WASHINGTON, D.C. –– This month, House Committee on Homeland Security member Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) introduced the “Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act,” legislation enhancing the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) counterterrorism efforts by requiring an evaluation of the threat posed to the United States by individuals in Syria with ties to Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization (STGT). Cosponsors of the legislation include Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). 

“With the fall of the brutal Assad regime in Syria and a potential resurgence of the Islamic State and al Qaeda in the region, terror threats abroad continue to present a persistent and evolving threat to the homeland. From the threat of inspired homegrown violent extremism and lone wolves to foreign terror cells lying in wait, we cannot afford to have a complacent security posture,” Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) said. “As a fellow veteran of the War on Terror, I am grateful Rep. Luttrell is working to ensure DHS is proactive and remains prepared to fulfill its core mission.”

“The threat of terrorism has not disappeared––it has evolved. Syria has become a hotspot for radical extremists who want to do us harm, and they’re using every tool at their disposal to recruit, radicalize, and send bad actors our way. We can’t sit back and wait for another attack,” Rep. Luttrell said. “The Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act ensures DHS does its job to identify threats, close vulnerabilities, and strengthen counterterrorism efforts. Protecting American lives and preventing future attacks must remain our top priority.”

“As a former fighter pilot who flew missions over the Middle East, I understand how crucial it is for the United States to address the growing terrorism threat across the globe, particularly in Syria,”Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger said. “Congress must act now to proactively address these threats and prevent attacks like the tragedy we saw earlier this year in New Orleans from happening in the first place. I am proud to support Rep. Luttrell’s legislation to safeguard the United States by ensuring DHS is fulfilling its rightful mission.”
 
“Unfortunately, there are threats of terrorism by some radicalized individuals in Syria, and the United States must ensure such threats are appropriately assessed for our own national security’s sake,”Rep. Ogles said. “I’m grateful to Rep. Luttrell for leading this important legislation.”

Background: 

As geopolitical tensions rise across the globe, and state sponsors of terrorism become emboldened, threats from terrorism are growing. In testimony before the Senate last December, former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said that in his decades-long career, he could not remember a time when so many threats were all “elevated at the exact same time.” Tragically, the persistent threat from terrorism was displayed in an attack on New Year’s Day in New Orleans.

In particular, cases of foreign jihadist networks and Homegrown Violent Extremists (HVEs) continue to be a serious issue of concern, especially amid turmoil in Syria, the attacks on our ally Israel by the Iran-backed terrorist group Hamas, and the Biden administration’s catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the wake of these events, the last four years of the Biden administration’s wide-open borders and anti-enforcement policies further emboldened America’s adversaries. 
 
Since April 2021, there have been more than 50 extremism cases in 29 U.S. states, from California to New York. Many of these cases involve U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) convictions of individuals who have provided material support to foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS. Read the Committee’s newest “Terror Threat Snapshot” here.

The border crisis caused by the previous administration also contributed to the threats facing our nation. From Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 through the end of FY2024, 382 individuals on the terrorist watchlist were apprehended between ports of entry at the Southwest border. There were only 11 of these encounters from FY17-FY20. 
 
In addition, roughly two million gotaways evaded apprehension at the Southwest border over the last four years, and law enforcement has no way of knowing their intentions. On June 9, 2024, eight Tajikistan nationals with alleged ties to ISIS were arrested in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. Federal agents tracked the men as they crossed the border and were concerned they could have been plotting a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

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