Washington, D.C., Sept. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

Twenty-five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Center for Immigration Studies will convene a panel discussing the role immigration and border security played in the attacks, the major policy changes that followed, and the national-security challenges that remain.

Former U.S. Senator and Attorney General Jeff Sessions will introduce the panel and offer brief remarks. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, Sessions was deeply involved in congressional oversight of immigration and national security in the years following 9/11, including hearings examining immigration enforcement, visa screening, border security, and terrorism.

The September 8 panel at 2 p.m. will examine how the attacks reshaped U.S. immigration policy, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, changes to visa screening and information sharing, and increased attention to border security.

The panel will also revisit the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission: What was implemented? What was left undone? And is the United States better prepared today to prevent another terrorist attack?

  • DATE: September 8, 2026, at 2:00PM ET
  • LOCATION: Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2237, 50 Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C.
  • STREAMS:  YouTube, Facebook, X
  • RSVP: mrt@cis.org

PANELISTS:

  • Andrew R. Arthur, CIS Fellow in Law and Policy, who served as immigration oversight counsel to House Judiciary Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner beginning in July 2001 and worked on major post-9/11 immigration  and national-security legislation.
  • George Fishman, CIS Senior Legal Fellow, who served for two decades as Republican Chief Counsel of the House Judicairy Committee’s immigration subcommittee and worked on major post-9/11 immigration and national-security legislation. 
  • Jessica Vaughan, CIS Director of Policy Studies, who was at CIS on 9/11 and specializes in immigration screening, visa programs, immigration enforcement, and public safety. 
  • Viktor Marsai, CIS Fellow, Director, Migration Policy Institute in Budapest, and professor of security studies at Ludovika University of Public Service.

Mark Krikorian, CIS Executive Director, will moderate. 


Marguerite Telford, Director of Communications
Center for Immigration Studies
202-466-8185
mrt@cis.org

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