.....A Mississippi-based immigration activist is appalled that potential terrorists were among a group of illegal aliens apprehended by federal agents in a sting operation along Interstate 20 in the Magnolia State.....

Chad Groening, OneNewsNow, 1/30/2008

Operation Uniforce was conducted during a two-week period this month by a special Border Patrol task force targeting I-20 because federal agents believe it is a new corridor for smugglers to ferry illegal aliens to the East Coast. A similar operation was conducted on I-10 last year at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. According to the Border Patrol, greater scrutiny of the I-10 corridor prompted smugglers to move further inland to I-20 -- which is 800 miles from the Mexican border.

While most of the illegal immigrants nabbed came from Mexico, two individuals from "special interest" countries -- one Egyptian and the other a Palestinian from the West Bank -- were also apprehended. Rodney Hunt with the Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement says people are concerned that terrorists are entering the U.S. across the porous border. "And I think this just shows [that] these people from these special interest countries ... [are not just] ... people coming here taking jobs from Americans, but we have potential ... terrorists," warns Hunt.

Hunt is also fearful that Mississippi's illegal alien population in general will grow dramatically because I-20 cuts right across the state. "You know one of the things I think that'll be a big problem here in Mississippi," he continues, "[is that] we'll become a sanctuary state. We already have a large illegal population probably of 120,000."

The activist believes Mississippi will have to take a more active role in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration into the state.