Despite post-9-11 calls for stemming the flow of potential criminals crossing the largely open U.S. borders, rules and procedures still in use by the INS continue to favor potential terrorists attempting to gain entry into the United States, sources have told WorldNetDaily.

For a time following the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress, the president and policymakers focused almost exclusively on ways to tighten the nation's security. However, border security specialists say little has changed in the nearly seven months since the assaults.

In one of the most recent examples, according to one INS insider, two men of self-proclaimed Palestinian descent whose personal information raised a few red flags when presented to U.S. border authorities were still allowed to enter the U.S.

Worse, the source said, federal law enforcement authorities were not specifically contacted, no follow-up was done and the pervasive attitude of those charged with screening people trying to gain entry into the U.S. is lackadaisical, at best.

The two Palestinian men – one described as being "in his 20s" and the other "in his early 30s" – came through the Port of Entry in Douglas, Ariz., April 16, the insider told WND. The man in his 30s had a "Resident Alien" card, which allows him to live legally in the U.S., but he revealed during interviews "that he was born in 'Palestine' and raised in Saudi Arabia by his parents," said the source, who requested anonymity.

Supervisory personnel at the crossing were under the impression the pair were students, but during more intensive interviews, both men said they were "biomedical technicians" – work that usually involves troubleshooting, repairing and programming all biomedical instrumentation and life-support equipment in hospitals and clinics to ensure safe and proper operation.

Then, during the process of verifying identification, the Social Security number belonging to the younger man – named "Morris" Amin Hania – "came up as being issued to an 'Aldin Howe,'" the source said, adding that INS and Customs officials also discovered that Hania had changed his name from "Mohammed" when he became a naturalized citizen.

Supervisors, however, "seemed unfazed by any of this," said the insider, and told INS personnel to let both men go. The insider source said he was unsure if the FBI was even contacted by border personnel.

"If they were, I'm sure they weren't recontacted and told of their occupations, the name change or the Social Security problem," said the source.

According to INS Form N-400, "Application for Naturalization," Section D, entitled "Name Change," asks applicants if they would "like to legally change" their names. If applicants answer "yes," they are instructed to "print the new name you would like to use."

The insider told WND that inspectors may not ever know that a naturalized citizen had changed his name.

"When a naturalized citizen re-enters the U.S., all he or she has to say is, 'U.S. citizen,'" the source said. "If the inspector wants to verify his citizenship, he usually asks how the person obtained it. The person usually says they were born here or naturalized. If naturalized, the inspector usually asks if the person has his naturalization certificate" or what is referred to as an "A" number – an alien's file number with the INS.

"If the person presents the certificate and it's authentic or readily gives the inspector the 'A' number and date of naturalization, he is 'DTR' – down the road," said the source. "Nowhere in the process would an inspector have an indication that the naturalized citizen has changed his name."

Worse, he said, thousands of certificates have been stolen from INS trucks transporting them from Los Angeles to Phoenix.

Is there a potential for sleeper terrorists to use the name-change loophole to disappear into the United States? The insider believes so.

Part of the problem at INS could be mentality. The insider source said agents, inspectors and other employees are told not to think of their jobs as helping to "defend America."

Rather, he said employees and inspectors are told INS "is a service, not law enforcement." He added that most inspectors "either were not U.S. citizens for long prior to coming to work … or have family across the border [in Mexico] and don't think a border should exist at all."

He said there were "many rank-and-file inspectors doing their best to protect America by enforcing the laws" but added that many "are opening the floodgates for aliens."

Loophole worries

The FBI also sees the possibility that potential terrorists – using new names – could slip past authorities into the U.S.

FBI officials said INS, the U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies have access to FBI databases at border checkpoints. If agents encountered a suspected terrorist, for example – or if a suspected terrorist managed to slip through a border checkpoint – FBI officials said the bureau would "most likely" be notified.

However, one FBI official – who spoke on anonymity – told WND he was unaware that INS offered naturalizing aliens the opportunity to change their names. And, he said, if INS didn't track those changes, it's likely the FBI and other federal authorities would never know the difference.

"If [the name changes] were recorded in records somewhere that the alien has an alias, then it wouldn't be a problem" to track him or her, the FBI official said. "But if this is done more unofficially and the alien is assuming a different identity, then yes, in some ways" they could likely slip into the U.S. unnoticed.

"Whether this poses a hindrance in our ability to locate and identify some of these guys, it's hard to say, but in some cases it probably does," the official said.

The official said "it's hard to say" whether the bureau would be notified if someone trying to enter the U.S. gave authorities an allegedly false Social Security number.

"That's more of a speculative thing. What would happen is whatever the people on the scene decided to do," he said. "They should probably notify law enforcement."

Customs officials agreed that the process for further vetting of aliens at Ports of Entry was subjective and often depended upon the impressions of individual inspectors.

One Customs official, speaking on background, said she wasn't sure if agents checked every person coming into the country.

"It all depends when they interview them," she said, "if they're acting nervous, if there's a problem with the paperwork, or the way the person is refusing to answer or is answering everyday questions. It all depends on the interview process and if that turns up something unusual."

According to the INS, there are no hard-and-fast rules for dealing with people who provide false information. Again, said spokeswoman Amy Hotten, it's a subjective process. Even in the event that someone trying to enter the U.S. gave an incorrect piece of information, "every case is different," she said.

"If it's a naturalized citizen presenting authentic documents," it wouldn't necessarily matter if they gave bum information. "That's not really the bottom line."

If inspectors were "satisfied" that persons presenting at border crossings were who they said they were, that would be the end of it – even if they had roots in terrorist-sponsoring regions of the world.

"Again, I think that we look at the totality of the documentation that they present to us," she said. "Our goal is to determine that, in fact, they are allowed to enter the United States."

She said names and other information are not matched against available information databases unless inspectors see a need to check. But she said no matter what, naturalization applicants are vetted by officials before they are granted citizenship and any requested name changes.

"Before anyone is naturalized, we run fingerprints (through the FBI) and we run [their names] through our databases," she told WND.

The INS insider, however, was skeptical.

"We all know how good INS is about conducting background checks on immigrants. It seems like there is a gaping loophole there for an opportunistic terrorist or criminal," he said.

And some lawmakers have pointed out that INS has a backlog of tens of thousands, which, they say, makes it impossible for officials to conduct thorough checks.

Hotten said she didn't know why INS offered naturalization applicants the opportunity to change their names, but she said it wasn't "an administrative process – something the INS could just do – but rather through a judicial ceremony" that was finalized during the citizenship process. She said INS did not specifically keep track of the name changes.

Also, she denied the agency routinely had its documents stolen, but "a more pressing problem" was the proliferation of "fraudulent documents."

Importing terrorists?

Though the insider said the Palestinian men appeared to be in the U.S. legally, the U.S. Census Bureau, in its 2000 census, estimated that 100,000 people of Mideast origin were in the country illegally.

While most immigrants have to apply for naturalization, the U.S. also grants "permanent resident visas" – otherwise known as "green cards" – to 55,000 randomly selected aliens each year – 50,000 of which make up the "Diversity Visa Lottery Program," offered "to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States."

"You or your spouse must be a native of a country that is eligible to participate in the Diversity Visa Lottery. You may also be eligible to apply if your parent was born in a country that is eligible to participate," said information posted on the U.S. Immigration Services website.

"You must have a high-school diploma or the equivalent, defined in the United States as successful completion of a 12-year course of elementary and secondary education; or you must have two years of work experience within the last five years in an occupation that requires at least two years of training or experience to perform," said the website.

"It took 3,000 lives before Congress started listening to the few small voices of dissent within INS," the INS insider told WND, "but I'm still not sure they're listening now."

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the House voted 405-9 in favor of a bill that would break up the INS into two separate agencies.

Lawmakers who support the legislation also were critical of the agency, especially when it has been faced with other suspects carrying phony documentation.

"You don't have to look far to see where the INS has fallen short" in its duties, said Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif. "Last August, an illegal immigrant with fraudulent papers was caught trying to enter the naval base at Port Hueneme, Calif."

Military police called the Border Patrol, but on orders "handed down from headquarters," INS said that "it's not our policy to pick up illegal immigrants in such cases," Gallegly explained.

Gallegly, who co-sponsored the legislation, said he's "always been dedicated to making sure INS has had all the tools and resources it needed" to do its job. But, he pointed out, despite "a budget increase of over 300 percent – from $1.4 billion in 1992 to its current level of over $5.5 billion – the systemic problems and underperformance of INS only got worse."

In the agency's defense, supporters point out that immigration officials – in conjunction with the Justice Department – indicted 140 airport workers employed at the three major airports in the Washington, D.C. region earlier this week.

About 100 have been picked up, but another 40 or so remain at large, officials said. The workers arrested lied about their identities and criminal backgrounds in order to get jobs to work near airplanes, on runways and in cargo facilities, said officials.

Related stories:

Could U.S. give terrorists green cards?

Border Patrol encounters armed Mexican soldiers

Lawmaker fights Bush amnesty plan

Census: 100,000 Mideast illegals in U.S.

'Arab terrorists' crossing border

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