Posted on 09/11/2012 3:16:09 PM PDT by montag813
by John Hill
Stand with Arizona
On this 11th anniversary of 9/11, we remember the thousands who were slain, the brave souls who perished while rushing into harms way to save them, and those who have fallen in far away lands, in defense of our nation, in the 11 years since. We honor their memories, and pray for the families they left behind.
But I cannot stop there. Because when that first plane hit, I was literally right next door. I was in an elevator in 3 World Financial Center, 600 feet from Tower One, after breakfast with my cousin who had recently started a job at a financial company. I cannot describe the sound, vibrations and feeling of fear and dread when the plane hit, but we all knew immediately something disastrous had occured. When we emerged from the elevator, and for the next hour before I got out of there, it was Dante's Inferno come to life. Hell on Earth. I won't detail here the horrors and gore I witnessed. But suffice it to say, when the 9/11 memorial rolls around each year, I cannot simply "remember" the event abstractly, as is being done nationally today. This is personal. I am not "saddened". I am angry. And the anger is STILL fresh, barely dulled after many years.
9/11 was NOT a "tragedy". It was deliberate mass murder. And in my humble opinion, it is not sufficient to honor the memory of those who died by lighting a candle, rubbing a stone, and praying for them. We will best honor them by making sure it can never happen again.
We must never forget 9/11, but we must also never forget the gaping holes in our national security infrastructure that made this attack possible in the first place, and how they are linked to immigration and border security.
We cannot not forget that at least 5 of the hijackers - Mohammed Atta included - had stayed in the U.S. with expired student visas. Many of the hijackers also obtained driver's licenses with them. But worst of all, 3 of them had been stopped by police for speeding when their visas were expired, and never had their immigration status checked (again, including Atta) - permitting them to remain free to carry out their murderous plan.
Here's how the situation transpired with Atta, the ringleader of 9/11:
Atta was pulled over in April, 2001 for a traffic offense. A Broward County sheriff’s deputy ticketed him for an invalid license. He also was in the United States with an expired visa and thus an illegal alien, although the sheriff’s deputy had no way of knowing that information. He ignored the ticket and did not show up for his hearing in May. In June a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.Needless to say, if we had Arizona-style immigration laws in every state, terrorists like Atta would be stopped at any minor traffic stop. Yet not only are these laws fought tooth and nail by well-funded non-profits like the ACLU, La Raza and SPLC, but our own Federal government has put all its resources against Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina, and others to stop them from making such checks.In May, 2001 Atta legally obtained a Florida drivers’ license even though he was in the country on an expired visa. Atta was pulled over, again, for speeding in only a few weeks before the 9/11 attacks. Police did not check his immigration status, which would require a call to a Law Enforcement Support Center hotline. Had such a call been made, it would have revealed Atta had overstayed his visa. That officer, unaware of the bench warrant or of Atta’s status as an illegal alien, let him go with a warning.
And disgracefully, 11 years later we have a state - New Mexico - which permits foreign nationals to obtain driver's licenses with absolutely no checks of citizenship, permitting an unknown number of potential terrorists to gain official access to American society. Gov. Susana Martinez is fighting to end this outrage, but is facing opposition from those cynically making a racial issue out of what is a gaping national security hole. Shame on them. Have they learned nothing from 9/11?
And almost unbelievably, 11 years after the attack, we have a Department of Homeland Security which still is unable to track those here on expired visas!
EXCERPT...CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE STORY
And now we have another GOP (congressional) candidate pushing amnesty under the fantasy that we can create a non voting class of citizens.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2929572/posts
That depends on the state and virtually every state has a means for former felons to regain the right to vote. I know because I am one.
O_o
If you don't mind me asking cripple, what did you do? Knock over a Piggly Wiggle down in Yazoo?
Failure to appear for court on a drunk driving charge.
I was going to post your head on John Dillinger's portrait.
Guess failure to appear in court isn't as romantic.
;)
Yeah I was public enemy number 1.
They should never have been allowed in the country in the first place. There should be no visa that allows it.
Absolutely! Islam is at war with EVERYONE. An individual cannot renounce this state of war unless he renounces Islam itself. They should never be let in, and those that are should be deported as soon as they are discovered.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.