In a House Homeland Security hearing on Thursday, an immigration expert brushed off reports of illegal aliens on the terrorist watch list entering the United States.
In an exchange with Arizona Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), Alex Nowrasteh, the vice president of economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, said that the terrorists crossing the border are a “small and manageable threat.”
"Under the Trump administration, we had [11] individuals encountered at the Southern border on the terror watch list. Under this administration, that number exceeds 380 at this point. Does that make you still stand by your statement that it's a 'small & manageable threat?’'" Crane asked Nowrasteh.
“It is a threat above zero. It is definitely a threat, but it is still small and manageable, yes,” Nowrasteh answered.
Nowrasteh added that there are about 1.7 million to 2.4 million “gotaways” who crossed the southern border.
Crane asked if it’s possible that any of those “gotaways” were on the terror watch list.
“It is certainly possible. The chance is absolutely above zero,” he acknowledged.
.@RepEliCrane: "Under the Trump admin, we had [11] individuals encountered at the Southern border on the terror watchlist. Under this admin, that number exceeds 380...Does that make you stand by your statement that it's a 'small & manageable threat?'"
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) September 19, 2024
Democrat witness: "...Yes." pic.twitter.com/ig61sFiITQ
Dr. Kelly Brown, a former military advisor to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said that the Biden-Harris open border policies have "emboldened the terrorists to come to our borders more so than they ever have before."
Wow: Former military advisor at DHS tells @RepPfluger that the open-borders policies of the Biden-Harris administration have "emboldened the terrorists to come to our borders more so than they ever have before." pic.twitter.com/9VPz91AGeW
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) September 19, 2024
Notice anything about today's hearing to discuss the serious threat posed by terrorists crossing our open borders?
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) September 19, 2024
Very few Democrats showed up. Their absence makes clear—they don't take this threat seriously. pic.twitter.com/PqigqfESYW
In May, Townhall reported how two Jordanian nationals attempted to breach Quantico Marine Base in Virginia. Robert O’Neill, a former Navy SEAL, told the New York Post that the encounter showed signs of being a “dry run” for a terrorist organization to “see how far they can get a truck into the base.”