First on Fox — Senator Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, wrote a letter FBI Director Christopher Wray On Thursday, he demanded answers over how eight Tajikistani citizens — who had crossed the border illegally and were later arrested in three major US cities over the past several days on suspicion of having links to the terrorist group ISIS — were released into the US interior.
Moran asked Wray to elaborate on testimony he gave last week before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, which oversees the FBI.
“Last week, during the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) budget hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, we discussed the disturbing trend that more known or suspected terrorists are exploiting our southern border to gain entry into the United States. Today, we learned that eight ISIS suspects, citizens of Tajikistan, were ultimately arrested after crossing the southern border last year despite being under-screened during their initial processing,” Moran wrote in the letter, which was obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital. Biden administration policies “Allowing those who enter our country illegally to move freely throughout the United States is a great threat. The FBI, together with its intelligence and law enforcement partners, must act decisively to stop the terrorists who will inevitably exploit this weakness.”
The senator wrote that he and Wray “share similar concerns about suspected terrorists and individuals on watch lists crossing the border.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives to testify during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, June 4, 2024 (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Ray Testimony given last week“The major problem, in my view, is twofold. One, individuals who come in, either armed with falsified documents or somehow sneaked in or — or, and this is very important, individuals about whom the intelligence community does not yet have enough derogatory information to put on a watch list.”
Eight Tajikistani nationals with ties to ISIS “were allowed to enter the US and were later arrested in New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.” Immigration and Customs Enforcement When asked about the investigation conducted in collaboration with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (ICE),” Moran pressed Wray to answer, “based on your understanding of this case and our discussion last week, how were these individuals allowed to enter the United States?”
Senator Jerry Moran asks questions to FBI Director Christopher Wray during a Senate hearing in Washington, DC on June 4, 2024 (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Do any of the issues in the two categories you just described to me apply to this case?” Moran, who serves as vice chair of the subcommittee, asked Wray. “What is the most important thing the FBI can do to ensure that suspected terrorists and watch list subjects do not reach our major cities or anywhere inside the United States?”
Authorities arrest 8 suspected terrorists with links to ISIS in multi-city sting operation
“I stand ready to work with you to address this serious issue facing our nation,” Moran wrote. “Because of this administration’s immigration and parole policies, the burden of combating this threat on U.S. soil will remain on our intelligence and law enforcement communities. We must do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the American people.”
Director Christopher Wray testifies on the FBI’s proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year on June 4, 2024, in Washington, DC (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Eight Tajikistani citizens crossed the southern border illegally and initially had no derogatory information to be flagged. U.S. Customs and Border Protection On Tuesday, a federal source told Fox News that they were initially called in for investigation by either the CBP or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during processing. The source added that they were “fully vetted” before being released into the US.
Subsequently, new derogatory information emerged, raising national security concerns and revealing links to ISIS.
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The FBI and DHS have confirmed that eight Tajikistani nationals have been placed in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. However, it is unclear whether any terrorism-related charges will be filed as a result of the arrests.
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Last week, Wray warned the subcommittee that since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel, “a constellation of foreign terrorist organizations” have been calling for attacks on Americans, the United States and U.S. allies.
“And given these calls to action, our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups inspired by events in the Middle East will carry out attacks here at home,” Wray said. “But now, in addition, there’s also the growing possibility of a coordinated attack here in the homeland, not unlike the ISIS K attack that we saw.” Russian Concert Hall Back in March.”
