Dear Editor:
In his letter, "Sebastian" says the "9/11 terrorist were not immigrants". I believe under the immigration law (Title 8 of the U.S. Code) and under 8 CFR (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 8) they were "immigrants".
Under the "regs", the term "alien" is defined as: any person not a citizen or national of the United States(not a direct quote). The term "immigrant" means every alien except an alien who is lawfully admitted as a non-immigrant alien. (Again, not a direct quote. I had to memorize these and other definitions when I attended the Border Patrol Academy years ago. When last I checked, they hadn't changed.) While all of the hijackers had entered with non-immigrant visas which they obtained from INS, they obtained those visas through fraud. (I have seen copies of their visa applications and "Sebastian" is right; they never should have gotten visas. I also know that the pressure at that time was to admit "students", not to keep them out.) Their intent at entry was to carry out their dastardly scheme, not to attend school, etc.
If aliens lie about the actual intent of their visit to the U.S., they are not then lawfully admitted as a non-immigrant. Unless someone actually believes that these 19 murderers entered the U.S. as legitimate students and then suddenly decided to collaborate in their horrible crime, they never were here legally. Obtaining a visa or admission by lying does not make an alien legal. And any alien in the U.S. illegally is an "immigrant" under the regulations.
John H. Frecker
Baileyville, ME
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