House Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee have demanded that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray reveal details about eight migrant men linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) who were arrested in the United States after crossing the southern border.
At least one of the eight migrants was directly released by President Joe Biden’s DHS, reportedly through the CBP One mobile app, which allows migrants in Mexico to schedule appointments for release into the U.S. interior at Ports of Entry along the border.
In a letter to Mayorkas and Wray, Reps. Mark Green, Dan Bishop, August Pfluger, and Clay Higgins expressed concern about the “pattern” of potential terrorists crossing the border. They wrote that it was unclear how each of the eight individuals came to reside in the United States, although reports indicated that two crossed the Southwest Border of the United States in the spring of 2023, and one used the CBP One App to schedule an appointment to be screened prior to entry.
The lawmakers noted that a previous letter to Mayorkas had requested information regarding two separate incidents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) releasing individuals who were on a federal terrorist watchlist. The requests in that letter remained outstanding. Since then, the committee had learned that Mohammad Kharwin, an individual on a federal terrorist watchlist due to his associations with an Afghan-based terrorist organization, was released from ICE custody into an alternatives to detention program in March 2023.
The department’s prioritization of catch, process, and release poses a grave danger to national security, the committee said. They have repeatedly highlighted the security vulnerabilities inherent in the massive influx of illegal aliens at the border, the insufficient vetting of the illegal aliens released en masse into the United States, and the unprecedented number of getaways evading apprehension.
The Republicans asked for full details on the eight migrant men linked to ISIS that the FBI has arrested, including all internal government communications regarding the case, and requested a briefing on their arrests by July 2.
Since the start of Fiscal Year 2021, almost 400 migrants who appear on the Terrorist Watch List have been apprehended along the border attempting to enter the U.S.
