Syrian Musicians Traveled on Expired Visas

The Washington Times yesterday provided details about the Syrian musicians whose behavior on a flight between Detroit and Los Angeles on June 29 raised suspicions of group bomb making drills. The Times reported that 13 of the 14 musicians were traveling on expired visas and noted that the fourteenth musician is a United States citizen. This lapse in security is especially troubling because Syria is designated by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Gabrielle, who called the article to my attention, noted that when enforced, immigration law can be a tool for addressing security concerns:

"Regardless of whether or not these Syrians were genuine musicians, we should not be letting ANYONE travel on expired visas. If you let innocent foreigners get away with it, then pretty soon malicious people take advantage of that fact to do the same. And then the law enforcement who questioned them after the "suspicious" flight didn't even NOTICE that they were traveling on expired visas?! The whole point of abolishing INS and moving immigration functions into the Department of Homeland Security was PRECISELY to drive home to law enforcement the fact that immigration violations can be an indirect tool for addressing security problems!"