Two stories: one theme -- by refusing to deal with illegal immigration, we're making it easier for terrorists to kill Americans.

First Story...

"Three brothers charged in the alleged Fort Dix terror plot have been living illegally in the U.S. for more than 23 years and were accepted as Americans by neighbors and friends who had no idea they would scheme to attack military bases and slaughter GIs.

A federal law enforcement source confirmed to FOX News that the three — Dritan "Anthony" or "Tony" Duka, 28; Shain Duka, 26; and Eljvir "Elvis" Duka, 23 — also accumulated 19 traffic citations, but because they operated in "sanctuary cites," where law enforcement does not routinely report illegal immigrants to homeland security, none of the tickets raised red flags."

So not only were 3 of the Fort Dix terror plotters illegal, all three SHOULD HAVE BEEN caught, arrested and deported after they were stopped by police. But instead, because they were in sanctuary cities, they got a pass -- and that pass could have cost dozens of American soldiers their lives.

Second Story...

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has taken root in South America, fostering a well-financed force of Islamist radicals boiling with hatred for the United States and ready to die to prove it, according to militia members, U.S. officials and police agencies across the continent.

From its Western base in a remote region divided by the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina known as the Tri-border, or the Triple Frontier, Hezbollah has mined the frustrations of many Muslims among about 25,000 Arab residents whose families immigrated mainly from Lebanon in two waves, after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and after the 1985 Lebanese civil war.

...U.S. officials fear that poorly patrolled borders and rampant corruption in the Tri-border region could make it easy for Hezbollah terrorists to infiltrate the southern U.S. border. From the largely lawless region, it is easy for potential terrorists, without detection, to book passage to the United States through Brazil and then Mexico simply by posing as tourists.

They are men like Mustafa Khalil Meri, a young Arab Muslim whom Telemundo interviewed in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay’s second-largest city and the center of the Tri-border region. There is nothing particularly distinctive about him, but beneath the everyday T-shirt he wears beats the heart of a devoted Hezbollah militiaman.

“If he attacks Iran, in two minutes Bush is dead,” Meri said. “We are Muslims. I am Hezbollah. We are Muslims, and we will defend our countries at any time they are attacked.

So, we've got terrorists setting up shop in South America, and threatening us. Setting aside the fact that this is technically a violation of the Monroe doctrine and that Bush should be threatening to bloody Iran unless Hezbollah breaks camp, why are these Islamo-Fascists a threat? Because they can simply waltz right across our Southern border. But, we have people saying we shouldn't build a fence or crack down on illegals. How many dead Americans are open borders worth to the Democrats, Bush, the Wall Street Journal, etc.? Apparently, one hell of a lot

PS: Hey, here's a fascinating thought: if the pro-amnesty crowd, which includes President Bush, had gotten their way last year, Dritan "Anthony" or "Tony" Duka, 28, Shain Duka, 26, and Eljvir "Elvis" Duka" would have all been on the path to citizenship.