As the world reacts to Hamas’ horrific attacks against Israeli civilians, there is growing concern the open U.S. border could lead to a similar attack in America — and for good reason.
Hundreds of people, including at least 22 Americans, were murdered earlier this month following Hamas’ stunning incursion into Israel. The terrorist attacks led to outrage and shock across the globe, but beneath that shock lies a realization and a fear the U.S. is once again vulnerable to such an attack as well.
For years, border security advocates have warned that if a September 11th-scale attack were to happen in the U.S. today, it would be facilitated through the southern border. That threat has become all the more real following the atrocities committed in Israel.
Hamas, the terrorist organization behind the attacks, is largely funded by the government of Iran, which also funds the terror group, Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s activities in Latin America have been cause for concern for years. The terrorist organization is known to operate cells within the region, particularly in Venezuela.
While not confirmed, it is reasonable to believe these terrorist organizations also maintain active cells in the U.S., just as Al-Qaeda did in the lead up to the 9/11 terror attacks. With terrorist organizations across the world becoming emboldened, the Biden Administration’s anti-border policies have created an opening for them to attack.
Since Joe Biden took office in January 2021, roughly eight million illegal aliens have entered the U.S. This number has skyrocketed over the past year, given that a record number of illegal aliens crossed the southern border during fiscal year 2023, which ranged from October 1, 2022 until September 30, 2023. Additionally, there have been roughly 1.5 million illegal aliens who have entered the U.S. without being apprehended since Biden took office, according to a report earlier this year from the New York Post. These are known as “gotaways,” and they pose an acute threat to U.S. national security.
As Immigration Reform Law Institute Senior Fellow and former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan explained, there is really no reason for any alien not to turn themselves into Border Patrol once they have entered the U.S., given how rapidly the Biden Administration has been releasing aliens into the country.
Many of those attempting to enter the country undetected and without a background check are doing so for a reason. Given that roughly 268 suspected terrorists have been apprehended at the border since Biden took office, it’s worth asking how many of these “gotaways” involve individuals or groups who wish to do Americans harm.
These concerns are further intensified by a report which found that more than 61,000 aliens from “special interest countries” entered the U.S. during fiscal year 2023. A “Significant Interest Alien” (SIA) is someone who “potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests,” according to the Department of Homeland Security. To be clear, SIAs are not suspected terrorists, but they do come from countries that have been flagged as hotbeds for terrorist activities. Given the recent resurgence of Islamic terrorism and the ongoing devastation in Israel, it would be wise for the U.S. to limit migration from those countries.
Perhaps the administration could reinstate former President Donald Trump’s travel ban on countries known to produce large numbers of terrorists, but that seems unlikely. However, if anything could awaken Biden and his supporters to the dangers of an open border, it would have to be the very real possibility of a large-scale terrorist attack. The same Islamic terrorist organizations currently engaged in a jihad against Israel would love to harm the U.S. as well. In Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, chants of “death to Israel,” are often accompanied by chants of “death to America.”
These terrorist entities have tragically succeeded in bringing mass death to Israel and would no doubt seize the opportunity to do the same to the U.S. If America is to suffer through another mass casualty event, it will almost certainly again be caused by the nation’s lax immigration policies, this time through the country’s wide-open southern border.
William J. Davis is a communications associate for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.