Convicted Terrorist Granted U.S. Citizenship Due to Lax Immigration Enforcement

Family Security Matters

A convicted Palestinian terrorist was granted U.S. citizenship by immigration  authorities who apparently failed to do a proper background check on the  applicant. The convicted bomber, a resident of the Chicago area, is now being  charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for immigration fraud.

Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, a convicted Palestinian terrorist, had received a  life-sentence in Israel for her role in bombing the British consulate in  Jerusalem and for bombing a supermarket where multiple people were killed. The  series of bombs were placed as part of a campaign of terror for the Popular  Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in 1969. The PFLP is a designated  terrorist organization. She was released in a prisoner swap by Israeli  authorities after serving ten years in prison and returned to the West Bank.

Odeh immigrated to the U.S. in 1995 and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in  2004, according  to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Though U.S. authorities have expressed  outrage in their public comments that she did not tell U.S. immigration  authorities about her conviction and imprisonment, they did not indicate whether  or not the responsible U.S. officials would also be held accountable or if the  incident would prompt any changes in the U.S. immigration system.

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