ICYMI: Pfluger, Flores – We Cannot Place Ourselves in a Similar Situation to 9/11

WASHINGTON, DC – Homeland Security Committee Members Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX), Ranking Member of the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, and Rep. Mayra Flores (R-TX), sent a letter to Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, calling for a full committee hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) encounters with individuals on the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) at the United States’ land borders. The Members highlight the importance of a hearing in light of recent reports of the assassination attempt of President George W. Bush through the use of southwest border smuggling methods and reports that an individual on the terrorist watchlist was released by CBP and remained in the country for two weeks before being arrested by ICE.

“U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) TSDB encounters between ports of entry of non-U.S. citizens for FY 2017 was two, for FY 2018 it was six, FY 2019 it was three, and FY 2020 it was also three,” wrote Pfluger and Flores. “In FY 2021 that number jumped to 16 and from October through May of 2022 USBP encountered 50. We recently learned in the last month alone, USBP encountered 15 of these individuals.”

“It took 19 terrorists to hijack four commercial airliners and murder 2,977 people on September 11, 2001,” the members continued. “Thousands more were injured, and we remain haunted by those events to this day. We have been successful in warding off an attack of that magnitude up until now, but these increased encounters on our borders are indicative of a great threat to come.”

“In the wake of 9/11, the nation was told by former Director George Tenet that ‘the system was blinking red.’ We cannot place ourselves in a similar situation. It is imperative that we hold a hearing to understand the full scope of this threat and take action to prevent any harm from coming to our homeland,” the members concluded.

Read the Fox News exclusive on Rep. Pfluger and Rep. Flores’ full letter here.

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