White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre was cornered at the daily briefing Tuesday about why the Biden administration allowed an ISIS-sympathizer to smuggle people illegally into the United States. Jean Pierre couldn't account for where all of the individuals connected to the smuggler are and attempted to reassure Americans illegal immigrants who "fit the profile" will be given extra scrutiny.
"How's it possible that an ISIS sympathizer is sneaking people into this country?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 29, 2023
JEAN-PIERRE: "We moved fast and successfully to disrupt it"
"Are you saying you know where all of the people this ISIS sympathizer snuck into the country are?"
JEAN-PIERRE: Well... pic.twitter.com/blpY3XGBlp
The comments come after an alarming report shows countless individuals are missing and unaccounted for.
"The FBI is investigating more than a dozen Uzbek nationals allowed into the US after they sought asylum at the southern border with Mexico earlier this year, a scramble set off when US intelligence officials found that the migrants traveled with the help of a smuggler with ties to ISIS, according to multiple US officials," CNN reports. "While the FBI says no specific ISIS plot has been identified, officials are 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. And they are closely scrutinizing a number of the migrants as possible criminal threats, according to two US officials."
More than 100 suspected terrorists have been arrested at the U.S. southern border since President Joe Biden took office. It is estimated two million "gotaways" have crossed into the U.S. undetected. In May, an Afghan national on the terror watch list was arrested in San Diego.
"A person on the U.S. Terror Watchlist was arrested near a U.S.-Mexico border crossing in San Diego as thousands of migrants flocked to the United States seeking asylum ahead of the expiration of Title 42," local CBS 8 reported.
