Speech #1140001956

Madam President. the attacks on the people of France demonstrate in the most chilling terms the threats posed to Western nations by those who are imbued with Islamic terrorism. While there are many factors that play into the spread of this jihadist ideology in the West. it is time for an honest and plain admission that our open immigration policies are ineffective and have failed to meet the minimum standards that are set by existing law in the United States. This is something I have been dealing with for quite a number of yearsa decade really. We have laws that would improve dramatically our ability to identify and block terrorists from entering and staying in the country. but they are not funded and they are not carried out and it is unacceptable. as I will point out. Dozens of terrorists and terror plotters have been admitted to the United States on visas or are relying on broader networks to simply enter into our country. taking advantage of lax immigration policies. For instance. the 9/11 attackers all came here on visas. A visa is a document that allows an individual to come for a limited period of time and then return to their home country. This visa system is essential in a modern world. but it needs to be managed and carried out in an effective way. The Boston bombers came as asylees. people seeking asylum. while their mosque was linked to foreign nationals tied to ISIS and foreign terrorists. The individual behind the attempted Christmas bombing in Oregon was a refugee. We have a class of individuals we accept each year who claim to be refugees from foreign countries. This one was from Somalia. The recently foiled plot to bomb a courthouse and school in Connecticut was attempted by a Moroccan national who had a revoked student visa. Many individuals have visas to be students in the United States. We are not managing that well at all. This one had a revoked student visa. It was revoked because of information that came to the attention of officials. but no one made an effort or successfully attempted in any real way to find the individual so he might be deported. Al Qaeda operatives who were apprehended in Kentucky were on visas from Iraq. These are only some of the examples that are out there. These individuals use lax visa policies. flawed asylum policies. flawed refugee policies. and flawed border protection policies. In addition. we are not organized in a way that works effectively. In addition to that. the President of the United States has directed his ICE officers. his Citizenship and Immigration Services officers. and his Border Patrol officers. who are the key individuals in this system. to conduct their business in a way that guarantees failure. That is just the fact. The 9111 Commissionwe all remember that great Commission after the terrible attack on 9/11zeroed in on our lax immigration policies. Among other things. the Commission demanded implementation of a biometric entryexit visa system. What does that mean? That means a biometric system where people are identified effectively through fingerprints or some other identifier.