On Tuesday, Congressman Jerry Carl (R-AL01) referenced a CNN article about an individual with ISIS ties who was discovered smuggling migrants over the U.S. southern border when he expressed concerns that terrorist organizations are taking advantage of U.S. border policies.
“This is just another horrific example of the terrible things going on at the southern border,” Carl wrote on Twitter. “Terrorist organizations are taking full advantage of our open borders, and it’s making ALL our communities less safe.”
According to original reporting by CNN, the FBI is investigating more than a dozen migrants from Uzbekistan and other countries allowed into the U.S. after they sought asylum at the southern border. This is not unusual, as over six million migrants have entered the U.S. since Joe Biden became President. What set off alarm bells at Homeland Security was when U.S. intelligence officials found that the migrants traveled with the help of a smuggler with ties to ISIS.
The FBI says that no specific ISIS plot has been identified here. They are, however, still working to “identify and assess” all of the individuals who gained entry to the United States, according to a statement from National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson. They are also closely scrutinizing a number of the migrants as possible criminal threats, according to two U.S. officials.
The government says that there is no evidence at this point to justify detaining anyone. That said, an urgent classified intelligence report was circulated to President Biden’s top Cabinet officials in their morning briefing book.
Some counterterrorism officials say this incident shows that the U.S. is deeply vulnerable to the possibility that terrorists could sneak across the southern border by hiding amid the surge of migrants entering the country in search of asylum.
Congressman Barry Moore (R-AL02) also shared the same CNN article that was initially shared by the House Republican Caucus.
“More than a dozen Uzbek nationals entered into our country with the help of an ISIS smuggler, and now we are scrambling to find them,” Rep. Moore said on Twitter. “If our border was secure, these incidents wouldn’t happen. #BidenBorderCrisis”
Congressmen Carl and Moore are in their second terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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