The Texas Terrorist Attack and the Foreign ‐​Born Terrorist Threat

Alex NowrastehMalik Faisal Akram took four hostages in the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas on the morning of January 15, 2022. Akram let one of the hostages go and the other three eventually escaped. FBI agents then shot and killed Akram when they entered the synagogue. Fortunately, Akram ’s terrorist attack ended without any innocent people being murdered or physically injured. Still, Akram’s attack provides some valuable lessons and insights to understanding foreign‐​born terrorism.Akram was born in the United Kingdom and entered the United States in late December, likely through theVisa Waiver Program although he may have entered with a tourist visa. The Visa Waiver Program is available to most nationals from 40 different countries and it allows them to enter the United States without a visa for temporary travel. Those 40 countries are part of the Visa Waiver Program because their citizens have a low chance of overstaying their visas and becoming illegal immigrants, they share security data with the U.S. government, and they have similar levels of economic development.Akram wasinvestigated by British intelligence at some point but was later considered to not be a threat, so he likely wasn ’t in the notoriously unreliable terrorism databases that should have flagged him. This is one reason why theElectronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) system, which is used by Visa Waiver Program travelers to apply online for preapprova...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs