Montana’s Senator Steve Daines joined a group of Republican senators in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers after individuals with suspected ties to ISIS were apprehended at the southern border, underwent vetting and were then released into the United States.
“We write to express our grave concerns regarding reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of eight individuals from Tajikistan suspected to have terror ties to ISIS who crossed the southern border to enter the U.S. last year and this year. Reportedly, two of these individuals crossed the border in spring 2023, and one of them used the CBP One app to enter the U.S. We are deeply concerned by reports that a wiretap shows that one of the now-arrested individuals was talking about bombs and that the target of the wiretap was previously released by federal authorities at the southern border with a court date of next year. We are further concerned by reports that federal authorities vetting these individuals upon entry into the U.S. did not detect any ties to ISIS at the time and only discovered these ties “[l]ater and in recent weeks,” wrote the senators.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested the individuals after one was reportedly caught on a wiretap talking about bombs.
Read the full text of the letter HERE.
The letter was led by Senator Tedd Budd (R-N.C.) and co-signed by Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Thune (S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), JD Vance (R-Ohio), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).