From the April 2003 Idaho Observer:

America's borders: Wide open for terrorists

by J. Zane Walley

The likelihood of terrorists walking through America's wide-open borders is not an idle notion crafted in the minds of conspiracy theorists. A growing body of evidence and opinion points a non-partisan finger at the borders and the agencies charged with keeping them blocked. Illegal traffic in humans from a multitude of countries continues to grow and the immigration agencies are increasingly incompetent in their duties.

According to an Immigration and Naturalization source, who asked to remain anonymous, over 375,000 illegal aliens from Mexico, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Cuba, China, Jordan, North Korea and the Philippines were apprehended in Arizona alone.

Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels stated, "Since September 11, we're restricted in what we can say about OTMs (illegal aliens Other Than Mexicans) because of national security." Indeed U.S. Border Patrol officers and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents have been warned by their superiors not to discuss the illegal immigration situation with the press except with prior permission and instructions as to what to say.

This censorship garbed in the cloth of national security creates two situations. First, journalists cannot accurately report the actual numbers of illegals entering America. Second, the immigration hierarchy is not accountable to the public because the numbers cannot be reported.

Retired Border Patrolman David Stoddard notes: "There are so many OTMs, that there is now a special designation for those that might pose a threat. They call them SIAs or Special Interest Aliens."

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For those who may doubt the status of the U.S./Mexican border's as a superhighway for illegal immigration and contraband, check the following news sources for verification.

September 21, 2000

CNN: More Iraqi Chaldean Christians crossed the Mexican border into the United States on Thursday, bringing to 77 the number now being interviewed and processed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. officials told CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/09/21/mexico.iraqis/

September 22, 2000

Catholic World News: The number of applications from Iraqi Christians seeking asylum at the San Ysidro, California, border crossing has increased from virtually none last year to 172 in the past two months, said Robert Looney, the Immigration and Naturalization Service's director of regional asylum.

http://www.cwnews.com/Browse/2000/09/13876.htm

October 19, 2000

CNN: Mexican immigration authorities have discovered another group of Iraqi Christians who have made their way to the border city of Tijuana with the hope of obtaining asylum in the United States. The 28 men and women entered Mexico with tourist visas and, in some cases, false passports, officials said.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/10/19/mexico.iraq.ap/

Sept. 12, 2001

Former Rep. Jim Traficant (D-Ohio) states to the U.S. Congress. “The fact is it is easy to attack America. Our borders are literally wide open. Terrorists will cross and narcotics flood in by the tons. An army of terrorists could literally cross our border over a span of 6-12 months bringing with them nuclear weapons.”

http://www.btpholdings.com/afpart1.html

OCTOBER 19, 2001

WorldNetDaily.com provides certain evidence that large numbers of Middle Easterners are crossing the Mexican border in 'Arab terrorists crossing border. Middle Eastern illegals find easy entrance into U.S. from Mexico.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24987

January 30, 2003

Daily News, Washington Bureau: Iraq sent spies from Canada to New York and Washington this month to snoop and stir up anti-war demonstrations, according to a government report.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/55766p-52218c.html

February 12, 2003

Southern Arizona Resident Finds Backpack with Arabic Notebook

http://www.rense.com/general34/rddn.htm

FrontPageMagazine.com: Terrorism stemming from South America looms as a force to be reckoned with,

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=6518

March 08, 2003

Vdare.com: Joe Guzzardi, journalist, reports “I received a copy of a letter sent by a Border Patrol Agent, who I will call “Agent Smith,” to then INS Commissioner, James Ziglar. “We've been catching middle-easterners and Muslims down here with regularity since I got here.”

http://www.vdare.com/guzzardi/mexico_msg.htm

Friday, 21-Mar-2003

Mexico's Notimex News Agency: reports two Iraqi brothers were detained by Mexican immigration authorities in a Tijuana bus station as the they prepared to enter California.

http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/cc/Qiraq-war-us-mexico.Roz5_DMM.html

March 22, 2003

Arizona Daily Star, Federal officials are investigating a report this week that a group of Iraqi nationals might be trying to sneak into the United States from Mexico. http://www.azstarnet.com/border/30322IRAQIBORDERREPORT.html

Mar. 29, 2003

Arizona Central: U.S. Senator Jon Kly Warns “It's hard to imagine terrorists not trying to come in through this southern border,”

http://www.azcentral.com/specials/special03/articles/0329kyl29.html

March 29, 2003

Daily News, Washington Bureau: reported that An Iraqi terror team armed with millions of dollars tried to get smuggled into the U.S. through Mexico to Crawford, Tex. - the site of President Bush's ranch.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/story/71009p-65986c.html