Essay on TERRORISM AND IMMIGRATION - 1326 Words

Terrorism in the United States nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The terrifying event that occurred on September 11, 2001 is an example of what the world had been warned about many times, â€Å"TERRORISM†. In 1998, for example, the U.S. government told American citizens that they were potential targets for a terrorist group joined by the now infamous Osama bin Laden (Eland, 1998). However, many did not think any terrorist would be capable of the tragedy that leveled the World Trade Center and took many thousands of human lives. Americans thought they could not be touched, especially on their own turf. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;While it may be that organizations involved with Bin Laden that are in the United States, and have been for years,†¦show more content†¦The group has a presence in a number of countries but maintain terrorist training camps in Afghanistan (2001). Many of these terrorist organizations have cells in a variety of countries, including the United States and while that is true, some may wonder how and why terrorist organizations are allowed to exist in a democratic nation. As far as the United States is concerned, the answer is easy. Many U.S. citizens recognize that these groups are permitted, along with the Communist Party for example, because the nation is based on religious and political freedom. Also, another reason why the groups are able to flourish in the United States is because they can hide under the umbrella of mainstream religions and because there are loopholes in immigration policies (Emerson, 2000). Americas borders are also easily penetrable and there are limits on the FBI in terms of their ability to perform law enforcement functions (2000). In other words, because of the freedoms provided by the Constitution, the ability of the agencies of the government to engage in covert operations is limited. The FBI and CIAs lack of total freedom is not the only reason why these groups can easily live in the United States without consequences. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Also responsible for the advent of these groups in America is the lack of a vigilant media (Emerson, 2000).