Chairman Mark Green of the House Homeland Security Committee, along with Representatives Dan Bishop, August Pfluger, and Clay Higgins, stated that the illegal entrance of individuals on the terrorist watch list presents a "grave danger to national security." The Committee made this statement in a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray on June 18.
"The Department's prioritization of catch, process, and release, presents a grave danger to national security. The Committee has repeatedly and forcefully highlighted the security vulnerabilities inherent in the massive influx of illegal aliens at our border, the insufficient vetting of the illegal aliens that the Department releases en masse into the United States, and the unprecedented number of gotaways evading apprehension. The Biden Administration and the Department, however, continue to hide their heads in the sand, ignoring the “blinking red lights everywhere," said Mark Edward Green, U.S. Representative of Tennessee's 7th Congressional District.
According to a Committee press release, the letter was written in response to the arrest of eight Tajikistani nationals in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. These individuals have connections to ISIS, and the letter demands that Mayorkas disclose when DHS became aware of their presence in the United States.
Mark Green
| Official
The Committee also questions the release of Mohammed Kharwin from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody last year. According to the letter, Kharwin was on the terror watch list and was arrested a year after his release for membership in Hezb-e-Islami.
The House Homeland Security Committee "highlights vulnerabilities" caused by the catch-and-release process utilized by the Administration. Individuals are detained, screened, then released, with an "unprecedented number of gotaways evading apprehension," said the letter.
According to Green, "The arrest of eight men affiliated with ISIS in the interior of the United States is enough proof to show that terrorist organizations are, in fact, exploiting our border to possibly carry out an attack on American soil."
The House Homeland Security Committee was established by Congress in 2005 as a standing committee. According to their website, the Committee aids DHS and is led by Chairman Mark Green.