Washington – Eng the arrest of eight Tajik nationals with alleged ties to ISIS has renewed concerns about the terrorist group or its affiliates potentially carrying out attacks in the US
The arrests in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia come as US officials have warned for months about a potential terror attack and the US has been on high alert.
“I see flashing lights everywhere I turn,” FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee in December, telling lawmakers, “I’ve never seen a time where all of the threats are so heightened.”
In April, he warned that the human smuggling operation the US-Mexico border they bring in people who have potential ties to terror groups.
On Friday, the State Department announced the US and Turkey would impose sanctions on three ISIS-linked individuals involved in trying to facilitate travel to the US.
Republican lawmakers have used the arrests as the latest flashpoint to call for stricter border measures.
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, requesting a secret briefing for all senators detailing the ISIS threat to the US
“I believe the threat is significant,” the South Carolina Republican wrote, requesting a briefing before the Senate adjourns next weekend.
A spokeswoman for Graham said she had not heard back. Spokespeople for Schumer and McConnell did not immediately return calls for comment.
In a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma called on officials to “wake up” and criticize border screening process.
“We’re basically living on borrowed time,” he said. “What happens every day is people who cross our border, we hope the FBI can get information on them after they are released into the country.”
Tajik migrants crossed the US-Mexico border without the proper documents and were given notices to appear in immigration court, according to a senior Department of Homeland Security official. A source familiar with the operation said the men had been vetted by law enforcement when they entered the US, and there was no indication they had ties to ISIS at the time.
There was no active terror plot, but sources said the information of concern was discovered by law enforcement at least in part through wiretaps after the individual was in the US.
“It’s only a matter of time before one of these people with ties to a terrorist group does something devastating on US soil, and this administration will be held accountable. How much longer are we going to allow this madness to continue?” Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, the GOP chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement Wednesday.
In an opinion piece he co-authored before the arrests were reported, former CIA director Michael Morell said officials’ warnings should be taken seriously.
“Combined, the stated intentions of terrorist groups, their growing capabilities in successful and failed attacks around the world, and the fact that several serious plots in the United States have been foiled point to an unpleasant but inevitable conclusion,” he said. A piece published in Foreign Affairs said. “Simply put, the United States faces a serious threat of terrorist attacks in the coming months.
Andres Triay, Robert Legare and Camilo Montoya-Galvez contributed reporting.
