FBI Director Christopher Wray sounded the alarm to Congress again about the terror threat posed by the open border, just days before eight people suspected of ISIS ties were arrested across the United States.
Just a week ago, Wray appeared before the Senate Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies to review President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 funding request for the FBI. Like he has done when appearing to Congress before, Wray again addressed concerns about border security, explaining in a line of questioning by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Ks., the challenges U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) faces at the border in vetting the large influx of asylum seekers for potential threats – before law enforcement must release them into the U.S.
"So certainly, we have seen over the last 5 to 6 years an increase in the number of known or suspected terrorists, in other words, watch-listed subjects attempting to cross the border. And that is of concern," Wray said. "The bigger problem, in my view, is twofold. One, individuals who, when they come in, are either armed with fake documents or snuck in some way or – or, and this is very important, individuals for whom there's not enough derogatory information in the intelligence community to watch list them yet."
"As we pull out of Afghanistan, for example," Wray explained, "You get less and less information about whether somebody from Afghanistan is actually a threat. And so some of the cases that I have seen that concern me are situations where somebody comes into the United States – it's not because there was a breakdown between CBP and the TSC [Homeland Security’s Threat Screening Center]. It's because they weren't watch-listed at the time. But in hindsight, they should have been watch-listed because information was later developed that says, this person is a problem."
AUTHORITIES NAB 8 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS WITH TIES TO ISIS IN MULTI-CITY STING OPERATION
His testimony came just one week before it was revealed eight Tajikistan nationals with ties to ISIS were busted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in conjunction with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in three major cities. The arrests took place in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia in recent days, a federal source confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday.
All eight Tajikistanis crossed the southern border illegally and initially had no derogatory information that was flagged to CBP or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially during processing, the source said. The source added that the eight individuals received "full vetting" before they were released into the U.S. It was afterward that new derogatory information flagged national security concerns – and ISIS ties.
Last week, Wray told the Senate subcommittee that the 2024 fiscal budget dropped almost $500 million before what the FBI needs just to sustain the bureau’s efforts in 2023.
TERROR FEARS MOUNT AFTER ARRESTS OF BORDER CROSSERS LINKED TO ISIS: 'WE'RE HEADED FOR ANOTHER 9/11'
"And while I very much appreciate this subcommittee's efforts to blunt any cuts, candidly, this could not come at a worse time," Wray said. "When I sat here last year, I walked through how we were already in a heightened threat environment. And since then, we've seen the threat from foreign terrorists rise to a whole another level."
"As I sit here today, and while we have always found ways at the FBI to innovate and make the most with what we have, this is by no means a time to let up or dial back. This is a time when we need your support the most," he continued. "There was already a heightened risk of violence in the United States before October 7th. And since then, we've seen a rogue's gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against American, U.S. and our allies. And given those calls for action, our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw a twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home. But now, on top of that, increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, not unlike the ISIS K attack we saw at the Russian concert hall back in March."
On March 22, Moscow’s Crocus City concert hall was attacked by terrorists, leaving 137 people dead and over 180 wounded. The gunmen who conducted the attack were identified by Russian media as Tajikistan nationals. After walking in with automatic weapons, the terrorists indiscriminately opened fire on the 6,200-seat venue.
The FBI and DHS confirmed the eight Tajikistan nationals in the U.S. are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. However, it is unclear if the arrests will result in any terror-related charges.
"As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment," the FBI and DHS said in a Tuesday statement to Fox News. "The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security."
Fox News' Bill Melugin and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.
