Dec. 11 (UPI) — Potential threats from unvetted migrants with ties to terrorism and Antifa cells are top concerns for federal officials, a House committee was told on Thursday.
Afghan migrants pose significant threats to national security, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and National Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent told the House Homeland Security Committee.
The panel was conducting its annual hearing on “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” which assesses current threats against the country.
Noem referenced the recent shootings of West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., as examples of the dangers posed by Afghans who arrived after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“Two weeks ago, on the day before Thanksgiving, a terrorist shot two of our National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., killing Sarah Beckstrom dead, and Staff Sgt. Adam Wolfe is still fighting for his life,” Noem said.
“The terrorist who shot them was an Afghan national who entered the United States under Operation Allies Welcome,” Noem said.
She said another Afghan national who arrived via the same program was arrested that same week for planning to carry out a bombing in Fort Worth, Texas.
“And just last week, just miles away from Washington, D.C., we arrested another Afghan national who also came in under Operation Allies Welcome,” Noem continued.
“That individual provided support to the Islamic State of Iraq and ISIS-K, and weapons to his father, who is a commander of a militia group in Afghanistan.”
She said those are a “handful” of the challenges facing the nation, but the Trump administration has closed the border and “is restoring the rule of law and protecting the homeland.”
Kent called the entry of thousands of Afghans via the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program “probably the top terrorist threat that we face right now.”
He said those who entered were not properly vetted before the Biden administration brought them into the United States.
Kent said 88,000 have entered the United States, including 2,000 who have been identified as having ties to terrorist organizations.
“We’re working right now, hand-in-hand, with the FBI and DHS to run down these 2,000 … and an additional 16,000 who have ties to terrorist organizations that Biden let into this country,” he said.
Kent said those numbers do not include those who illegally entered the United States by crossing the border.
“That number, alarmingly, remains unknown at this time,” he said. “We’re trying to identify who those individuals are as well.”
When asked what the DHS’s most pressing concerns are now, Noem estimated between 15 million and 20 million people entered the United States without undergoing vetting during the Biden administration.
She called such crossings an “invasion over the southern border” by people who were not vetted and “were allowed to pour in” and exploited parole, visa and asylum programs to remain in the United States.
Also testifying before the House panel was FBI Operations Director Michael Glasheen, who attended in place of FBI Director Kash Patel.
Glasheen told the panel that Antifa is the top domestic terrorist threat in the United States and said the decentralized organization is the FBI’s “primary concern right now.”
“When you look at the data right now, you look at the domestic terrorist threat that we’re facing right now, that’s the most immediate violent threat that we’re facing on the domestic side,” Glasheen said.
Committee ranking member Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., asked if Antifa has a headquarters and how many members it might have.
“We are building out the infrastructure right now,” Glasheen said and compared Antifa to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
He said Antifa has a “fluid” membership in reference to the far-left anarchist movement that President Donald Trump recently designated as a domestic terrorist organization.
More than a dozen members of a North Texas Antifa cell face federal charges following the July 4 ambush on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Alvarado, Texas, that resulted in a police officer being shot in the neck.
At least 16 members of that Antifa cell are charged with related crimes, and several last month pleaded guilty to providing support to a terrorist organization, KDFW reported.
The president also designated four European-based Antifa groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
Thompson later accused Noem of wasting the committee’s time and suggested she resign as Homeland Security secretary.
“Rather than sitting here and wasting your time and hours more with more corruption, lies and lawlessness, I call on you to resign,” Thompson said, as reported by The Guardian.
“Do a real service to the country and just resign,” he added, “that is if President Trump doesn’t fire you first.”
Noem left the hearing after testifying for two hours to attend a meeting with the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council, which was to discuss a report recommending FEMA changes.
That meeting was canceled, though, after CNN received a leaked copy of the report and published a related article on Wednesday, Politico reported.
Her departure was an hour earlier than planned, and two protesters briefly disrupted the hearing as Noem left beforebeing removed by Capitol Police.
One dressed as a Catholic priestand held up a crucifix and a sign saying, “Stop ICE Raids,” with “Codepink” written at the bottom.
That protester yelled, “The powerof Christ compels you,” which is a line from the popular 1973 horror film The Exorcist.
After Capitol Police removed him, another protester stood and held up a sign saying, “No ICE, no troops.”
That protester yelled, “Get ICE off our streets,” and, “Stop terrorizing our communities,” before being removed by Capitol Police.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.