passed by the Senate on October 8, 2004. The conference report on S. 2845 passed the House on December 7 and the Senate on December 8, 2004. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458), a compromise bill signed on December 17, 2004 includes some but not all of the immigration provisions that were originally under consideration.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 30, 2005
Accession Number
ADA453630

Entities

People

  • Michael J. Garcia
  • Ruth E. Wasem

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Antiterrorism
  • Authentication
  • Biometric Security
  • Border Security
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Counterterrorism
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Employment
  • Foreign Policy
  • Foreign Relations
  • Homeland Security
  • International Organizations
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.