9,862 Aliens From Terror-Linked States Apprehended in FY13
October 2, 2014 - 4:13 AM
By Patrick Goodenough
(CNSNews.com) – Some 9,862 aliens apprehended by agencies falling under the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2013 came from 15 countries that are either state sponsors of terrorism, considered terrorist safe havens or have otherwise been associated with terrorism in recent years.
The vast majority of these came from three countries in the Western Hemisphere – Cuba (2,809 apprehensions), Venezuela (2,712) and Colombia (1,987), according to newly-released DHS Office of Immigration Statistics data.
Cuba is one of four U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism, while Venezuela and Colombia are deemed terrorist safe havens.
The latest State Department annual report on terrorism cites “credible reports that Venezuela maintained an environment that allowed for fundraising activities that benefited known terrorist groups. Individuals linked to Hezbollah as well as [left-wing Colombian terrorist groups] FARC and ELN members were present in Venezuela.”
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Cuba, Venezuela and Colombia accounted for the vast majority of aliens from terror-linked countries apprehended in fiscal year 2013. (Graph: CNSNews.com/DHS)
On Colombia, the report credits government efforts to combat terrorism, but says terrain and dense forest cover, low population densities and historically weak government presence in its border areas “have often allowed for potential safe havens for insurgent and terrorist groups.”
Nigeria accounts for the next biggest nationality of apprehended aliens among countries where terrorism poses a serious problem, with 492 apprehensions in FY2013, followed by Pakistan with 334.
Nigeria is home to the notorious Boko Haram terrorist group, while a myriad of Islamist terrorist groups are located in Pakistan, especially in the tribal areas, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly the North-West Frontier Province) and Balochistan. Among them are groups that have declared the United States to be their enemy, including al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Haqqani network, Laskhar e-Toiba and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Next among terror-linked countries are Saudi Arabia (264 apprehensions in FY2013), followed by Iran (257), Lebanon (230), Somalia (214), Iraq (169), Sudan (168), Syria (72), Afghanistan (70), Yemen (68) and Libya (16).
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More than 2,300 aliens from 12 other terror-linked countries were apprehended in fiscal year 2013. (Graph: CNSNews.com/DHS)
Iran has topped the State Department’s list of terror-sponsoring nations for more than a decade. Syria, home to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS/ISIL), the Al-Nusra Front and other jihadist groups is also a designated terror-sponsor, as is Sudan.
Other countries here are associated with some of the Islamic world’s most dangerous terrorist groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Somalia’s al-Shabaab, Yemen’s al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, ISIS in Iraq, the Taliban and allies in Afghanistan, and Ansar al-Sharia in Libya.
The Office of Immigration Statistics’ annual report shows that the DHS apprehended approximately 662,000 aliens in FY2013, 64 percent of them Mexican citizens.
“Aliens who enter without inspection between ports of entry and are apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol of CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] may be, as appropriate, removed, permitted to return to their country, or issued a NTA [notice to appear] to commence proceedings before the immigration court.”
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