Four Republican senators warned that the current administration's border policies show that President Joe Biden isn't willing to "protect the homeland."
Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska held a press conference Tuesday after a recent visit to the nation's southern border in which they reiterated Republicans' interest in curbing illegal immigration.
Ricketts said that the lack of border security meant that the U.S. was "opening ourselves up for a terrorist attack," and Barrasso noted that an unstated number of immigrants had been taken into custody with "explosive devices 'tailored for terrorism'" in their possession, Fox News reported.
Cornyn noted the importance of trade between the U.S. and Mexico for the economy, but added that "the problem is President Biden has outsourced our immigration policy to criminal organizations."
"They don't really know who these people are," he added later in the news conference, referring to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "They certainly don't know who the 'gotaways' are.
"More than a million and a half, maybe approaching 2 million, people who have been detected on cameras and other sensors but who have evaded Border Patrol," he said.
Cornyn suggested that many of the so-called 'gotaways' run from law enforcement because they're smuggling illegal drugs like fentanyl into the country.
However, he expressed greater concern about the possibility of radicalized terrorists entering the country illegally across the southern border with Mexico.
"What happened in Israel on October 7 is a reminder that terrorist organizations can strike at any time," he said. "And while we know that one Sept. 11, 2001, 19 terrorists killed 3,000 Americans, we know that there have been hundreds or more of people on the terrorist watchlist that have been detected at the border."
"But we don't know how many more -- and the Biden administration can't tell you -- made their way safely into the interior of the United States," he added ominously.
Cruz added that Border Patrol agents were "frustrated beyond belief" at Biden administration policies that led to illegal immigrants being released after the agents had risked their lives to detain them.
Another Republican in the Senate, Tennessee's Marsha Blackburn, noted two weeks ago that officials stopped 18 people who were on the terrorist "watchlist" from crossing illegally into the United States.
Potential terrorists are attempting to cross our southern border.
In September alone, 18 illegal immigrants on the terror watchlist were caught at the border.
The attack on Israel should serve as a warning as to why we must secure the border.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) October 21, 2023
"The attack on Israel should serve as a warning as to why we must secure the border," she wrote.
Politifact, however, noted that the threats against the U.S. are very different from those facing Israel.
"They both involve borders, but the comparison ends there," David Bier, an immigration expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, told the outlet. "People aren’t crossing the border to conduct terrorist attacks or take over parts of the United States. A very small percentage may come to commit ordinary crimes, like selling drugs, but overwhelmingly, they are coming for economic opportunity and freedom."
Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska held a press conference Tuesday after a recent visit to the nation's southern border in which they reiterated Republicans' interest in curbing illegal immigration.
Ricketts said that the lack of border security meant that the U.S. was "opening ourselves up for a terrorist attack," and Barrasso noted that an unstated number of immigrants had been taken into custody with "explosive devices 'tailored for terrorism'" in their possession, Fox News reported.
Cornyn noted the importance of trade between the U.S. and Mexico for the economy, but added that "the problem is President Biden has outsourced our immigration policy to criminal organizations."
"They don't really know who these people are," he added later in the news conference, referring to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "They certainly don't know who the 'gotaways' are.
"More than a million and a half, maybe approaching 2 million, people who have been detected on cameras and other sensors but who have evaded Border Patrol," he said.
Cornyn suggested that many of the so-called 'gotaways' run from law enforcement because they're smuggling illegal drugs like fentanyl into the country.
However, he expressed greater concern about the possibility of radicalized terrorists entering the country illegally across the southern border with Mexico.
"What happened in Israel on October 7 is a reminder that terrorist organizations can strike at any time," he said. "And while we know that one Sept. 11, 2001, 19 terrorists killed 3,000 Americans, we know that there have been hundreds or more of people on the terrorist watchlist that have been detected at the border."
"But we don't know how many more -- and the Biden administration can't tell you -- made their way safely into the interior of the United States," he added ominously.
Cruz added that Border Patrol agents were "frustrated beyond belief" at Biden administration policies that led to illegal immigrants being released after the agents had risked their lives to detain them.
Another Republican in the Senate, Tennessee's Marsha Blackburn, noted two weeks ago that officials stopped 18 people who were on the terrorist "watchlist" from crossing illegally into the United States.
Potential terrorists are attempting to cross our southern border.
In September alone, 18 illegal immigrants on the terror watchlist were caught at the border.
The attack on Israel should serve as a warning as to why we must secure the border.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) October 21, 2023
"The attack on Israel should serve as a warning as to why we must secure the border," she wrote.
Politifact, however, noted that the threats against the U.S. are very different from those facing Israel.
"They both involve borders, but the comparison ends there," David Bier, an immigration expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, told the outlet. "People aren’t crossing the border to conduct terrorist attacks or take over parts of the United States. A very small percentage may come to commit ordinary crimes, like selling drugs, but overwhelmingly, they are coming for economic opportunity and freedom."
MSN
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