Rep. Myrick Is Logically Challenged

A few days ago, Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) released a video on her YouTube page arguing that Venezuela be put on the A-list of "special interest" countries, a group of countries whose citizens are put under increased scrutiny when they are entering the United States. Her conclusion is clear, "people from Iran and other Middle Eastern countries are working to exploit vulnerabilities in our border security, specifically as it relates to Venezuela."

Myrick argues that Iranians are coming to Venezuela, learning Spanish, and then sneaking into the U.S. If they get caught, they then claim that they are Mexican.  Here is how it all works, according to Congresswoman Myrick:

In talking to Border Control agents, we've learned these special interest aliens are going or being sent to Venezuela, acquiring false documents which are easy to obtain, and then, are spending upwards of two years if necessary learning Spanish, so that if they are caught crossing the U.S.-Mexican border, they can claim they are Mexican and avoid further analysis.  Many of these aliens actually change their Middle Eastern names to common Hispanic names, again, to avoid detection.  The implications of these actions are strategic and frightening.

Is the threat real?  Perhaps.  Is her claim logical?  Absolutely not.

Why would Iranians just not learn Spanish before coming to Venezuela?  They do have universities in Iran after all.  Why would Iran not recruit from the thousands of native Iranians who already live in Latin America?  If they are getting fake passports in Venezuela, why then would they just not come into the United States directly from Caracas?  Let's say they get caught at the U.S. border, why would they claim that they are Mexican if their documents say that they are Venezuelan? 

Of course, the blame should not be on Myrick alone, but also on whichever lazy staffer haphazardly did this "research" without considering the manifold contradictions and illogical connections that would be obvious to anyone, even to a Spanish speaking Mexican-Iranian from Venezuela. 

Securing our country depends on actionable intelligence, not on this kind of nonsense. Unfortunately, this kind of convoluted and paranoid thinking has become the hallmark of the American Right.