GOP Lawmaker: Terror Suspects Are ‘Starting To Exploit The Southern Border’

A Republican lawmaker claims some people who are on the FBI’s terrorist watch list are “starting to exploit the southern border.”

The U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks has been swarmed by foreigners seeking to get into the United States. In some of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden did away with the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which kept foreigners who tried to enter the U.S. illegally in Mexico to await hearings. Instead, Biden has returned to a “catch-and-release” policy in which illegal aliens are allowed to enter the U.S. and ordered to appear at hearings later, which they often skip.

“Individuals that they have on the watch list for terrorism are now starting to exploit the southern border,” Rep. John Katko (R-NY), the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee. “People who they’ve got in the last few days… have been on the terror watchlist,” Katko said during a press conference held at the border.

“We need to wake up, we need to understand. Listen Mr. President Biden, you’re an OK guy,” Katko said. “Why don’t you just admit you made a mistake with this policy and go back to the way it was and keep America safe for all of us?” the lawmaker said. “And use that money that we’re wasting down here on American citizens. The door should not be open and we should have immigration the right way.”

Katko visited a section of border wall in El Paso, Texas, along with other House Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). McCarthy called the situation at the border “beyond a crisis.”

Katko later expanded his claims, saying “people from Yemen and the Middle East are coming across the border now.”

The lawmaker also said drug cartels are exploiting the border mayhem. “The cartels know when to exploit the Southern border and they’re doing it now masterfully,” Katko said. “They’re doing it because President Biden rolled back a lot of the orders of the previous administration that were working. There is indeed disorder at the border by executive order. No question about it.”

Immigrants who are swarming to the U.S.-Mexico border say President Joe Biden “promised” them they would be allowed to enter the country.

“Biden promised us that everything was going to change,” Gladys Oneida Pérez Cruz, a woman who traveled to the border with her son, told The New York Times. “He hasn’t done it yet, but he is going to be a good president for migrants.”

The Times said another woman in tears at the border said, “Biden promised us!”

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers say that some 100,000 foreigners came to the border in February alone, and after weeks of claiming all is well, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Saturday acknowledged that “record numbers” of foreigners are overwhelming U.S. agencies, prompting the department to call in help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Related: Immigrants Swarming U.S.-Mexico Border Say Biden Encouraged Them To Come

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