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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
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Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
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Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
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January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
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Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 26, 2005
/ 16 Shevat, 5765
A heartless homeland security screw-up
By
Michelle Malkin
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Do you remember when immigration officials sent out flight school visa approval notices for two of the 9/11 hijackerssix months after they had committed their suicide attacks on America?
President Bush proclaimed his outrage, four federal immigration officials were reassigned, and Washington vowed that such embarrassing bureaucratic paperwork snafus would never happen again.
I'm sorry to report to you that it has, in fact, happened again.
On Jan. 15, immigration officials sent a notice to Eugueni Kniazev of Brooklyn, N.Y. The letter informs Kniazev, an immigrant from Siberia, that he is now "deemed to be a lawful permanent resident of the United States." The notice directs Kniazev to obtain a new alien registration receipt card (what we commonly call a "green card") and instructs him to appear in person at the immigration office at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City with his passport and three recent photos.
But Eugueni Kniazev won't be appearing at Federal Plaza. He won't be going anywhere. Kniazev, 47, was an employee of the Windows of the World restaurant located on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower. After working his way up from dishwasher to facilities manager and living the American dream, Kniazev was murdered in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Let me repeat that for the clueless paper-pushers at the Department of Homeland Security:
Eugueni Kniazev won't be picking up his green card because he has been dead for nearly three-and-a-half years.
What on earth is wrong with our federal government? Can you imagine how upsetting it must have been for family members to receive the letter? Why didn't it occur to anybody to cross-check the official list of Sept. 11 victims against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' records? Did homeland security officials learn nothing from the dead hijacker visa letter fiasco?
After that debacle, top immigration officials pledged "to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the nation's immigration system." In the fall of 2002, President Bush signed into law the creation of the behemoth Department of Homeland Security encompassing 22 agencies, 180,000 employees, and a nearly $34 billion budget. Last month, the president signed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, creating another huge mega-agency "to ensure that the people in government responsible for defending America have the best possible information to make the best possible decisions."
Promises, promises. Despite billions spent on restructuring and new technology, our homeland security system is still unable to prevent a green card approval notice from being sent to a dead person. The fact that the letter recipient is a murdered Sept. 11 victim adds unconscionable insult to bureaucratic injury. A Department of Homeland Security spokesman told me it's up to family members to notify the government when an applicant dies. "It's unfortunate," he said, but there is no mechanism in place to prevent this from happening again.
Eugueni Kniazev's case is only the tip of the incompetence iceberg:
- The nation's various fingerprint databases still have not been integrated because of bickering among F.B.I., State Department, and homeland security officials, which means that most visitors entering the country still aren't thoroughly screened for terrorist or criminal ties.
- There is still no system in place for notifying immigration investigators about stolen passports, which led the Homeland Security inspector general to conclude last month that foreigners using the fraudulent documents have ""little reason to fear being caught."
- The long-delayed entry-exit tracking system for foreign visitors-in the works for nearly a decade-has still not been implemented fully.
- There is still no systematic tracking of illegal alien felons.
- And while millions of legal applicants deal with paperwork backlogs and mishaps that take years if not decades to resolve, the White House supports granting "temporary guest worker" status to upwards of 20 million illegal aliens-a move that rank-and-file homeland security officers say will lead to rampant fraud and even greater bureaucratic overload.
The same overwhelmed and inept immigration system that facilitated Eugueni Kniazev's murder has now made a mockery of his memory.
What more will it take before "Never again" is more than just an empty rhetorical mantra to pacify the American public?
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in Washington and the media consider "must-reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Michelle Malkin is the author of, most recently, "In Defense of Internment: The Case for Racial Profiling in World War II and the War on Terror". (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.)
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Michelle Malkin Archives
© 2005, Creators Syndicate
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