October 19, 2023

The Honorable Antony J. Blinken

Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Blinken:

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 that the Iranian regime might be directly or indirectly involved in
the Hamas invasion of Israel, there is no doubt that they morally and financially supported the
terrorists behind this brutal infiltration.1 According to your own department’s reports, 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 the State Department’s reports for 2020/21.3 Current
figures may be worse, especially after the recent windfall provided by this administration.

Having always condemned the extremist Iranian regime’s continued violence and
oppression against their own people, we were sickened when this administration granted the
same regime access to $6 billion in funds. Within a month of this utter lapse in judgment, we
have witnessed a mass militant attack on one of our closest allies by forces openly supported and
financially backed by the Iranian regime. 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 from Mexico isn’t an isolated failure at the Southern border. It 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 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
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
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

2
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
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. In the current climate, your department should ideally be spearheading
all efforts to curtail this practice.

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, I request detailed replies to the following requests to
understand and properly gauge your efforts on the matter:

1. What communication/dialogue have you conducted on addressing mass illegal

immigration with governments of countries contributing the greatest number of land
border crossings into our southern states, specifically those countries contributing the
rising number of “special interest aliens” and terror watchlist suspects? Please provide us
details on the status and progress made.

2. 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.

3. Future or planned course of action in countering migration of “special interest aliens” and
members of the terror watchlist to our Southern border, if any.

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

decision to leave behind weapons in Afghanistan and allow the Iranian regime access to
$6 billion in funds. Please focus the response on the following areas:

a. Generally, the impact of these decisions on the ability of foreign terror groups and
extremist organizations (particularly those close to or supported by the Iranian
regime) to gain access to weaponry and armaments.

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
 b. Generally, the impact of these decisions on the ability of terror groups to carry out
any significant attacks, invasions, or retaliatory measures in the Israel-Palestinian
region or anywhere else abroad.

c. 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.

d. Generally, the impact on the ability or capability of terror groups to carry out an
attack on U.S. soil similar to the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, by
exploiting the current lapses in the southern border.

If you don’t have answers readily available to these questions or haven’t already asked them of
yourself, then we suggest you do so immediately before irreversible harm is done to the
American people. We look forward to your prompt response to this letter, and we hope you will
implement a better standard of accountability for those who wish to infiltrate our country.

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 Keith Self George Santos

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

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Scott DesJarlais, M.D. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. Chip Roy
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Cory Mills Michael Waltz Nicole Malliotakis

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Mary Miller Pete Sessions Josh Brecheen

Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress

Pete Stauber
Member of Congress