“There are reasonable concerns about the safety and security of the citizenry of the State of Texas regarding these refugees.”
That’s a quote from federal court documents filed in connection with a lawsuit the state of Texas brought against the State Department last year in an effort to block the Obama administration’s plan to settle Syrian refugees in the Lone Star State.
On Thursday, Alabama sued the federal government as well.
The lawsuits came on the heels of the Paris Attacks which prompted a number of Republican governors to insist that Washington cancel plans to place some 10,000 Syrian refugees across the country. Here’s a look at a map we highlighted [9] back in November when the debate began to heat up in earnest:
[10]
On Thursday, Texas got more ammunition for its fight against the resettlement of refugees in the state when US officials arrested Omar Faraj Saeed Al-Hardan in Houston. Al-Hardan and Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab (who was arrested in Sacramento), are charged with supporting Islamic militant groups, but not with plotting an attack on US soil.
Both Al-Hardan (who came to America in 2009 from Iraq) and Al-Jayab (who immigrated from Syria in 2012) are Iraqi-born Palestinians. "Al-Hardan was charged with providing material support to the Islamic State militant group and for making false statements about ties to the group when seeking U.S. naturalization," Reuters reports [11], adding that "Al-Jayab was arrested on Thursday on a federal charge of making a false statement involving international terrorism."
Al-Jayab stands accused of "traveling to Syria to fight alongside terrorist groups, including Ansar al-Islam," The New York Times adds [12] before outlining the men's specific crimes as follows:
Prosecutors said on Thursday that Mr. Hardan has been associated with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, since 2014 and was trained to use automatic machine guns. He has been charged with one count each of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully, and making false statements, prosecutors said.
In California, the indictment accuses Mr. Jayab of discussing his experience fighting against the government of Syria, and planning to return to fight alongside terrorist groups, over social media in 2012 and 2013.
“O God, grant us martyrdom for your sake while engaged in fighting and not retreating; a martyrdom that would make you satisfied with us,”
Mr. Jayab wrote in one online exchange from April 2013, according to the indictment.
It said he wrote to an associate in another online exchange, “America will not isolate me from my Islamic duty. Only death will do us part. My only wish is to see you and start the action.”
Prosecutors said that Mr. Jayab traveled from Chicago to Syria, by way of Turkey, on Nov. 9, 2013, and fought alongside terrorist groups, including Ansar al-Islam, until January 2014, posting about his experiences with the group on social media along the way. He returned to the United States on Jan. 23, 2014.
Here's the Justice Department on Al-Hardan:
The indictment alleges that Al Hardan attempted to provide material support and resources, including training, expert advice and assistance, and personnel – specifically himself – to a known foreign terrorist organization. According to the allegations, he also knowingly responded, certified and swore untruthfully on his formal application when applying to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. He allegedly represented that he was not associated with a terrorist organization when, in fact, he associated with members and sympathizers of ISIL throughout 2014, according to the charges. The indictment further alleges that during an interview in October 2015, Al Hardan falsely represented that he had never received any type of weapons training, when he allegedly received automatic machine gun training.
And on Al-Jayab:
According to the complaint, Al-Jayab is a Palestinian born in Iraq, who came to the United States as an Iraqi refugee in October 2012. Between October 2012 and November 2013, while living in Arizona and Wisconsin, he communicated over social media with numerous other individuals about his intent to return to Syria to fight for terrorist organizations. In those communications, according to the complaint, Al-Jayab discussed his previous experience with firearms and with fighting against the regime in Syria. On Nov. 9, 2013, he flew from Chicago to Turkey, and then traveled to Syria. Between November 2013 and January 2014, Al-Jayab allegedly reported on social media that he was in Syria fighting with various terrorist organizations, including Ansar al-Islam, a designated foreign terrorist organization since 2004. He returned to the United States on Jan. 23, 2014, and settled in Sacramento.
Needless to say, both Texas governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick jumped at the opportunity to say "we told you so."
"I applaud the FBI for today's arrest of this dangerous subject. However, this is precisely why I called for a halt to refugees entering the U.S. from countries substantially controlled by terrorists," Abbott said. "I once again urge the President to halt the resettlement of these refugees in the United States until there is an effective vetting process that will ensure refugees do not compromise the safety of Americans and Texans."
“Based on the facts, as we know them, today’s action may have prevented a catastrophic terror-related event in the making and saved countless lives,” Patrick chimed in. “This is exactly what we have repeatedly told the Obama administration could happen and why we do not want refugees coming to Texas.”
Both suspects appeared in court on Friday. Authorities say it's exceedingly possible the two men communicated with each other over the last several years. The complaint against Al-Jayab says he spoke with an unnamed Texas resident about training in Syria.
"I need to learn from your weapon expertise," the Texas man wrote to Al-Jayab.
Al-Jayab wrote back: "We will make your abilities very strong."
"Our concern now is only to arrive there," Al-Jayab went on. "When you arrive to al-Sham [Syria] you will be trained."
You can expect the backlash against Mid-East asylum seekers to grow in the US on the heels of the arrests. "This is an extraordinary snapshot of what we're facing now -- the challenge of vetting individuals and maintaining the beacon of hope that America has been for the world over," Michael Wildes, an immigration attorney and former federal prosecutor said.
Of course the fact that the two men have been in the country for an extended period of time raises questions about the existence of sleeper cells. "I commend the law enforcement for apprehending these two individuals, but their apprehensions raise the immediate question: Who else is there? What are they planning next?," Ted Cruz asked on the way to suggesting that America may need to conduct "retroactive assessments" of refugees living in the country.
That raises the following questions. Will the US soon begin to catalogue and round up refugees already living in the country for questioning and interrogation? If so, how will authorities decide who to scrutinize? Will it be based country of origin? Religious affiliation? How does one create an archetype for "terrorists"? Is Cruz's suggestion materially different from Trump's Muslim database and ID cards?
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Al-Hardan indictment
Al Hardan Indictment [13]
Al-Jayab complaint:
Criminal Complaint [14]
