‘It certainly seems that this White House and this administration learned nothing from 9/11. Because they’re setting up conditions for another 9/11.’
A potential terrorist attack against the United States is more likely now than at any time since Sept. 11, 2001, according to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
“In my judgment, the risk of a serious terrorist attack in the United States is right now greater than it has been any time since September 11,” Mr. Cruz warned on his “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast, which aired on Friday.
The Texas senator said “a confluence of a number of factors” has made the United States vulnerable, but none more critical than the consequences of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the Biden administration’s border policies.
“One, obviously, the most significant war in Israel in 50 years, the most significant attack on Israel in 50 years,” Mr. Cruz said.
He added, “Number two, 2 1/2 years of open borders on our southern border, 7.6 million people coming in illegally, including a very significant number of people on the terror watch list, and an exposure that there could be a significant number of terrorists from countries in the Middle East who have come into this country in the past 2 1/2 years.”
Since Hamas terrorists launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the Israel-Hamas conflict has claimed over 3,000 lives on both sides, according to the Associated Press. Meanwhile, 29 Americans are confirmed dead while 15 are unaccounted for, according to the State Department.
Mr. Cruz’s warning comes as reports that customs and border officials have apprehended multiple individuals from Lebanon and Syria at the southern border in Texas in recent days.
In fiscal year 2023, border officials apprehended 151 illegal immigrants who were on the FBI’s terrorism watchlist at the southern border. The number is at an all-time high, up from 98 in fiscal year 2022 and 15 in fiscal year 2021.
“What worries me much more is how many people on the terror watch list are among the ‘gotaways,’” Mr. Cruz said, referring to illegal immigrants who were not apprehended. Compared to illegal immigrants who voluntarily turn themselves in to border agents, the senator explained that gotaways are more likely to have “seriously dangerous characteristics,” individuals that could be convicted murderers, convicted rapists, gang members, or “terrorists coming to America with the intention of committing acts of terror.”
By Frank Fang
