Opinion: Agencies should focus on apprehension

Last month at the Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, a gunman held four hostages for more than 10 hours. Fortunately, the hostages managed to escape unharmed. The FBI then entered the synagogue and killed the suspect, a British national who had entered the U.S. just weeks before.

Early reports indicate that the man, Malik Faisal Akram, had a history of mental health issues as well as a criminal record. Akram’s brother, Gulbar, noted, “He’s known to police. Got a criminal record. How was he allowed to get a visa and acquire a gun?”

Gulbar is correct in his sequencing of events. The primary question being, “How was he allowed to get a visa?” Good question.

News reports show that Malik Faisal Akram arrived in New York on a tourist visa and cleared checks against law enforcement databases without raising any concerns or alarms. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki indicated that he was checked multiple times against government data bases prior to granting him entry to the U.S. but no derogatory information was found.

Naturally, the press immediately ignored the visa question and began focusing on how easy it is for Texans to obtain a firearm, even if they have been banned from buying a gun. Putting aside the fact that Akram can hardly be assumed to be a Texan, media and officials at all levels once again ignore the fact that Chicago has literally thousands of gun deaths annually, while having one of the most restrictive gun laws in the country.

At a news conference, President Biden was discussing the limitations of federal law and how to prevent similar incidents of this nature when he said, “The idea of background checks are critical, but you can’t stop someone from buying something on the street.”

The president is correct. Background checks can’t stop someone from buying a gun on the street. More to the point, background checks can’t even stop someone with a history of mental problems and a criminal record from getting a visa to enter this country.

Consider the following roster of incidents, that is by no means all-inclusive: the 9/11 Twin Towers bombing, the Boston Marathon bombing, the Orlando nightclub shootings, the San Bernadino Christmas shootings and now this latest incident. All of these occurrences were known to some federal investigative agency responsible for protecting the citizens of this country.

To take a page from novelist John Sandford, maybe it’s time to change the name and mission of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the Federal Bureau of Apprehension. Their mission should be to actually “apprehend” a criminal rather than “investigate” a crime.

Rube Render is a former Clovis city commissioner and former chair of the Curry County Republican Party. Contact him:

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