INS rules: Three strikes, you walk.

• Author: Gaul, Gilbert M.
• Position: US Immigration and Naturalization Service - Brief Article

For Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer, a 23-year-old Palestinian and aspiring terrorist, the third time was the charm.

In 1996, agents for the Immigration and Naturalization Service twice caught Abu Mezer attempting to sneak into the United States at the Canadian border. Although he had no identification and a criminal past, he was returned to Canada without being charged.

In early 1997, Abu Mezer was captured a third time, as he boarded a Greyhound bus in Bellingham, Wash. This time, he requested asylum in the United States and was released.

A top INS official later cited...