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 he number of illegal
aliens from Middle Eastern countries now living in the United States
could fill two football stadiums, according to a
new Census Bureau report. Demographers who have studied the
2000 Census say there may be 115,000 people from the Middle East
currently residing here.
"It is
difficult to overstate the implications of this new report for the
security of our nation," says Steven A. Camarota, Director
of Research at the Center
for Immigration Studies, which studied the census numbers. "While
the vast majority of illegals from the Middle East are not terrorists,
the fact that tens of thousands of people from that region and millions
more from the rest of the world can settle in the United States
illegally means that terrorists who wish to do so face few obstacles.
We can't protect ourselves from terrorism without dealing with illegal
immigration."
The report
estimates that the 2000 Census counted a total of more than 8.7
million illegal aliens. It suggests the actual figure may be higher
due to an undercount of 15 percent, which would mean the real number
of illegal aliens living in the United States two years ago was
more than 10.2 million.
The Center
for Immigration Studies notes that illegal aliens from the Middle
East have been involved in terrorist activity: "Not only were
at least three of the September 11th hijackers illegal aliens, a
number of past terrorists have also been illegal aliens from the
Middle East, including Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer, who tried to bomb
the New York subway system in 1997, and Mohammed Salameh, who took
part in the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993."
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