How many Hosam Smadi's are there out there?

The case of Hosam Smadi should scare us to death. He's the illegal Jordanian who tried to blow up Fountain Place in Dallas. He came in on a visitor visa that expired long ago. Immigration officials say that expired visas mean little -- it's almost certain authorities won't take notice. Representative Lamar Smith says, "Unfortunately, a lot of people are coming in for the wrong reasons -- to harm Americans or kill Americans, rather than as an innocent tourist. Once you come into the country on a tourist visa, you've passed 'Go.' People know they're home free and there's no effort made to keep track of them."

Our country's liberal tendencies will kill us one day. After Sept. 11, the government required males ages 16 to 70 from a number of predominantly Muslim countries to report their whereabouts. All the bleeding hearts kicked up a fuss, and the program was abandoned. We caught Hosam, but how many Hosam's have we not caught?

We also need to go after Hosam's American "wife." Her grandfather says Hosam offered her $5,000 to marry him so he could stay here, but she held out for $10,000. Last time I noticed, that was against the law. We need to prosecute these offenders who place their countrymen at risk.

"Suspect's visa had expired." The Dallas Morning News; September 30, 2009; p. 1B.