Homeland Security
Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council | FBI/Joint Terrorism Task Force
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The attacks on September 11, 2001, marked a turning point in this country’s fight against terrorism. That morning, the forces of terrorism attacked the citizens of our country with the ferocity that was nothing short of a declaration of war against the American people. President George W. Bush announced that we will meet that declaration with a full commitment of resources and with a firm resolve to rid the world of terrorism. The fight against terrorism must be our first and overriding priority.
On September 17, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft issued an anti-terrorism directive ordering United States Attorneys’ Offices to do four things:
- First, it required that the United States Attorneys make the fight against terrorism “our first and overriding priority.”
- Second, it instructed the United States Attorneys’ Offices and all Department of Justice components to implement an anti-terrorism plan which will employ all available law enforcement tools and criminal charges to incapacitate those individuals who participate in, or lend support to, terrorist activities.
- Third, it ordered United States Attorneys to appoint an Anti-Terrorism Coordinator and to establish within each district an Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council to serve as a conduit for information sharing between federal and state authorities, a coordinating body for carrying out the anti-terrorism plan, and an organizational structure for responding to any future terrorist incidents in that district.
- Lastly, the directive asked that each United States Attorney appoint an Immigration Coordinator to oversee the handling of any immigration cases arising from the implementation of the anti-terrorism plan.
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