In July 1996, Hedayet' s wife won a visa
More appalling yet, the INS authorized Hedayet to work in June 1996, on the
In July 1996, Hedayet' s wife won a visa
from the State Department' s annual lottery.
the full extent of the INS' error became evident when Hedayet launched a shooting spree against the El Al
More appalling yet, the INS authorized Hedayet to work in June 1996, on the
same day it issued a deportation memorandum.
In a hearing last week, it came out that Hedayet entered the United States as a tourist in 1992,
then applied for asylum claiming discrimination on account of his"religious beliefs.".
To support this claim, Hedayet told the INS that the Egyptian government had
coerced him into signing two documents, acknowledging his membership in al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya("the Islamic Group") and his intentions to overthrow the government of Egypt.
Six years later, on July 4, 2002,
the full extent of the INS' error became evident when Hedayet launched a shooting spree against the El Al
counter at Los Angeles International Airport, killing two before being shot dead himself.
The only indication that Mr. Hedayet could pose a threat to others in the United
States," it defiantly announced last week,"was his own assertion that he was falsely accused of being a member of an organization that committed terrorist activities.".
Hedayet denied the validity of these confessions, but- given the nature
of al- Gama' a al- Islamiyya, a group engaged in terrorism going back to the assassination of Anwar Sadat in October 1981- their very existence should have raised red flags.
To begin the urgent repair work, the INS must take three steps: Own up to its multiple
errors with regard to Hesham Mohamed Ali Hedayet; undertake a remedial campaign to go through its archives
and arrest or deport all immigrants with ties to terrorism, and hold accountable those employees who behaved with what appears to be criminal negligence.