A wake-up call for the Senate

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The revelation of the terrorist plot to bomb JFK Airport should be a jolting wake-up call to the U.S. Senate -- a reminder that the plotting of alien terrorists cannot be ignored as the Senate considers a massive amnesty for 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens.

The four alleged JFK Airport terrorists include two nationals of Guyana, one of Trinidad and one former Guyanan who was granted U.S. citizenship.

And let's not forget the accused Fort Dix Islamic terrorists who were arrested in May. Five were aliens from Yugoslavia and Jordan. A sixth, from Turkey, had obtained U.S. citizenship. Of the five aliens, three were illegals who had snuck across the border near Brownsville, Texas.

It is undeniable that our immigration policy is a central facet of our anti-terrorism policy. Virtually all of the terrorists targeting this country are aliens who need to be in the United States to carry out their attacks.

Unfortunately, the authors of the Kennedy amnesty bill don't see the connection between immigration laws and terrorism. As a result, the bill creates two wide-open doors for alien terrorists.

Before looking at these vulnerabilities, consider two things we know about the modus operandi of al Qaeda and other radical Islamic terrorist organizations: (1) they prefer to operate in the United States using the cover of a legal status if possible, and (2) they are adept at fraudulently obtaining legal status.

For example, all 19 September 11 hijackers entered the United States legally. They used their passports and visas as breeder documents to obtain 63 driver's licenses. With these valid IDs, they were able to travel openly and board airplanes easily. With legal status, a terrorist can operate with more freedom, secure in the knowledge that a traffic violation won't lead to deportation. He can also exit and re-enter the country, enabling international terrorist networks to support him more easily.

The ability of terrorists to obtain legal status by fraudulently applying for amnesty is also well established.

A case in point: Mahmoud "the Red" Abouhalima. He fraudulently obtained legal status under the 1986 amnesty that was supposed to be limited to seasonal agricultural workers. He was actually driving a cab in New York City. He was also a ringleader in the 1993 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center, and he used his new legal status to travel abroad for terrorist training. His brother Mohammed -- a fellow terrorist involved in the plot -- also obtained legal status under the 1986 amnesty.

These are not isolated cases. A 2005 study by Janice Kephart, counsel to the September 11 commission, found that 59 out of 94 foreign-born terrorists (about two in three) successfully committed immigration fraud to acquire or adjust legal status.