Saudi Arabian immigration to America? Doubled. Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh also way up.

Immigration has become a hot topic in this presidential election cycle not only because of the typical concerns associated with the porous U.S. Mexico border and specific issues with Latin American immigrants, but also the security risks with certain immigrants coming from Islamic world. Of course, America has benefited immensely from its immigrants, and should continue to be welcoming to those that are seeking a better life provided they also intend to assimilate to American culture.

However, as we have seen from the massive waves of Muslims leaving the Middle East and Africa for the West, jihadists have successfully infiltrated those groups as a way to deploy their fighters. One immediate action the U.S. needs to take is to halt all immigration from specific nationals in “Islamist compromised areas” such as Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, among others until our government is able to setup more intensive vetting procedures. But of course we are doing exactly the opposite. For example, based off of Census Bureau data the Center for Immigration Studies states:

The sending countries with the largest percentage increases in immigrants living in the United States from 2010 to 2014 were Saudi Arabia (up 93 percent), Bangladesh (up 37 percent), Iraq (up 36 percent), Egypt (up 25 percent), and Pakistan, India, and Ethiopia (each up 24 percent).

It’s interesting that a lot of the above listed countries are Muslim majority states and are Islamist hotspots. Maybe this trend has something to do with the policies of the Obama Administration – especially regarding Saudi Arabia. Visas for Saudi nationals also soared during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as U.S. Secretary of State. Investigative journalist Paul Sperry reports:

The annual number of nonimmigrant visas issued to Saudi nationals soared 93% during Clinton’s tenure as secretary from 2009 to 2013, federal data show, hitting a record 108,578 in fiscal 2013 and reversing a post-9/11 pause in Saudi visa approvals. Before leaving office, Clinton helped negotiate a little-noticed January 2013 administration deal with Riyadh to allow Saudi visa-holders to enter the U.S. as “trusted travelers” and bypass the normal border security process. The next year, the State Department issued an all-time-high 142,180 Saudi visas, consular data show.

Did we really learn the lessons from 9/11? Doesn’t seem like it. Besides the security aspects of immigration and traveling policies as already discussed the Center for Immigration Studies also reveals how current immigration is affecting a debt-burdened U.S. economy:

…Immigrants account for more than one in eight U.S. residents. Children from immigrant households now account for nearly one in four public school students, almost one-third of children in poverty, and one-third without health insurance, creating enormous challenges for the nation’s schools, health care system, and physical infrastructure. The large share of immigrants who arrive as adults with relatively few years of schooling is the primary reason so many live in poverty, use welfare programs, and lack health insurance.

Whether Americans are dealing with legal or illegal immigration the truth is we can’t afford to keep continuing down this same road. It’s time to enact some real reforms so America doesn’t become another catastrophe like Europe.