The Dangers Ahead in Afghani Mass Resettlement

A policy that was ill-advised in one period can be catastrophic in another. Judging from President Biden and his administration’s performance, it’s clear they’ve learned nothing in the past 25 years. Only now, the stakes are higher than ever.

The fateful events of 9-11 were followed by one news story after another telling an incredulous America about the dysfunction in America’s immigration controls. 9-11 hijackers had overstayed visas, obtained multiple driver’s licenses and engaged in all manner of activities inconsistent with the terms of their original admissions to the U.S., and yet no one had flagged their unlawful presence. Additionally, schools enrolled students without proper verification of status.

Similarly, in 1993, Ramzi Yousef (who bombed the World Trade Center the first time) came legally through the U.S.-Canada border although flags had been raised in Dubai regarding his terror connections.  Agencies charged with intelligence sharing failed to communicate with one another.

The United States entered Afghanistan because of 9-11.  Twenty years later, the Taliban has well-equipped militarily and is in control of the entire country. That Middle Eastern nation is once again an incubator for terror.

While some improvements have been made in biometric identification at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. borders are today a total sieve, and we have an administration that doesn’t believe strong immigration controls are consistent with “our values.”  Aliens are routinely released without proper verification of identity.

Recommendations made after 9-11 by multiple commissions and committees have been ignored. Years have been consumed trying to implement document security proposals like REAL ID.  Visa overstays continue unabated and unenforced. The administration continues to admit hundreds of thousands via “humanitarian parole,” while refugee and asylum claims and admissions go through the roof.

Throughout the Trump administration, the ACLU fought needed immigration and security improvements, and once elected, Biden threw the rest out the window. In essence, two decades after 9-11, the U.S. is more vulnerable to international terrorism than ever.

Biden has now begun an open-ended influx of Afghani refugees, nationals and untold numbers of others who just claim they do not want to live under Sharia law. Vetting is supposed to take place overseas before they are admitted, but the process is rushed and often without real identification verification. DHS is then responsible for resettling them throughout the United States.

There are real problems with all that. 

One, DHS – created in the wake of 9-11 to defend the homeland — is now run by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, perhaps the most irresponsible head of DHS in its history. His commitment to border security and enforcement law compliance is beyond nonexistent. His interest in proper vetting?  Laughable.

Secondly, many – perhaps most – of these being screened have inadequate or no identification, and no matching biometric records.  Count on the Biden administration to admit first, and ask question later – perhaps when it’s much too late.

Third, no effort is being made to ascertain if those wanting to enter the U.S. hold views that are compatible with living in a republican democracy and an adherence to our First Amendment principles of religious freedom and toleration. 

All this is against a backdrop featuring an administration that does not believe aliens should ever be deported or removed to their home countries. Once in, you’re in. Until they push an amnesty and otherwise defer indefinitely any possibility of removal.

Western nations have experienced years of disruptions attempting to digest millions fleeing Middle East instability and violence. There are limits to any society’s ability to manage the assimilation of so many people over so short a time.

A nation that fails to learn from past mistakes is doomed not only to repeat them, but to experience even greater consequences. A lot is riding on the outcome of the Biden administration’s knee-jerk and poorly planned actions. Surely history teaches we must be prepared for the worst.