LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The atrocities unleashed on unsuspecting Israelis by terrorists over the last week may seem like a world away to some, but the Jewish and Christian populations in Michigan are on alert.

One of the main reasons is tied to border security. The porous southern border has already opened the doors to  thousands of Middle Eastern “special interest aliens,” according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) internal data, confirmed by CBP sources, and reported by Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin.

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While the southern border gets much of the attention for its unchecked influx of people entering the U.S. illegally, the country’s northern border is a stone’s throw from Michigan. Title 42, which allowed border agents broad authority to send border crossers back to curb COVID-19, expired in May. A Fox 2 interview with border patrol in February 2023 showed agents at the border checkpoint in Detroit had already arrested more people two months into the new year than all of the previous year combined.

“Across the northern border we have seen an increase of 431% and that’s all the way to Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans,” Chief Patrol Agent Robert Danley told Fox 2 at the time. “There are a lot of folks traveling into Canada using electronic travel which is a Visa free travel into Canada.”

That prompted GOP Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy to see the northern border for himself.

 

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Michigan News Source reached out to several law enforcement agencies throughout the state to find out how they are protecting communities. Steve Cooper, Director of Public Safety for the City of Oak Park, told us that although they have not received direct threats, he is patrolling Jewish neighborhoods, synagogues, and schools. “I personally just returned from patrolling the Jewish community [and] there were no issues discovered.”

Michigan State Police (MSP) Communications and Outreach Division Director Shanon Banner said that MSP’s Michigan Intelligence Operations Center (MIOC)  is Michigan’s “fusion center.” It provides statewide sharing among all law enforcement agencies.

Banner said, “While there is no specific intelligence at this time indicating a threat to our state stemming from the Hamas attacks in Israel, the MIOC continues to monitor the situation and will remain engaged with our federal partners.”

President Joe Biden, who remained silent for the first 72 hours of the attack and offered “no comment” on the Americans killed, did briefly discuss the U.S. domestic strategy. “The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are working closely with state and local law enforcement and Jewish community partners to identify and disrupt any domestic threat that could emerge in connection with these horrific attacks,” Biden said.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Leonard Zukrow for Temple Beth Sholom in Marquette offered words of hope. “The rabbis teach that all of Israel, that is all Jews, are responsible one to another,” he said. “What happens in Israel impacts the Jewish community across the globe. Jewish communities in the United States feel the hurt and pain of this moment as do Jewish communities in France, Argentina or Australia.”

Rabbi Zukrow added, “We pray for all who are hurting, in pain, in trauma and in mourning. We help to bring peace where peace is absent.”