Former President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to unload on current President Joe Biden, particularly Biden’s border policies, alleging that the relatively porous southern border means there are many likely terrorists have crossed the border and could attack America.
Trump’s post followed a memo from the San Diego Field Office Intelligence Division of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in which the CBP office warned that members of terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) could be encountered at the porous southern border.
He said, “With the millions of people that Crooked Joe Biden has allowed into the United States through his ridiculous Open Borders Policy, mostly young men, and large numbers of TERRORISTS, the U.S. is more vulnerable from inside terror attacks than at any time in its history, BY FAR! MAGA.”
In the memo that likely sparked Trump’s post, the CBP field office said, “San Diego Field Office Intelligence Unit assesses that individuals inspired by, or reacting to the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the Southwest border.”
Continuing, the memo adds, “Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the US to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico.” It then, helpfully describing which terrorist groups could be involved, shows the patches of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.
NEW: Per CBP sources, CBP’s San Diego field office sent out this internal intel bulletin on Friday, alerting officers that Hamas, Hezbollah, & Palestinian Islamic Jihad foreign fighters inspired by the Israel conflict may be encountered at the U.S. southern border. Gives officers… pic.twitter.com/vBw5tv7lXg
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 23, 2023
Commenting on the matter to the Daily Caller News Foundation, which originally reported on the CBP field office’s memo, a CBP spokesperson said, “CBP has seen no indication of Hamas-directed foreign fighters seeking to make entry into the United States.”
That spokesperson added, “It is the policy of CBP to neither confirm nor speak to potentially improperly disclosed information or internal documents marked as law enforcement sensitive or for official use only. In general, CBP provides frontline personnel a wide range of context for situational awareness in order to ensure they remain vigilant in fulfillment of our homeland and border security missions. Situational awareness briefs are not threat assessments.”
Sen. Josh Hawley is furious and worried about the situation as well. In a letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas, he wrote, “Your Department’s recently published threat assessment acknowledges this danger. For example, the assessment notes that “individuals with terrorism connections are interested in using established travel routes and permissive environments to facilitate access to the United States.” Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are encountering a growing number of “special interest aliens” from countries known to harbor terrorists—including Iran, Syria, and Lebanon. Just this week, four Iranians were apprehended in Texas by Border Patrol.“
He added, “Illegal aliens with potential ties to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah have no place in the United States. In the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is already alerting Americans about an elevated number of violent threats against civilians, including antisemitic threats.6 It is therefore critical that you abandon your radical open border policies, and instead, take immediate action to secure the border. As Secretary, your number one priority should be protecting American citizens against potential terrorist entering our country.”
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