In placing an overwhelming emphasis on protecting its aerial entry points, it seems the United States is neglecting its backyard. The ease in which illegals cross the border is uncanny. Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez of Zapata County, Texas, told the Fox network’s Hannity & Colmes show August 23, “[T]he border is wide open; it’s porous, vulnerable. It’s open to anybody.” Anybody, in this case, is a scary word.

Recent discoveries at border crossings with Mexico have alerted local authorities of the certainty that Islamic peoples are entering the United States illegally. Sheriff Gonzalez told Cybercast News Service that “Iranian currency, military badges in Arabic, jackets and other clothing are among the items that have been discovered along the banks of the Rio Grande River” (August 21). One particular military patch showed an “airplane flying over a building heading toward a tower. Translators with [the Department of Homeland Security] have said some of the various phrases and slogans on the items could mean ‘martyr,’ ‘way to eternal life’ or ‘way to immortality.’”

The Islamists that cross the border go to tremendous lengths to ensure their mission is a “success.” “Carlos Espinosa, a press spokesman for [Rep. Tom] Tancredo, said his office is aware of a training camp in Brazil that actually teaches people from outside of Latin America how they can assimilate into the Mexican culture” (ibid.).

Along with being educated in the Spanish language to remain incognito upon entering the U.S., the extremists are willing to pay up to $50,000 for smugglers to give them an armed escort across the border (Fox News, op. cit.). With this much money involved, it is safe to assume they are not immigrating for job opportunities. These instances have led local law enforcement to raise the red flag.

The Texas Border Sheriffs’ Coalition has been making an all-out effort to arouse the federal government to stem the tide of these potential terrorists. But even if help arrives, the damage may already be done. “We feel that terrorists are already here and continue to enter our country on a daily basis,” said Gonzalez.

A recent internal audit of the Department of Homeland Security gives the figures to back that up. In the 4½-year period between the beginning of 2001 and mid-2005, the U.S. arrested and then released over 45,000 illegal immigrants from nations that are either known for their anti-American sentiment or are considered “hotbeds of Islamic fundamentalism”—countries such as Iran, North Korea, Syria and Cuba.

That means more than 45,000 people from countries known for their hatred toward the U.S. have already assimilated into the American population.

While the majority of these probably don’t intend to become “martyrs,” how many jihadists does it take to cause severe carnage and destruction? Just 19 pulled off 9/11.

The potential outcome of this ongoing breach of the southern border is chilling—but it shouldn’t be surprising. Biblical prophecy (spelled out in our free book Ezekiel: The End-Time Prophet) strongly indicates the likelihood of terrorist violence creating a high death toll in the United States in the time just ahead—far in excess of anything we have so far witnessed.

These extremists who enter the U.S. illegally could very well initiate a greater and far-reaching terrorist plot as part of the fulfillment of this prophecy.