# Were the 9/11 hijackers in the country illegally? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 23, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-9-11-hijackers-in-the-country-illegally/357901 "2006-05-23T14:19:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-9-11-hijackers-in-the-country-illegally/357901/1 "2006-05-23T14:19:07Z")
Certainly the men who hijacked the various planes used in those attacks were planning illegal actions, but I was under the impression that they did have valid visas at the time that they boarded their respective flights. I’m just sick of people using the fact that the people involved with 9/11 were aliens as a reason to propose some rather draconian measures (such as repealing the 14th amendment) to combat illegal immigration. I could do a Google search, I know, and likely get the answer I need, but frankly, I know my fellow Dopers are just as likely to give me a better answer than Google would offer, and also share some of their thoughts on the same issue. Controlling the borders is important, but implying that illegal immigrants are the cause of such actions as 9/11 is contrary to what I recall of the event. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-9-11-hijackers-in-the-country-illegally/357901/2 "2006-05-23T14:34:34Z")
As I recall, most of them had expired tourist visas. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-9-11-hijackers-in-the-country-illegally/357901/3 "2006-05-23T15:48:47Z")
According to a [speech](http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/speeches/speech041902.htm) given by the Director of the FBI: > [@](#): > > All 19 entered our country legally, and only three had overstayed the legal limits of their visas on the day of the attacks. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-9-11-hijackers-in-the-country-illegally/357901/4 "2006-05-23T15:52:48Z")
Thank you, **Cooking with Gas**. It’s nice to have facts to back up my original impression. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-9-11-hijackers-in-the-country-illegally/357901/5 "2006-05-23T20:07:10Z")
The visa system was so messed up that the INS actually provided student visas to two of the hijackers a full six months after 9/11. :smack: [Link](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/05/national/main511204.shtml) One would have thought that the name “Mohamed Atta” would have rung a bell somewhere, but no such luck. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-9-11-hijackers-in-the-country-illegally/357901/6 "2006-05-23T23:06:27Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Thank you, **Cooking with Gas**. It’s nice to have facts to back up my original impression. [/QUOTE] I did a little more looking on this–apparently there are some who dispute the government’s version; there may have been some falsification of visas or other shennanigans. It seems universally agreed, however, that none of the hijackers slipped across the southern border in a panel truck 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-9-11-hijackers-in-the-country-illegally/357901/7 "2006-05-24T19:10:09Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Certainly the men who hijacked the various planes used in those attacks were planning illegal actions, but I was under the impression that they did have valid visas at the time that they boarded their respective flights. I’m just sick of people using the fact that the people involved with 9/11 were aliens as a reason to propose some rather draconian measures (such as repealing the 14th amendment) to combat illegal immigration. [/QUOTE] You also sometimes see the false statement floating about that the hijackers entered the US from Canada. If you need help debunking that statement, check out this thread: [Need help debunking a 9/11 myth](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=327296).