WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security, led by Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), held a hearing to examine global threats to the U.S. homeland and America’s interests abroad. The hearing featured testimony from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray, and National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Director Christine Abizaid. 

In the hearing, members received confirmation of the urgent national security threat posed by the nearly 1.8 million known gotaways and the rising number of individuals on the terrorist watchlist apprehended crossing the Southwest border—especially as America’s enemies, including Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, have been emboldened to spread their malign influence following the October 7 terrorist attacks on our ally, Israel. Wray confirmed these facts in his testimony and alluded to Chairman Green that the national security consequences of the crisis have turned every state into a border state. Director Wray even confirmed joint terrorism task forces in all 56 of the agency’s field offices are occupied with threats coming across the border.

Worse, Mayorkas could not confirm that every suspected terrorist that crosses the Southwest border illegally is detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), while Wray admitted that the FBI is still attempting to locate certain individuals on the terrorist watchlist who have crossed into the United States. Throughout his testimony, Mayorkas consistently refused to answer direct questions about how his policies have opened America’s borders, and the national security consequences of those policies. 

Members and witnesses also discussed the urgent need to address the threats to America’s critical infrastructure from the Iranian regime and the Chinese Communist Party, along with the need for the Senate to pass Homeland Republicans’ legislation to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, which protects high-risk chemical facilities.

In his opening line of questioning, Chairman Green questioned Wray on the dangers posed by the millions of known gotaways at the Southwest border:

“Since January 2021, approximately 1.8 million illegal alien gotaways who evaded border patrol and entered our country, and this doesn’t even account for the unknown gotaways,which former Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz testified before this Committee could be about 20 percent of the [total] number. Meaning the real number of gotaways is well over two million. Can the FBI guarantee the American people that known or suspected terrorists, including any from Hamas or other tour groups, or not amongst those gotaways?”

Wray answered:

“The group of people that you’re talking about are a source of great concern for us. That’s why we are aggressively using all 56 of our joint terrorism task forces.”

Chairman Green continued:

“But there’s really no way for you to guarantee Hamas isn’t in them. … Do you think that number, that increased number increases the threat to the American people?”

Wray answered:

“I think any time you have a group of people in the United States we don’t know nearly enough about, that is a source of concern for us.”

Chairman Green continued:

“So, wording it maybe another way if that number were lower and the border wasn’t as open as it is, and we’d be safer?”

Wray answered:

“I think greater fidelity about who is coming into this country and how they are getting in is essential.” 

Chairman Green continued:

“Those individuals on that [terrorist] watchlist that we talk about, why do you think four years before this, there were only eleven and suddenly there were 294 in the past few years? Why do you think that is so?”

Wray answered:

“I can tell you the threats that come from the other side of the border are very much consuming FBI field offices, not just in the border states.”

Chairman Green asked:

“I agree. If I heard you correctly, what you just said is that every state is a border state now. Is that what you just said?”

Wray concluded:

“I didn’t put it quite that way, but the threats that come from the other side of the border are affecting every state, yes.”

Vice Chairman Michael Guest (R-MS) questioned Mayorkas on whether the thousands of Southwest border encounters every day constitute a crisis:
 
“My question to you, when Secretary Jeh Johnson said 1,000 immigrants a day when he was in the position that you said—if that was a bad day, and that 4,000 a day is a crisis. What is a bad day for you, Secretary Mayorkas?”
 
Mayorkas answered:
 
“We do not minimize the significance of the challenge at the Southwest border.”
 
Guest continued:
 
“Is there a number? I asked for a number, that was my question.”
 
Following Mayorkas’ refusal to answer, Guest said:
 
“I asked a simple question. … and you are refusing to answer the question.”

Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Dan Bishop (R-NC) asked Abizaid about threats from terrorists who have illegally entered the United States:

“The Judiciary Committee has released a document that says there are a confirmed 1.7 million gotaways [at the Southwest border]. …. Millions have been processed and released. … Do you continue to maintain that there is no material risk of organized terrorism from this massive infiltration, both from people minimally encountered and almost two million people neither encountered or vetted whatsoever?”

Abizaid answered:

“We absolutely recognize the kind of vulnerabilities that are associated with border security across all of our ports of entry…but I would maintain, and I talk to my analysts about this on a regular basis, that as we look at the global terrorism environment, as we look at foreign terrorist organizations’ intentions to try and seed operatives into the U.S., we don’t have indications that are credible or corroborated that those terrorist organizations are trying to do that at this time.”

Bishop concluded:

“Director Wray sat next to you just a few minutes ago…and you said that you observed that it took only around 20 to take down the World Trade Center. So among 1.7 million [known gotaways] coming in, not interdicted by the federal government or any government, why is that not an obvious risk for you that we could have organized terrorism?”

Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) demanded answers from Wray and Mayorkas on detainment of individuals on the terrorist watchlist:

“If somebody is listed as a special interest alien or a KST…is that a concerning person, somebody who could harm the United States?”

Wray answered:

“To be on the watchlist as a KST means that they have met the standard to be of concern.”

Pfluger pressed:

“Are there people that are listed in these numbers, I think the number was 169 [last fiscal year], are there people that you are still searching for that we don’t know where they are in the U.S.?”

Wray answered, in part: 

“I’m not sure I can answer that here because it’s a constantly moving target.” 

When pressed again, Wray answered:

“One of the areas that we are of concern is individuals who, once here, information later comes in that identifies them–”

Pfluger asked:

“Are there people that you don’t know where they are that the FBI is searching for today? Yes or no.”

Wray concluded:

“Yes.”

Pfluger then asked Mayorkas:

“Is there a policy at DHS that requires CBP or any other agency involved with the vetting of individuals who match this terror watchlist that requires these individuals to be detained?”

Mayorkas answered:

“On Sept. 30th of 2021, I promulgated a policy that articulated clearly and expressly that individuals who pose a threat to public safety–”

Pfluger asked:

“Is there a policy at DHS and CBP that requires the detainment of people on the terror watchlist?”

Mayorkas answered:

“Individuals who pose a threat to public safety or national security are a priority for enforcement, and if in fact they pose such a threat, they are to be detained.”

Pfluger asked:

“So why did you release people in the United States that matched the terror watchlist?”

Mayorkas answered:

“We do not release individuals whose—”

Pfluger continued:

“So, you have detained every single person who matched the terror watchlist that you apprehended at the Southern border?”

Mayorkas answered:

“If we believe that the detention of an individual is necessary to safeguard the safety of the American people.”

Pfluger asked:

“If you or any other agency labels somebody as a match to the terror watchlist, do you immediately detain them?”

Mayorkas answered:

“We make a determination in the execution of our law enforcement responsibilities to detain an individual if that detention is necessary.”

Pfluger asked:

“I believe based on your testimony and based on Director Wray’s that there are people that you are still searching for that you should’ve detained.”

Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) asked Wray about threats to the homeland posed by the Iranian regime, specifically to America’s critical infrastructure:

“A couple weeks ago we had some witnesses come in and testify about Iranian threats, and I want to ask Director Wray, you said recently you expect Iranian cyber threats to worsen if the conflict in Israel expands. Can you expand on that? What exactly should we be watching out for?”

Wray answered:

“I think that sometimes people overlook the fact that Iran is only one of two countries that committed a destructive cyber-attack against the United States, and it has only been a few years since that happened. They have already shown a propensity for that. We saw, not that long ago, an attempted cyberattack from Iran against a children’s hospital in New England. This is an adversary that is engaged in conduct that is brazen and aggressive, and very comparable, in my view, to what we see in terms of lethal targeting that I described in my opening statement and to this committee last year. [This is] a country that has attempted to assassinate an American journalist, a human rights activist, right smack in New York City and tried to assassinate current and former U.S. officials here on U.S. Soil. The cyber threat they pose in some ways shows a similar level of aggressiveness.”

Garbarino continued:

“So again, specific targets, not industries as a whole, I know other countries focus specifically on possibly industries, taking down an entire sector, and would you expect the Iranians to focus on the hospitals or specific targets?”

Wray concluded:

“Critical infrastructure is where we are most concerned. And I am not sure I can tell you which of the 16 sectors, but critical infrastructure is where we are most concerned about their potential.”

Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) questioned Secretary Mayorkas on the lapse in the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program, which is currently stalled in the Senate after passage by the House:
 
“Earlier this year I sponsored the bill to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards program, which passed the House 409 to 1. But unfortunately, it has stalled in the Senate, and the program has since expired. Secretary Mayorkas, I know you share my concern about the lapse in this program, and I would like to return to your testimony about the potential impact of the lapse in the program. Specifically, would you speak to the role that DHS has in the inspection of local facilities and how that changes when the program is allowed to lapse?”
 
Mayorkas answered:
 
“Thank you for your support, Congresswoman, of the program. It is vitally necessary to the protection not only of the communities that surround the particular facility, but America as a whole. Without the CFATS authority, we are unable to inspect facilities and ensure their compliance with standards that protect us against very dangerous chemicals. We are fortunate that we have not had an incident that has been a dramatic example of why this authority is so vitally needed.”
 
Lee continued:
 
“Do you believe the likelihood or the threat of such an incident potentially occurring is greater when the program is allowed to lapse?”
 
Mayorkas concluded:
 
“Absolutely. Because what we are able to do is ensure that the standards are being enforced and that best security practices are being followed. And when we are not able to inspect and enforce those standards, we see a facility not employing them and creating significant vulnerabilities.”

In his closing remarks, Chairman Green highlighted the policy crisis under the Biden administration:
 
“This migration crisis is a self-inflicted crisis—one we created by the change in our policy, and it has put Americans at increased risk, as you’ve acknowledged. … These catch-and-release policies that Mr. Mayorkas have implemented are the cause of the problem. You have to ask yourself, with the way that these catch-and-release policies are working now…If you get to come into the country, why wouldn’t you just turn yourself into Border Patrol? Why would somebody even go around Border Patrol now when you’re going to come in, get paroled, and get into the country? Well, it’s because they don’t want to be caught. And that scares us even more considering it’s [nearly] two million people.”
 

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