Republicans in the House of Representatives demand investigation into terrorist-listed migrants entering the US

On By Vaseline

Three Republicans in the House of Representatives are demanding a federal investigation into reports that hundreds of migrants on the terrorist watch list have entered the US – and want to know where the new arrivals are now.

Members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Homeland Security Committee asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in a Tuesday letter exclusively obtained by The Post to identify migrants from the Terrorist Screening Data Set who are attempting to enter the country on and between ports of entry – and those already released into the US.

Intel Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Intel Member French Hill (R-Ark.) and Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) told GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro to open an investigation after the FBI and other intelligence agencies failed to provide answers.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and two other Republicans are demanding a federal investigation into migrants who were placed on the terrorist watch list while trying to enter the U.S. illegally, according to a letter obtained exclusively by The Post. REUTERS

The letter asks how many known suspected terrorists – and their associates or family members – were encountered at the border with Mexico and later cleared to enter the US.

It also asks about the policies and procedures the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) use to mark migrants on the terror watchlist, and whether the agency monitors them after they enter the country.

“We also request that your report evaluate the CBP and FBI activities described above under existing authorities,” the Republicans said.

According to CBP enforcement statistics, in fiscal year 2023, federal authorities encountered 169 people on the terror watch list between ports of entry and 80 at ports of entry at the southern border. Luis Torres/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“For any identified shortcomings in such authorities, we further request that you develop and recommend possible legislative measures aimed at mitigating the resulting national security risks,” she added.

According to CBP enforcement statistics, in fiscal year 2023, federal authorities encountered 169 people on the terror watch list between ports of entry and 80 at ports of entry at the southern border.

Since October 1, nearly 100 have been flagged at and between ports of entry at the southern border.

“The American people are saying, ‘Where are they?’” Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) pressed the intelligence community about the 169 known terror suspects at the southern border in fiscal year 2023. Getty Images

In both financial years combined, another 630 terror suspects were found at the northern border.

But these numbers only include known suspects who entered or were subsequently removed, Hill noted at a threat assessment hearing in March, adding that he and other lawmakers were still unaware of the status of the 169 that we encountered on the southern border.

“We have no idea how many people have crossed the border with this chaos of seven million encounters,” he said, citing the total number of apprehensions at the US-Mexico border since President Biden took office.

Hill, Turner and Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) asked the Government Accountability Office on Tuesday to identify migrants from the Terrorist Screening Data Set. CQ Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed earlier this year that a Somali national who was a member of the terrorist group Al Shabaab was allowed into the country after first being arrested in California in March 2023.

The Terrorist Screening Center initially deemed him a ‘mismatch’ – despite being linked to the use, manufacture or transportation of explosives or firearms – and took a year to discover their mistake and re-arrest him .

Hill attracted attention to the case, saying the 27-year-old terror suspect “wasn’t really captured or known until he used his real identity documents to try to get a job,” citing January testimony from ICE Director Patrick Lechleitner.

Hill asked FBI Director Christopher Wray during a threat hearing in March whether FBI field offices across the country had even been notified of terror suspects and individuals on no-fly lists. Jack Gruber-USA TODAY

The Arkansas Republican asked FBI Director Christopher Wray during the threat hearing whether FBI field offices across the country had been notified of terror suspects and other individuals placed on a no-fly list.

“The way the system works, that’s how it should be,” Wray said. “I can’t tell you it happened in every case.”

Wray added that the “bigger concern” is migrants presenting “fake documents,” leaving authorities without “biometrics, fingerprints or otherwise to compare them against.”

Border Patrol processed 6,000 people at the southern border in one day without a “documentation process,” during a January trip to Eagle Pass, Texas. James Breeden for NY Post

Hill pointed out that Border Patrol processed 6,000 people at the southern border in one day with “no documentation process” during a January trip when he and dozens of other members of Congress observed the scene at Eagle Pass, Texas.

“No biometrics, no photo, no interview, no running against the list, no checking of documents,” he said. “They just sent them on to the US.”

“The American people are saying, ‘Where are they?’” he added, earning a commitment from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to provide the information.

Other terror suspects have been deported after their initial arrests at the border, including a member of the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah who admitted to Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, that he was planning to go to New York and was trying to “make an attempt” . bomb.”