The Hamas terror attack on Israel has spurred questions about safety in America and who’s being let in at the country’s southern border.
According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, 169 people on the terror watchlist were stopped at the border in fiscal year 2023, compared to zero in fiscal year 2019. More than 20,000 Chinese nationals crossed the border in fiscal year 2023.
Now a group of more than 20 congressional Republicans penned a letter Monday to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas calling on them to work together to secure the border.
“Considering the threats our nation faces from China, Russia, Iran, and other adversaries, it’s past time this administration secures our border and protects American citizens,” said the letter, which was led by Missouri Republicans Sen. Eric Schmitt and Rep. Mark Alford.
Another six senators and 15 House lawmakers signed the letter.
“In light of the barbaric attack in Israel, we are also concerned about Iran’s proxies and other terrorist groups taking advantage of the southern border to launch a terror attack from within our homeland,” the lawmakers wrote.
They requested information on whether any members of terrorist groups, including Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, have come across the southern border and how threats of terrorists have been mitigated. They also want to know if and how many terrorist attacks have been stopped by individuals being intercepted at the border.
The lawmakers requested information on how many Chinese nationals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party have come through the border, and how many of them attempted to access U.S. military installations.
Concerns about Chinese spies in the U.S. increased in the past year. A group of 17 Chinese nationals were caught by the Border Patrol from a boat that landed on Key Largo last week. In September, a report revealed that Chinese nationals who said they were tourists accessed U.S. military bases and other sites roughly 100 times in recent years. At the beginning of the year, the U.S. Air Force shot down a Chinese spy balloon after it gathered intelligence from several U.S. military sites.
“The CCP or any adversary through a proxy or otherwise, cannot be allowed to launch an attack against our country,” the lawmakers said in the letter. “It’s difficult to project credible American military power and deterrence abroad when the Biden Administration cannot or will not even secure our own border.”
They requested answers to the questions by Dec. 13.
“The U.S. Constitution is clear — the government must provide for the common defense,” they said. “President Biden and this Administration have failed to live up to their most solemn Constitutional duty. We implore you, once and for all, to secure the border and protect the American people.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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