There's no doubt the world is on edge. Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and other bad actors around the globe have rattled their sabers and in multiple cases mobilized against free people with horrific consequences. So far, the wars, invasions, massacres, and aggression have been taking place in other places. Ukraine, Israel, and the Taiwan Straits to name a few. But now, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) is warning that the United States should not take its comparative safety or security for granted.
On Wednesday morning, Green opened a hearing on worldwide threats to the homeland by explaining why this is "one of the most dangerous times in the history of the United States," a declaration he said he did not make lightly. Among the "greatest threats" he identified are "an open and lawless Southwest border," "the rising threat of terrorism; rogue nation-state actors and criminal elements seeking to do us harm," and "efforts by foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party to target our critical infrastructure." Those threats come in addition to "the wars in Israel and Ukraine, and rising Chinese aggression in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea," Green reminded.
Noting that "the Biden administration has systematically dismantled our nation’s border security and created the worst border crisis in American history," Green explained the result: "people tested the system, were released into the country, called home, and millions more came... Worse, as acknowledged by AG Garland, the drug cartels have taken advantage of this policy shift, and executed a strategy pushing mass waves of people to tie up border patrol and then bypassed with thousands of pounds of fentanyl killing Americans at an unprecedented rate."
Unprecedented and record-setting. As Green emphasized, the "number of illegal immigrants who entered our country since President Biden took office is greater than the population of 33 of our states." All the while, "violent Mexican cartels are making record profits" to the tune of "an estimated $13 billion a year."
Despite the Biden administration's claims of an under-control border that is secure, its policies "created a humanitarian and national security crisis as transnational criminal organizations prey on vulnerable migrants and sneak across violent felons and individuals on the terrorist watchlist," said Green.
Then there's what Green called "malicious activity by nation-state actors and terrorism" that "poses a direct threat to the U.S. homeland. Without question, the homeland is less safe under President Biden," noted Green. "Significant threats to our cities and local communities are only growing."
Observing that foreign terrorist organizations "have gained a sense of momentum following Hamas's brutal terrorist attack against Israel" on October 7, Green reminded that such terrorists have continued to "call for attacks against the U.S. at home and abroad." Among them: Al-Qaeda, noted by the FBI director as issuing its "most specific call to attack the U.S. in the last five years," Green noted.
"According to DHS, 294 aliens whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross our Southwest border between ports of entry since FY2021," continued Green. "Compare that with the 11 individuals stopped in the four years between FY2017-2020... Why would these individuals, who under the previous president only 11 attempted to cross and were caught, suddenly feel like they could try and succeed?" Green asked rhetorically. "Policy changes."
"And these are just the ones we know about," underscored Green. "How many other individuals posing a national security threat have been among the 1.8 million known gotaways? No one knows, and that is terrifying."
In addition, Green warned that "antisemitism is rising and threats against communities of faith in the United States are reaching historic levels" and have been increasing "sharply in the U.S. since October 7th... Foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS have called on its extremist supporters to target Jewish communities in the United States and Europe."
"We must not let these antisemitic attacks and the increasingly hateful rhetoric become a harbinger of something worse to come," warned Green. "We must do all we can to protect houses of worship and vulnerable communities from such targeted violence."
Beyond threats of physical violence, Green warned that "cyberattacks continue to undermine our homeland security" and cyber threats are growing "increasingly complex," even targeting Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo ahead of her official visit to China. In addition, America's "critical infrastructure is also under attack," said Green. "This year’s Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community highlighted the threat that adversarial cyber actors pose to our critical infrastructure owners and operators."
With all those threats in mind, Green reminded of the importance of addressing the challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party, "a regime that continues to challenge the U.S. economically, technologically, diplomatically, and militarily." Among its malign actions: "stealing U.S. intellectual property, trade secrets, and other sensitive data of Americans and American companies," operating "dozens of overseas police stations which aid their transnational repression effort by intimidating and threatening Chinese dissidents abroad," and "infiltrating our nation’s education system."
"It should concern every American that billions of dollars from the CCP are flowing into our K-12 classrooms and institutions of higher education," noted Green. "This is a systemic effort by the CCP to expand its influence within America’s classrooms and promote its authoritarian, anti-American agenda."
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