A group of former FBI officials have voiced apprehensions concerning a significant and imminent threat that they believe compromises the security of the borders of the United States. In a letter to the leaders of both the House and Senate, these retired officials advise against a “invasion” at the southern frontier, underscoring the critical nature of the situation.
The Terrorist Screening Center Director Timothy Healy, former acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan, and former assistant directors Kevin Brock and Chris Swecker have joined forces to draw attention to the unprecedented influx of military-aged men into the United States from various countries, including those that are hostile to the United States. The situation is described as an incremental invasion, wherein thousands of individuals are traversing the border of the country on foot, with the majority of them lacking adequate protection.
December 2023 witnessed over 302,000 encounters with migrants, according to recent data. This follows a fiscal year in which 2.4 million encounters with migrants set a new record. The former officials are astounded by the tremendous influx of visitors, which includes “gotaways” and encounters with individuals on the FBI’s terror watch list. During the previous fiscal year, the estimated number of such encounters exceeded 800,000.
The letter underscores the potential security risks associated with these arrivals, citing the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 as an illustration. Young male migrants could potentially be coerced by foreign terrorist organizations to carry out a comparable series of attacks on American soil, according to the coalition.
Amid the current surge in political discourse concerning border security, this advisory is issued. Republicans have criticized the Biden administration, attributing the migrant crisis to the policy reversals that commenced under the Trump administration. Conversely, the administration proposes augmenting financial allocations and implementing policy modifications in order to address a crisis that it labels “devastated” and has far-reaching consequences throughout the hemisphere. Additionally, there has been an increase in the quantity of unlawful immigrants returned to the DHS.
The letter not only urges congressional and federal leaders to respond promptly and diligently to this emerging threat but also conveys apprehension regarding the perceived strategic significance of this migration surge. The retired officials speculate that this could be a “soft invasion” designed to obtain interior access in preparation for future assaults.
Amidst the current legislative debate surrounding a supplemental spending measure that allots $14 billion for border funding, this correspondence adds an additional layer of complexity to the ongoing discussion concerning the most effective approach to border security management and immigration policy in the United States.