Concerns about potential threats from various groups or individuals attempting to exploit vulnerabilities at the border have been ongoing for years. With the current war in the Middle East between Iranian proxies and Israel, there is growing speculation that members of the Hamas terrorist organization may attempt to infiltrate the United States through the US-Mexico border.
The relationship between the United States and Iran has been complex and contentious, marked by periods of hostility, diplomatic tensions, and occasional attempts at rapprochement. For decades, the relationship has been characterized by animosity, including economic sanctions imposed by the US and a lack of formal diplomatic ties. Issues such as Iran's nuclear program, its support for militant groups in the region, and differing geopolitical interests have been significant points of contention.
While the Department of Homeland Security’s most recent data released in June 2023 only shows statistics from 2021, sources have claimed a considerable increase in “gotaways” or people who illegally entered the U.S. at the Southwest Border and are not turned back or apprehended and are no longer actively pursued by USBP. Speculation surrounds that the war in the Middle East complicates the already complex nature of border security and leads the U.S. to even greater threats.
I recently spoke with Joe Gomez from The Epoch Times about how militants from the Middle East have attempted “to cross into the United States through the southwestern border” for years. Some of these are classified as special interest aliens (SIA), meaning they come from countries where there is a significant presence of terrorist organizations and terrorist activity, including Somalia, Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan.
While many international terrorist organizations target America, Hezbollah is the most prolific and dangerous, backed by money, arms, weapons, and terrorist training from Iran. Iranian-backed militias, particularly Hezbollah, have been establishing themselves and running financial and targeting operations for the past 40 years throughout Latin America and the world. There's a long list of Hezbollah targets attacked in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and within the U.S. Most of their U.S. operations are financial and fundraising.
As a former FBI Special Agent and counterterrorism expert, I have firsthand knowledge from working with a few of those targets, including the Hezbollah attacks in Argentina when they bombed both the Israeli Embassy and then, two years later, the Jewish Community Center (AMIA) in Buenos Aires in 1994.
This issue has further fueled the ongoing debate surrounding immigration policies and the delicate balance between border security and humanitarian considerations. National security is not just protecting the homeland from an attack. It is the security and maintenance of our country's well-being: our health care system, our education system, our criminal justice system, our social services, and so on. The influx of people into our country, unvetted and unchecked, will overwhelm and tilt all of those systems, and I believe we will live with implications of this for generations to come.
Read Jim’s comments in The Epoch Times regarding national security and border security.
