Seven of the 19 Islamic terrorists who hijacked a passenger plane on September 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 Americans, were responsible for the wide gap that allowed nearly 854,000 illegal aliens to remain in the United States. Thanks to a loophole, he remained in the United States even after exceeding his visa.
All 19 total terrorists arrived in the United States legally, with 16 securing tourist visas and three obtaining business and student visas. Finally, on September 11, terrorists carried out attacks in New York City, New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania, killing 2,977 Americans, and since then thousands more Americans have been sickened by attacks-related illnesses. died in
Seven of the 19 terrorists had overstayed their visas before or at the time of the attack. No one was detained or deported, although U.S. immigration law requires their detention and possible deportation.
The seven terrorists who overstayed their visas include:
- Hani Hassan Khanjour of Saudi Arabia
- Nawaf Al Hamji of Saudi Arabia
- Mohamed Atta of Egypt
- Satam al-Sukaami of Saudi Arabia
- Mr. Walid al-Shehri of Saudi Arabia
- Mr. Marwan Al Shehhi from the United Arab Emirates
- Mr. Ahmed Al Ghamdi of Saudi Arabia
Today, the visa overstay loophole exploited by seven of the 9/11 terrorists remains wide open and even larger than it was decades ago. In June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its annual report revealing that nearly 854,000 illegal aliens overstayed their visas in 2022.
More than 795,000 of these illegal aliens remained in the United States, and nearly 59,000 left the country for the first time after their visas expired.
Despite the 9/11 Commission calling for a rigorous biometric immigration system to track all visa holders in the U.S. and whether they left the country when required, DHS has banned visa overstays from leaving the country. have little or no resources to expel. departure date.
9/11 Commission Report state:
Notably, Nawaf Alhamji was able to obtain a driver’s license in California, Florida, and Virginia. Nawaf al-Hamji arrived in the United States on a tourist visa from Saudi Arabia in 1999, along with his terrorist brother Salem al-Hamji, who had a Virginia driver’s license.
Nawaf al-Hamji returned to the United States in 2001 and lived in New York for only a few months before hijacking American Airlines Flight 77 and crashing the plane into the Pentagon. A month before the 9/11 attacks, Nawaf al-Hamji was placed on a terrorist watch list. He had overstayed his visa and should have been deported nine months before the attack.
Mohamed Atta, who hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, had overstayed his visa in December 2000, but was not deported at the time. Even though Atta was arrested for driving without a license a few months ago, he was able to obtain a Florida driver’s license.
Atta’s name was placed on a terrorist watch list in January 2001 and he was detained in the United Arab Emirates before returning to the United States to carry out the 9/11 attacks.
Hani Hassan Khanjour, the terrorist pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon, was in the country illegally at the time of the 9/11 attacks because he did not enroll in school despite obtaining a student visa in September 2000. was considered a person. .
Satam al-Sukaami and Walid al-Shehri similarly overstayed their visas in the United States before taking part in the Flight 11 hijacking and the Twin Towers terrorist attacks.
Marwan al-Shehhi, the terrorist who crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, left the United States at least three times despite overstaying his visa in November 2000. and returned to the United States. He can also obtain a Florida driver’s license.
Ahmed Al Ghamdi, one of the hijackers of Flight 175, had overstayed his visa and was in the United States illegally, but instead of being deported, he hijacked the flight and took it to Manhattan’s South Tower. He was allowed to help fly the plane.
almost half of the whole Among the 11 million to 22 million illegal aliens living in the United States, these people enter the country with visas but end up overstaying their visas. The vast majority will not be deported.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Please email [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.
