End Notes

¹ Several naturalized U.S. citizens who have likely participated in terrorism are not included in this study because they were never charged in an American court and thus it is unclear whether they ever committed any crimes within the United States. For example, U.S. citizen Khalil Saeed Deek, who was extradited to Jordan from Pakistan in December 1999 for alleged affiliation with bin Laden’s al Qaeda organization and suspicion of helping to plan terror attacks on U.S. targets during millennium celebrations in Jordan, is not included. Deek was released by Jordan in May 2001 for lack of evidence. He came to Los Angles in 1980 and married an American, becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1985. In 1993, he trained for a year in a military camp in Afghanistan; returning to the United States he divorced his wife in 1998 and moved to Pakistan near the Afghan border. Another possible naturalized citizen terrorist is Bassam A. Kanj, a native of Lebanon, who was killed in that country in 2000 in an attack by Muslim militants against the Lebanese army. The Associated Press has reported that authorities think the militants are supported by al Qaeda. Kanj, who came to Boston in 1985 and worked as a cab driver, married an American citizen in 1988 and later became a U.S. citizen. Kanj had a close association with fellow Boston cabbie Raed Hijazi, who was born in the United States and raised overseas. Hijazi was convicted by a Jordanian military court and sentenced to death in February 2002 for being part of the same millennium plot in Jordan as Deek.

Also not included is Ihab Mohamed Ali, a naturalized U.S. citizen who emigrated in the late 1970s to America from Egypt with his family. He graduated from a high school in Orlando, Fla. in 1981. Prosecutors say he assisted bin Laden’s move from Afghanistan to Sudan in the early 1990s. Ali received a commercial pilot’s certificate from Airman Flight School in Norman, Okla., (the same school attended by 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui). Investigations indicate that Ihab Mohamed Ali is considered an unindicted co-conspirator in the African embassy bombings, and on May 18, 1999, federal agents picked him up in Orlando. Before a federal grand jury he said that he knew bin Laden but denied ever meeting him. He was held in jail for 16 months on a civil contempt charge for refusing to answer questions before the grand jury. He was charged with contempt and perjury in September of 2000. He may now be cooperating with federal authorities. Since March 2001, all documents in his case have been sealed.

² Tourist visas, for example — the most common type of nonimmigrant visa — allow for a maximum stay of six months. However, an inspector can authorize a stay for time periods shorter than the maximum if he deems it appropriate.

³ There is a fourth component to permanent immigration — the visa lottery. Individuals mail in a post card, their names are then selected randomly, and the winners and their immediate families are given green cards. 50,000 visas are awarded in this way each year.

⁴ Technically, Moussaoui did not overstay a visa because he entered the country using the visa waiver program. However, he did overstay the allowed time.

⁵ He arrived with another hijacker, Nawaf al Hamzi. Both al Hamzi and al Midhar enrolled at a San Diego flight school in January of 2000. Al Hamzi never left the country and resided in the country illegally until 9/11.

⁶ When he arrived in the United States in December 1996, the immigration inspector mistakenly thought he had a tourist visa and stamped his passport allowing him to stay for six months instead of the 29 days allowed for by a transit visa.

⁷ He arrived with another hijacker, Nawaf al Hamzi. Both al Hamzi and al-Midhar enrolled at a San Diego flight school in January of 2000. Al Hamzi never left the United States after entering in January 2000. He resided in the country illegally until 9/11.

⁸ Kansi did eventually receive a work permit when he applied for asylum. But he seems to have worked illegally in the United States from the time he entered in February 1991 until February 1992, when he applied for asylum.

⁹ “Proposal Sets National Rules for State IDs,” The Washington Post, April 17, 2002.

¹⁰ Written testimony on the Northern border can be found at: http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/111301witness.htm.

¹¹ The Census Bureau report with the latest estimated size of the illegal population can be found at: http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/ReportRec2.htm (Appendix A of Report 1 contains the estimates).

¹² Former State Department employee Nikolai Wenzel describes conditions at overseas consulates in a report published by the Center, available at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2000/back800.html.

¹³ “Loopholes leave U.S. borders vulnerable,” St. Petersburg Times, November 25, 2001.

¹⁴ Those involved in terrorism who had overstayed their visas at some point include Kansi, the Abouhalima brothers, Ismoil, Salameh, Amir and Fadil Abdelghani, Khalil, and five 9/11 hijackers: Moussaoui, al Suqami, al Hamzi, and Hanjour; 9/11 hijackers Atta and al Shehhi overstayed their visas, but by filing a change of status to vocational student, they received de facto extensions.

¹⁵ Written testimony can be found at http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/111301witness.htm.

¹⁶ “Iraqi Accused of Smuggling Hundreds in Mideast to U.S.,” New York Times, October 26, 2001.

¹⁷ The entire report is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/i200004/i200004.htm.

¹⁸ Six of the seven foreign-born terrorists involved in the first Trade Center bombing had violated immigration law at some point prior to taking part in the attack. The Abouhalima brothers, Ismoil, and Salameh had all overstayed visas at some point, and Ajaj and Yousef both had no legal right to be in the country. Murderer of CIA employees Kansi had overstayed his visa before applying for asylum and subway bomber Mezer had snuck into the country while his possible partner Khalil was a visa overstayer. Millennium conspirators, Ressam, Meskini, and Tizegha all had violated immigration law, Ressam with a fake passport, and Tizegha and Meskini by sneaking into the country. Sheik Rahman used fraud to gain a green card and Amir and Fadil Abdelgani had both overstayed visas. (Fadil had also engaged in a fraudulent marriage.) Embassy bomber Abu al Dahab had attempted to gain a green card through a fraudulent marriage. Four 9/11 hijackers — Moussaoui, al Suqami, al Hamzi, and Hanjour — had overstayed or otherwise violated the terms of their visas. In addition, 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta and fellow hijacker Marwan al Shehhi both overstayed their visas, although their filing of a change of status to vocational student provided them with a de facto extension while it was being processed. However, by leaving the country, they both had abandoned their change of status application. Perhaps most important, both used temporary visas to live in the country, a clear violation of the law. Between the spring of 2001, when they both entered the country, and September 11th, both lived almost continuously in the United States spending no more than three weeks abroad.

¹⁹ Because the INS does not carefully track entries and exits, these figures include an unknown number of reentries by the same individual.

²⁰ “Open Admissions: U.S. Policy Toward Students from Terrorism-Supporting Countries in the Middle East,” by Hillary Mann.

Executive summary is online http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/pubs/mannexec.htm.

A 1999 update is online at: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/junior/note9.htm

²¹ Immigration Benefits: Several Factors Impede Timeliness of Application Processing General Accounting Office January, May 2001, GAO-01-488. The entire report is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01488.pdf.

²² Immigration Benefit Fraud: Focused Approach Is Needed to Address Problems, General Accounting Office January 2002. GAO-02-66. The entire report is available at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02600r.pdf.

²³ “A Nation Challenged: An Assessment; In Germany, Terrorists Made Use of a Passion: An Open Democracy,” The New York Times, October 5, 2001.

²⁴ “A Nation Challenged: The Attackers; A Hub for Hijackers Found in New Jersey,” The New York Times, September 27, 2001.

Table 2: CIA murders

For a history of Kansi’s stay in the United States, see "Kansi’s Shadowy Stay in U.S. Leaves a Hazy Portrait," The Washington Post, March 3, 1993; "CIA Suspect Left Trail of Conflicting Personal Data," The Washington Post, February 18, 1993; and "Killer of Two At C.I.A. Draws Death Sentence," The New York Times, January 24, 1998. "Once in U.S., Foreigners Easily Escape Notice," Washington Post, October 7, 2001, also provides background information on a number of terrorists.

Table 3: First WTC Attack

The first attack on the World Trade Center was one of the most widely covered events of the 1990s, and an enormous number of sources for it exist. Time Magazine ran a detailed cover story on Mahmud Abouhalima entitled, "The Secret Life of Mahmud the Red" for its October 4, 1993, issue. There are many published accounts of Salameh’s visa overstay and life in the United States, among them "Trade Center Bombing Trial to Give Glimpses of Terror Plot," Chicago Tribune, September 13, 1993, and "Investigators Reconstruct Events Leading to NY Blast," Dallas Morning News, May 30, 1993. For information on Salameh’s application for amnesty, see "Bombing Probe Shines Spotlight on Amnesty Law," Christian Science Monitor, March 16, 1993. Eyad Ismoil’s overstay of his student visa and his life in the United States have been widely reported; see for example "Suspect Is Said to Be Longtime Friend of Bombing Mastermind," The New York Times, August 4, 1995.

Also see "Four Guilty in Bombing of World Trade Center," The Washington Post, March 5, 1994. For information on Ahmad Ajaj’s role in the bombing, see "Palestinian Held in World Trade Center Bombing," Los Angeles Times, May 6, 1993, and "Trade Center Trial Nearing Close as Defense Team Rests Its Case," The New York Times, February 15, 1994; and "Evidence Re-Examined: A Special Report," The New York Times, October 17, 1994; "Once in U.S., Foreigners Easily Escape Notice," The Washington Post, October 7, 2001, also provides background information on a number of terrorists in last decade. Information on Mohammed Abouhalima as well as several other terrorists also came from a telephone interview with his attorney, David L. Lewis, conducted in February 2002.

Table 4: Plot To Bomb NY Landmarks

The Inspector General’s Office of the Department of State issued a detailed report on Rahman’s immigration status, "Review of the Non-immigrant Visa-Issuing Process," March 1994. The New York Times on August 26, 1993, ran a detailed chronology of Sheik Rahman’s immigration history. Numerous other accounts in the media exist on Rahman. For information on Nosair’s life in the United States prior to his terrorism, see "Kahane Slaying Fit into Larger Puzzle," Newsday, July 23, 1993.

For information on the Abdelganis, see "No Bail for Plot Suspect as Feds Go to Videotape," Newsday, June 29, 1993, and "Two Bomb Suspects Well-to-Do," Newsday, July 7, 1993. For the immigration status of Sudanese terrorists, see "Sheik’s NJ Home is Searched," USA Today, June 25, 1993. For information on Haggag, see "Suicide Mission to Kill Mubarak," Newsday, July 18, 1993.

Additional information on terrorists involved in the plot was provided in a telephone interview in February 2002 with Matarawy Mohammed Said Saleh’s attorney, Thomas H. Nooter.

Table 5: Brooklyn Subway Bombing Plot

An extensive Justice Department Inspector General’s report detailing every aspect of Khalil and Mezer’s immigration history can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/brookb/brbrtoc.htm. For additional information about their trial, see "I Came to the U.S. to Kill Jews," New York Post, July 21, 1998; "Subway Bomb Plot Brings Life Sentence," The Washington Post, March 2, 1999; and "Man Acquitted in Bombing Plot Gets Three Years on Immigration Rap," New York Daily News, December 4, 1998.

Table 6: African Embassy Bombings

For an overview of the activities of Dahab and Mohamed, see "Bin Laden’s Bay Area Recruiter," San Francisco Chronicle, November 21, 2001; "Terrorist Evolved in U.S.: Two Egyptians Set Stage for Attacks," Chicago Tribune, December 11, 2001; "Al Qaeda Terrorist Duped FBI, Army," Raleigh News and Observer, October 21, 2001; and "Al Qaeda Terrorist Worked with FBI: Plotted Embassy Attacks," San Francisco Chronicle, November 4, 2001.

For a detailed account of el Hage’s history in the United States, see "The Traitor Next Door," Texas Monthly, April 2002, and "An Odd Way to Carry Out Justice," Fort Worth Star Telegram, December 5, 2001. For information on al Ridi, see "Bin Laden Pilot Says He Helped Buy Jet to Ship Missiles," The New York Times, February 15, 2001, and "Trying Osama bin Ladin in Absentia," Middle East Quarterly, March 2001, by Steven Emerson.

Table 7: Millennium Plot

For an overview and of the Millennium plot and the personal histories of those involved, see "The Other Man," The Washington Post Magazine, May 20, 2001, by Lorraine Adams, and "Round up the unusual suspects: U.S. policy toward Algeria and its Islamists," Middle East Policy, September 1, 2001, by Bradford Dillman.

Also see "U.S. Sees New Terrorist Threat from N. Africa," Los Angeles Times, July 8, 2001. For additional information on Tizegha, see "Man Suspected of Terrorists Links Had Sought Asylum in Boston," The Boston Globe, January 6, 2000.

Table 8: September 11th, 2001

The investigation is ongoing, and information about all the hijackers is still incomplete. However, much information is already available, from a wide variety of sources, on the immigration status of the September 11th terrorists.

See FBI list of terrorists at http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/092701hjpic.html.

A great deal of information can also be also found in Moussaoui’s indictment at http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/speeches/mous.pdf. A highly detailed Inspector General’s report on Atta’s and al Shehhi’s immigration history can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/igspecr1.htm. The Washington Times published detailed information on hijackers. See "Justice Probe Finds All Hijackers Entered U.S. Legally," The Washington Times, November 22, 2001; The Wall Street Journal’s overview of the plot, "Road to September: A Careful Sequence of Mundane Dealings Sowed a Day of Terror," October 16, 2001, contains information on a number of terrorists. The PBS television show Frontline has complied a detailed chronology of events at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/network/personal/cron.html

For the role of the plot leaders and its foot soldiers, see "Hijackers Led By Core Group: Suspects Left Trail of Movements in U.S. Through Licenses, Rentals," The Washington Post, September 30, 2001. For discussion of the Visa Express program, see "Coming to America: How a New, Rapid Visa-Approval Program Pushed Three of the 9/11 Hijackers to the Head of the Line," U.S. News and World Report, December 24, 2001. A good overview of the plot and failures in the system is found in "Can We Stop the Next Attack?" Time, March 11, 2002. For information on the plot’s ringleader, Mohammed Atta, see "A Quiet Path to Horror at World Trade Center," The Washington Post, September 23, 2001.