U.S. report questions Canada’s rushed Syrian refugee plan
A new report from the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) called out Canada’s rushed refugee plan and exposed weaknesses in the system.
The 100+ page report on the state of America’s borders was presented on November 23, 2015 at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) hearing on key border security issues and recommendations for “first step” reforms that could begin improving security at US borders.
The report quoted then Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin, who in 2011 told the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding terrorist threats that “it’s commonly accepted that the more significant threat comes from the U.S.- Canada border.”
More recently, witnesses who appeared before HSGAC echoed Bersin’s testimony, stating that a terrorist trying to cross the border into the U.S. would be able to enter the country much more easily from Canada than from Mexico.
It cited an example of Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer who in 1997 entered the U.S. through Blaine, Washington. After being returned three times, the FBI eventually detained him during a counter-terrorism raid in Brooklyn, New York, after being tipped off that Mezer planned to detonate a bomb in a New York City subway station Similarly, in 1999, Ahmed Ressam, a.k.a. the millennium bomber, was stopped at Port Angeles, Washington with components used to produce a bomb. After admitting that he was planning to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport, he was sentenced to 37 years in prison for terrorist activity.
The report also focuses on Canada’s recent struggle to confront radicalization and homegrown terrorism. On February 3, 2015 the RCMP charged three men for recruiting and facilitating the terrorist activity of ISIS. One is in custody, while the other two were charged in absentia, as authorities presume that they have left for Syria. In addition, Quebec and Ontario have been reporting an exodus of young men and women heading to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS. For example, in February, responding to Islamic extremism propaganda, four young men and two female teenagers left Montreal. Police and community leaders are now scrambling to prevent further radicalization and recruitment.
In March, Canada Border Services Agency arrested a man in Toronto for plotting to bomb the U.S. Consulate and several other buildings in the Toronto financial district.
Historically, security observers have argued that Canada represents a substantial vulnerability, because it provides immigrant visas to individuals who pose a significant threat. Witnesses testified before the Committee that if someone gets into Canada, they will most likely be able to enter the U.S.
Under former Prime Minister Harper’s Conservative party, the Canadian government has changed its approach to national and border security after two recent acts of homegrown terrorism. The wake-up call came from both the 2013 detention of two men for conspiring to derail a VA Rail Canada train en route to New York City, and the 2014 Parliament shooting where a military guard was killed during an attack by a homegrown jihadist and convert to Islam. Responding to this new reality, in January 2015 then Prime Minister Harper introduced Bill C-51, a new AntiTerrorism Act, to broaden the powers of the intelligence and law enforcement officers, which was signed into law on June 18, 2015. Bill C-51 criminalized publishing terrorist propaganda, created a no-fly list of suspected terrorists and allowed intelligence and law enforcement agencies to share information on known or suspected terrorists with foreign counterparts.
Even though the Department of Homeland Security believes this law will improve cross-border counterterrorism efforts by enabling Canadian intelligence units to dismantle terrorist cells operating mostly in Ontario and Quebec, newly-elected Prime Minister Trudeau promised to “swiftly overhaul” key sections of the Act which he finds “problematic” For example, Trudeau wants to broaden the definition of “terrorist propaganda”, limit the powers of the Communications Security Establishment (Canada’s electronic spy service) and prioritize community outreach and counter-radicalization efforts by creating the Office of the Community Outreach and Counter-radicalization Co-ordinator.
Also under Harper, the Canadian government began using Bill C-24 to revoke the passports of approximately 130 Canadians with dual citizenship who have joined violent terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, and began gathering evidence to prosecute more than 80 recently radicalized citizens and permanent residents who have returned to Canada after engaging in terrorist-related activities overseas. However, in a leaked recording released by CTV News on September 27, 2015, Trudeau said that he would let convicted terrorists keep Canadian citizenship and called the legislation “absolutely disgusting.” “The Liberal Party believes that terrorists should get to keep their Canadian citizenship … because I do,” Trudeau told a Winnipeg town hall in July. “And I’m willing to take on anyone who disagrees with that.”
The report concludes that America’s borders are not secure. “This current state of affairs is clearly unacceptable. A secure border is not only a prerequisite to a functioning legal immigration system, but it is essential to maintaining national security and protecting public health and safety.”
Johnson says while the U.S. and Canada have always had a “strong working relationship,”Congress should continue to “press the Canadian government to share more information on the Syrian refugees it plans to resettle in North America.”
source: U.S. report questions Canada’s rushed Syrian refugee plan – CIJNews English
A new report from the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) called out Canada’s rushed refugee plan and exposed weaknesses in the system.
The 100+ page report on the state of America’s borders was presented on November 23, 2015 at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) hearing on key border security issues and recommendations for “first step” reforms that could begin improving security at US borders.
The report quoted then Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin, who in 2011 told the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding terrorist threats that “it’s commonly accepted that the more significant threat comes from the U.S.- Canada border.”
More recently, witnesses who appeared before HSGAC echoed Bersin’s testimony, stating that a terrorist trying to cross the border into the U.S. would be able to enter the country much more easily from Canada than from Mexico.
It cited an example of Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer who in 1997 entered the U.S. through Blaine, Washington. After being returned three times, the FBI eventually detained him during a counter-terrorism raid in Brooklyn, New York, after being tipped off that Mezer planned to detonate a bomb in a New York City subway station Similarly, in 1999, Ahmed Ressam, a.k.a. the millennium bomber, was stopped at Port Angeles, Washington with components used to produce a bomb. After admitting that he was planning to bomb the Los Angeles International Airport, he was sentenced to 37 years in prison for terrorist activity.
The report also focuses on Canada’s recent struggle to confront radicalization and homegrown terrorism. On February 3, 2015 the RCMP charged three men for recruiting and facilitating the terrorist activity of ISIS. One is in custody, while the other two were charged in absentia, as authorities presume that they have left for Syria. In addition, Quebec and Ontario have been reporting an exodus of young men and women heading to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS. For example, in February, responding to Islamic extremism propaganda, four young men and two female teenagers left Montreal. Police and community leaders are now scrambling to prevent further radicalization and recruitment.
In March, Canada Border Services Agency arrested a man in Toronto for plotting to bomb the U.S. Consulate and several other buildings in the Toronto financial district.
Historically, security observers have argued that Canada represents a substantial vulnerability, because it provides immigrant visas to individuals who pose a significant threat. Witnesses testified before the Committee that if someone gets into Canada, they will most likely be able to enter the U.S.
Under former Prime Minister Harper’s Conservative party, the Canadian government has changed its approach to national and border security after two recent acts of homegrown terrorism. The wake-up call came from both the 2013 detention of two men for conspiring to derail a VA Rail Canada train en route to New York City, and the 2014 Parliament shooting where a military guard was killed during an attack by a homegrown jihadist and convert to Islam. Responding to this new reality, in January 2015 then Prime Minister Harper introduced Bill C-51, a new AntiTerrorism Act, to broaden the powers of the intelligence and law enforcement officers, which was signed into law on June 18, 2015. Bill C-51 criminalized publishing terrorist propaganda, created a no-fly list of suspected terrorists and allowed intelligence and law enforcement agencies to share information on known or suspected terrorists with foreign counterparts.
Even though the Department of Homeland Security believes this law will improve cross-border counterterrorism efforts by enabling Canadian intelligence units to dismantle terrorist cells operating mostly in Ontario and Quebec, newly-elected Prime Minister Trudeau promised to “swiftly overhaul” key sections of the Act which he finds “problematic” For example, Trudeau wants to broaden the definition of “terrorist propaganda”, limit the powers of the Communications Security Establishment (Canada’s electronic spy service) and prioritize community outreach and counter-radicalization efforts by creating the Office of the Community Outreach and Counter-radicalization Co-ordinator.
Also under Harper, the Canadian government began using Bill C-24 to revoke the passports of approximately 130 Canadians with dual citizenship who have joined violent terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, and began gathering evidence to prosecute more than 80 recently radicalized citizens and permanent residents who have returned to Canada after engaging in terrorist-related activities overseas. However, in a leaked recording released by CTV News on September 27, 2015, Trudeau said that he would let convicted terrorists keep Canadian citizenship and called the legislation “absolutely disgusting.” “The Liberal Party believes that terrorists should get to keep their Canadian citizenship … because I do,” Trudeau told a Winnipeg town hall in July. “And I’m willing to take on anyone who disagrees with that.”
The report concludes that America’s borders are not secure. “This current state of affairs is clearly unacceptable. A secure border is not only a prerequisite to a functioning legal immigration system, but it is essential to maintaining national security and protecting public health and safety.”
Johnson says while the U.S. and Canada have always had a “strong working relationship,”Congress should continue to “press the Canadian government to share more information on the Syrian refugees it plans to resettle in North America.”
source: U.S. report questions Canada’s rushed Syrian refugee plan – CIJNews English
