In Re: Mohsen Mahdawi

Who let him into the country in the first place? Do we even have a State Department?

You may be following the news that a federal judge has sprung Mohsen Mahdawi, the anti-Semitic Columbia graduate, from federal custody, pending further deportation proceedings. It turns out that an affidavit from 2015 captures Mahdawi saying that he wants to “kill Jews.”

So here’s my question. How did he answer the State Department’s visa application form DS-160 when he applied to come to the U.S..

The visa application includes a series of screening questions, asking for “yes” or “no” answers to the following:

• Do you seek to engage in terrorist activities while in the United States, or have you ever been engaged in terrorist activities?

• Are you a member or representative of a terrorist organization?

• Have you ever ordered, incited, committed, assisted, or otherwise participated in genocide?

There are many more questions in this vein, asking applicants if they intend to engage in any human trafficking, money-laundering, drug dealing or manufacturing, and so forth.

I’m sure people who wish us ill, or wish to break the law in the U.S., will always answer these questions truthfully. Just like the 9/11 hijackers.

But not to worry. The State Department wants to reassure truth-telling applicants from ISIS, Hamas, or whatever, adding this:

While a Yes answer does not automatically signify ineligibility for a visa, you may be required to personally appear before a consular officer.

Now, to fully appreciate the absurdity of this scene, give yourself three minutes to hear the great M. Stanton Evans explain it in his inimitable way back in 2002—I guarantee you won’t regret it:

UPDATE—Fixed it for the Times: