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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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US Fails to Make Sure Foreign Visitors Leave

Dallas bomb plot highlights thousands who overstay visas

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(Newser) – Hosam Maher Husein Smadi came to the US legally on a tourism visa. But the 19-year-old Jordanian stayed after it had expired and then, allegedly, tried to blow up a Dallas skyscraper. That case has sparked calls from both parties for a better system for tracking foreign visitors, the New York Times reports, not just when they enter the country, but when and if they leave. Congressmen want a universal electronic exit monitoring system, which would identify visitors who’d overstayed their welcome.

Republican Lamar Smith says the Smadi case “points to a real need for an entry and exit system if we are serious about reducing illegal immigration,” and Chuck Schumer says he’ll steer stimulus money toward it. But Homeland Security says the system would be a costly logistical nightmare, potentially clogging trade and hurting border cities. “You can’t ask the immigration system to do everything,” says one migration researcher.

Ahmad Al-Shrmany is interviewed at the Immigration & Customs Enforcement processing center in Houston. Al-Shrmany, who fled Saddam's Iraq, spent 16 months in jail for overstaying his vistor's visa.
Ahmad Al-Shrmany is interviewed at the Immigration & Customs Enforcement processing center in Houston. Al-Shrmany, who fled Saddam's Iraq, spent 16 months in jail for overstaying his vistor's visa.   (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office has a sign in its window advertising Operation Scheduled Departure Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008, in Santa Ana, Calif.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office has a sign in its window advertising Operation Scheduled Departure Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008, in Santa Ana, Calif.   (AP Photo/Ric Francis)
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, the 19-year-old Jordanian national accused of plotting to bomb a downtown Dallas skyscraper, was in the US on an expired visa.
Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, the 19-year-old Jordanian national accused of plotting to bomb a downtown Dallas skyscraper, was in the US on an expired visa.   (AP Photo/Dallas County Sheriff)
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11 comments
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dontlikeyou
Oct 12, 09 9:36 AM CDT
Oh, hell, Obama will just legalize all illegal aliens and all of our troubles with immigration will just magically go away. Reply
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BleeBloo
Oct 12, 09 9:48 AM CDT
Right, and then he'll make Christianity illegal and arrest all the registered republicans! You're an idiot.
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IN RESPONSE:
jamerican
Oct 12, 09 1:58 PM CDT
nobama plans to legalize all of the illegal criminals in our country which includes 20 million mexicans who are here illegally...watch your tax dollars go through the roof. You need to stop this insanity...join numbersusa.com before it is too late.
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0
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shonangreg
Oct 12, 09 4:55 PM CDT
If Obama manges to legalize marijuana, then the police and courts can actually do other jobs. All of society would benefit.
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riffran
Oct 12, 09 9:39 AM CDT
well I don't know about that......but I hope that it doesn't take another 911 to get the problem fixed or at least improved on Reply
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