Panel Podcast: 9/11 and Immigration - Twenty-Five Years of Lessons and Unfinished Business

Mark Krikorian; Sen. Jeff Sessions; Andrew R. Arthur; Jessica M. Vaughan; George Fishman; Viktor Marsai

By Mark Krikorian, Sen. Jeff Sessions, Andrew R. Arthur, Jessica M. Vaughan, George Fishman, and Viktor Marsai on September 10, 2026

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Summary

Twenty-five years after 9/11, is the United States better prepared to prevent another terrorist attack?

This week's podcast is an edited rebroadcast of the Center's panel held to examine that question, 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 introduced the panel and offered brief remarks. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest at the time of the attacks, Sessions was deeply involved in congressional oversight of immigration and national security in the years following 9/11.

The panel at examined how the attacks reshaped U.S. immigration policy, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, changes to visa screening and information sharing, and increased attention to border security. The panel also revisited the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission: What was implemented? What was left undone? In addition, a European security expert discussed how 9/11 affected policy there as well.

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guests

General Jeff Sessions, Former U.S. Senator and Attorney General.

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 Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee and worked on major post-9/11 immigration and national-security legislation.

Jessica M. 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 Research Institute in Budapest, and professor of security studies at Ludovika University of Public Service.