WASHINGTON, DC — House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green has subpoenaed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a move supported by Congressman August Pfluger. The subpoena seeks information on national security threats at the U.S. borders, following over a year of what the committee describes as stonewalling by the department in response to document and information requests regarding inadmissible aliens on the Terrorist Screening Data Set (TSDS) crossing the Southwest border.
"As Chairman of the Counterterrorism Subcommittee, I will not stand for the Biden Administration covering up the facts about terrorists crossing our southern border," said Congressman Pfluger. "Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security issued an official congressional subpoena against Secretary Mayorkas demanding DHS release the facts surrounding the national security risks presented by aliens with terrorist ties illegally crossing the border."
Chairman Green added, “President Biden and his now-impeached DHS secretary’s refusal to secure our borders or comply with our laws is putting our country in rapidly growing peril. The Biden administration has utterly failed to safeguard the American people by allowing millions of otherwise inadmissible aliens into the country with limited screening and vetting, including tens of thousands of special interest aliens.”
The background provided highlights concerns about open-border policies under President Biden's administration. Since FY2021, over 370 individuals on terrorist watchlists have been apprehended attempting to cross the Southwest border illegally—a significant increase compared to previous years. The Committee asserts that DHS’ processes for screening and vetting these individuals are inadequate.
A recent NBC News report revealed that more than 400 inadmissible aliens from Central Asia and other regions were brought into the U.S. by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network. Approximately 150 have been arrested after entering, but 50 remain unaccounted for.
This month, Chairman Green sent letters to Secretary Mayorkas and FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting documents related to several individuals connected to ISIS who were arrested in New York City, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia after entering through the Southwest border.
In May 2024, multiple subcommittee chairmen sent a letter to Secretary Mayorkas, DOD Secretary Lloyd Austin, and FBI Director Wray seeking information on an attempted breach of Marine Corps Base Quantico by two Jordanian nationals allegedly in the U.S. unlawfully.
Earlier this year in April 2024, Chairmen Green, Pfluger, and Higgins requested information from CBP regarding processing procedures for inadmissible aliens on TSDS. In January 2024, ICE arrested a Somali al-Shabaab member who had lived freely in Minnesota for a year after being released.
In September 2023, there were demands for answers from DHS and FBI following reports that Uzbek nationals were smuggled across the Southwest border by an individual linked to ISIS. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens expressed concerns during a May 2023 interview that high illegal alien flow through Del Rio Sector hindered agents' ability to reduce gotaways potentially allowing suspected terrorists undetected entry.