The Closing of the American Border
By Edward Alden
Harper $27.95

Five of the 19 terrorists who attacked the US on September 11, 2001, had broken US immigration laws. Their leader Mohammed Atta had previously overstayed a visa and should not have been allowed back in. As a Justice Department official put it: “The abuse of US immigration laws was instrumental in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.” It was not going to happen again.