Sounding the Border Alarm Bells
This week, we learned that an ISIS plot to assassinate President George W. Bush has been foiled by the FBI. We now know that an ISIS-linked operative in the United States was plotting to smuggle a team of terrorists across the U.S.-Mexico border and murder President Bush in Dallas. Thankfully, the scheme was uncovered, and the suspect is in custody, but this story underscores how our failure to secure the southern border puts American lives and livelihoods at risk.
I am very worried about the possibility of another terrorist attack in our country. After the tragic attack on September 11, 2001, the 9/11 Commission was set up to investigate the tragedy and discover what went wrong. After they concluded their study, they reported that the system was “blinking red” in the months leading up to 9/11. The signs of a pending terrorist attack went unchecked. It only took 19 terrorists to carry out the most tragic terror attack on U.S. soil in history.
I believe we could be in a pre-9/11 moment today.
Just in the month of April, CBP had 234,088 migrant encounters along the southwest border, a 31% increase from April ’21 and a 1,268% increase from April ’20. April was also the 14th straight month with more than 150,000 encounters.
Just this week, we discovered that the Department of Homeland Security waited two weeks to arrest a suspected terrorist after releasing him into the United States when he illegally crossed the southern border. This year alone, dozens of operatives on the known and suspected terrorist watch list have been caught along our southern border. In fact, there have been more encounters with known or suspected terrorists in this fiscal year than in the last five years combined.
Learning this number took over a year of pressure from myself on the Biden Administration to release the number of Known and Suspected Terrorists crossing our southern border. I was proud to lead the effort to ensure the American people have transparency on who and what is crossing our border. Because of these efforts, we know that at least 35 people whose names appear on the terror watch list were stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry this fiscal year.
It is important to note that this number does not include the known ‘got-aways’ who have entered our country unchecked. Since President Biden took office, there have been over 620,000 'got-aways.' This means a group of people nearly the size of our entire Congressional District is living in the shadows in the United States. We know nothing about them or how many potential terrorists could be among them.
I sincerely hope that the news breaking about the plot to kill President Bush shakes the country and wakes up this Administration. They are asleep at the wheel and ignoring the blinking red lights.
I will continue sounding the alarm bells, introducing legislation to secure the border, and applying pressure on the Democrats who refuse to acknowledge the severe threat an open border poses to our National Security. It is long past time for them to work with us on common-sense measures that will protect our country.
Watch my discussion on Fox News' Evening Edit this past week, discussing the current Administration's failing border crises and the dangers that come with a porous border.
Click
here or below to watch.
