Known and potential terrorists have multiple ways to enter the Western Hemisphere and ultimately seek entry into the U.S. and a number of factors make it an attractive region to travel to, the Republican staff of the House Homeland Security Committee reported on Tuesday.
“Many countries in the region continue to face economic and governance challenges, as well as consistently high levels of violent crime,” says the report, Stopping Terrorist Travel Through Illicit Pathways to the Homeland. “Additionally, many of the countries in the Americas have lenient visa and immigration policies in place, even for individuals from ‘special interest’ countries.”
The report highlights seven countries, plus the maritime environment in the Western Hemisphere, and the strengths and weaknesses of each in terms of mitigating foreign terrorist travel into the region. It points out that just about anyone entering Brazil legally or illegally can claim asylum and receive protected status.
The report focuses on Special Interest Aliens (SIAs), who are designated based on their travel patterns and therefore may pose a threat to the U.S.
“While there are multiple points of arrival into the Western Hemisphere, Brazil is the top destination for SIA’s entering the region,” says the 31 page report. “This is due to the ease of international travel into Sao Paulo, as well as the relaxed visa, immigration, and asylum policies of the country.”
After entering Brazil, the SIAs travel north through other countries that “often overlook their movement,” the report says. Transnational criminal organization and smugglers sometimes facilitate the travel of the SIAs, it says.
The report lists a number of ongoing initiatives led by the U.S. to counter the flow of SIAs and makes 10 recommendations to help in this regard. One suggestion is the creation of an Inter-American Information Sharing System to better “coordinate and communicate data on SIAs and other security threats.” Another is a new law that requires the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a maritime border threat analysis.