October 19, 2023

The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas

Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528

Dear Secretary Mayorkas:

In light of the recent Hamas invasion of Israel and similar threats by Islamic extremist
groups toward the United States, we are requesting an update with a specific intent to understand
what, if any, steps are being taken to address the escalating threats to our national security.

While there are reports the Iranian regime might be directly or indirectly involved in the
Hamas invasion of Israel, there is no doubt they morally and financially supported the terrorists
behind this brutal infiltration.1 According to the State Department, Iran has been funding terror
groups in the region with nearly $1 billion annually.2 The regime has specifically financed
Palestinian terror groups with close to $100 million annually, with over 70% going directly to
Hamas according to similar reports for 2020/21.3 Current figures may be worse, especially after
the recent windfall provided by this administration.

The Biden administration’s fatal lapse in judgment to provide the extremist Iranian
regime access to $6 billion in funds prior to one of the worst terrorist attacks against Israel
openly supported and backed by the same regime is hardly a coincidence. Similar threats have
been made toward the American people for supporting one of our closest allies. We must take
the situation in Israel as a grim reminder of the threats Americans could face if we don’t remain
vigilant and ignore the threats we face at home.

At present, thousands are crossing our border illegally at record-breaking numbers. Last

1
State Department Bureau of Counterterrorism, Country Reports on Terrorism for 2021
https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2021/ ; See also: “Hamas received weapons and training
from Iran, officials say” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/09/iran-support-hamas-
training-weapons-israel/
2
State Department Bureau of Counterterrorism, Country Reports on Terrorism for 2018
https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2018/
3
State Department Bureau of Counterterrorism, Country Reports on Terrorism for 2020
https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2020/; See also: State Department Bureau of
Counterterrorism, Country Reports on Terrorism for 2021 https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-
terrorism-2021/

1
month alone, border authorities witnessed over 260,000 encounters at the southern border. Now,
over 10,000 migrants are crossing over daily, leading to mass releases onto the streets.4 The mass
invasion at the Southern border isn’t an isolated failure but is laying the foundation for far worse
consequences. Our border’s porous state is being used as a gateway to infiltrate U.S. soil not just
by individuals on terror watchlists but also by individuals from designated hostile nations with
military training.5 The harm and risk factors from a mass border invasion aside, reports of
internal data from the CBP suggests that over 70,000 “special interest aliens” have been
encountered crossing the border illegally since the start of this administration.6 This number does
not even factor-in encounters by the CBP’s Field Operations at ports of entry nor does it include
the estimated 1.5 million “gotaways” who snuck past the authorities.7

These “special interest aliens” come from nations designated to have conditions that
harbor or favor terrorism or pose potential national security risks.8 Among the thousands of
special interest aliens crossing the southern border illegally, there have been hundreds that are
already on the terror watchlist - a number that has exploded since the Biden administration took
over with its border policy changes.9 To put this into perspective, there were only 11 terror
watchlist apprehensions at the southern border in the four years that President Trump was in
office. There have been more such cases in every single year alone since the current
administration took over (15 in 2021, 98 in 2022, and 151 in 2023).10)

Even former Presidents aren’t entirely safe from the gaps in our border security. Last
year, a plot to sneak an ISIS hit squad across the border and assassinate President Bush was
uncovered. Fortunately, the Islamic State operative planning this attempt confessed details of the
plot to an FBI informant, but only after managing to smuggle in two Hezbollah affiliates.11 The
operative revealed a plan to similarly smuggle the hit squad first using the Darien Gap route from
Central America before merging unnoticed with the masses moving across the US-Mexico

4
“Migrant numbers hit highest ever recorded in one month: sources” https://www.foxnews.com/politics/migrant-
numbers-hit-highest-recorded-month-sources
5
ICYMI: “SAFE ASSUMPTION” CHINA, RUSSIA, OTHER ADVERSARIES WANT TO EXPLOIT
SOUTHWEST BORDER CRISIS https://homeland.house.gov/2023/06/21/6560-2/ ; See Also:
Is China Sneaking Military Personnel into the U.S. Via Border? What We Know https://www.newsweek.com/china-
military-personnel-us-southern-border-national-security-mark-green-1807287 ; and
Testimony of Todd Bensman before the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement United
States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary for the Hearing on “Terrorist Entry Through the
Southwest Border” on September 14, 2023.
https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/bensman-
testimony.pdf
6
“Thousands of 'special interest aliens' from Middle East countries stopped at southern border since 2021: data”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/thousands-special-interest-aliens-middle-east-countries-stopped-southern-border-
2021-data
7
Id.
8
MYTH/FACT: Known and Suspected Terrorists/Special Interest Aliens
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2019/01/07/mythfact-known-and-suspected-terroristsspecial-interest-aliens
9
Hamas attack puts new attention on terrorism at U.S. border
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/oct/9/hamas-attack-puts-new-attention-terrorism-us-
borde/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork
10
Id.
11
Southern District of Ohio | Ohio man charged with aiding and abetting plot to murder former President | United
States Department of Justice

2
border.12 He pled guilty to attempting to support terrorists and is awaiting sentencing.13

If foreign terror groups targeting our leaders are relying on our weakness and the easy
exploitability of our southern border, it should be considered a mark of shame and a dire warning
of what could come. The attack on 9/11 proved that just one such individual could pose a grave
risk to the safety and security of Americans, but President Biden’s weak border policies have
exposed us to hundreds. Your department was created in the aftermath of 9/11 to prevent this
from happening again.

This administration’s already weak foreign policies and inability to sternly address the
escalating border crisis have allowed adversarial forces to take advantage of the situation. The
harm from this unsupervised and relentless invasion of our southern border has spread to the
deepest parts of our country. This also includes many metropolitan cities, which have, until
recently, been willfully ignorant of the harsh realities of an open border policy. Given the
severity of the perilous threat our national security faces from the border invasion and recent
reports only indicating a declining situation, we request detailed replies to the following requests
to understand and properly gauge your efforts on the matter:

1. How many illegal crossings have been made by individuals from “special interest”
nations or from the Middle East?

2. How many times have our law enforcement agencies encountered individuals suspected
of having links to foreign terror organizations? Specifically:

a. How many incidents or encounters with violent extremists or individuals linked with
terrorism have occurred at or between United States points of entry since 2021?

b. How many incidents or encounters with violent extremists or individuals linked with
terrorism have occurred within the United States since 2021?

c. How many of these have been Iranian regime agents or sympathizers? This includes
Hamas, Hezbollah, or any affiliate agents.

3. Whether the administration outsourced, delegated, or partnered with any agency,

organization, government, or foreign entity to process any immigrant outside the United
States for the purpose of seeking entry as a refugee, asylee, or immigrant seeking entry
without a visa/pre-approved travel authorization. Please provide exact details, if any.

4. A briefing/Impact Assessment Report on the impact of the current administration’s

immigration and border policy and “vetting process” on the rise in illegal immigration by
special interest aliens, individuals on a terror watchlist, or individuals with a history or

12
Id.
13
“Iraqi man who lived in Columbus and plotted to assassinate George Bush pleads guilty”.
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2023/03/08/iraqi-columbus-pleads-guilty-court-plotting-assassinate-
george-bush/69964157007/

3
 propensity of violent crimes. Please focus the response on the following areas:

a. The surge in the number of foreign terrorist watchlist suspects crossing the southern
border after this administration’s updated border policy.

b. The impact of these policy decisions on the ability of individuals or terror groups to
cross into the United States without a valid permit or visa.

c. The impact of these policy decisions and the ability and propensity of terror groups to
carry out any significant attacks, invasions, or retaliatory measures within the United
States.

d. Specifically, the impact on the ability or capability of terror groups like Hamas or
Hezbollah to gain access to weaponry and armaments that would be instrumental or
essential to carry out an attack similar to the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7,
2023.

If you don’t have answers readily available to these questions and are considering them only
now, it could already be too late. We look forward to your prompt response to this letter and
hope to see you implement a higher standard of accountability for those who wish to enter our
country illegally.

Sincerely,

Lance Gooden Stephanie Bice Byron Donalds

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Andy Ogles Ralph Norman Matthew Rosendale

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Brian Babin Ron Estes Keith Self

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

4
Scott DesJarlais, M.D. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. George Santos
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Chip Roy Cory Mills Michael Waltz

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Nicole Malliotakis Mary Miller Virginia Foxx

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Pete Sessions Josh Brecheen Pete Stauber

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress