August, 2004
Tancredo Questions State Dep't Move to Grant 100 Undocumented Muslims Citizenship
"Same process granted Muslim suspect asylum three years before attempted purchase of shoulder fired missiles for terrorist attack"
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Tom Tancredo (CO-06) today sent a letter to State Department Secretary Colin Powell asking to know what safeguards are in place to assure Americans that none of these or the 11,000 other Muslims eligible for refugee status will turn out to be the next Yassin Aref, one the two Albany men who were detained earlier this week in New York for allegedly attempting to obtain shoulder fired missiles as part of a terrorist plot.
"To hear reports about anyone being granted unconditional citizenship and has no identification is troubling to say the least," said Tancredo, Chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus. "How can we sleep at night not knowing that our government isn't doing everything possible to prevent another terrorist attack on our own soil?"
Recent news reports in the foreign media have indicated that the Department of State is in the process of granting political asylum to nearly 100 Ahiska Muslims and Meskethi Turks from parts of the former Soviet Union. There are also as many as 11,000 more of these individuals who are eligible to apply for legal status using the same process. Many of these individuals have no formal identification, as the Russian government does not treat Ahiska Muslims as citizens.
Tancredo concluded, "I hope the State Department can explain what screening procedures are in place to ensure that none of these individuals are potential risks, considering their lack of documentation."
# # # #