The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence held a briefing focused on domestic counterterrorism and the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Program. Chairman Rick Crawford (AR-01) delivered an opening statement, expressing concern about recent terror threats facing the United States.
Crawford referenced testimony from National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent to the Homeland Security Committee, noting that “they had identified 18,000 known and suspected terrorists that were allowed to enter the U.S. during the Biden Administration.”
He criticized changes made by President Joe Biden’s administration starting in January 2021, stating: “On former President Joe Biden’s very first day in office, he began dismantling the processes and protections built under the previous Administrations that until that time kept America safe.” Crawford detailed several policy shifts including halting border wall construction, changing immigration enforcement priorities, ending travel restrictions from certain countries, pausing deportations for 100 days, and suspending the Migrant Protection Protocols program. He said these actions enabled asylum seekers with limited documentation to enter and await court hearings: “Unfortunately, we’ve lost track of many of those asylees.”
Crawford also addressed issues stemming from the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. He stated: “The Biden Administration granted entry to 190,000 Afghan nationals—again, many lacking documentation—and often without collecting any biometric information, under Operation Allies Welcome.” While acknowledging a duty to protect Afghans who assisted U.S. forces against the Taliban, he described the withdrawal as rushed and poorly planned.
He cited concerns raised by Secretary Noem about gaps in knowledge regarding individuals present in the country: “Her greatest fear is that we do not know who is in our country, where they are, or their intentions.” According to Crawford, Department of Homeland Security estimates suggest up to 15-20 million people entered during the last administration—including undetected entries—which he called a result of “reckless and irresponsible open border policies.”
Discussing recent global events targeting Jewish and Christian communities by Islamic jihadists, Crawford said: “With 18,000 known or suspected terrorists in the U.S., we are playing goal line defense, and they only have to get lucky once.”
He concluded by emphasizing his interest in learning more about current domestic counterterrorism efforts: “Today, I look forward to getting a better understanding of the domestic counterterrorism picture… how the interagency is working to find, monitor, prosecute, and deport known or suspected terrorists that never should have entered our country to begin with.”
Crawford thanked those involved for their work protecting Americans before yielding time for remarks from Ranking Member Jim Himes.
