Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., chair of the Homeland Security Committee, was among the top House Republicans who tore into the Biden administration's open-border policies Wednesday following multiple media reports that eight Tajikistan natives with suspected ties to the Islamic State group were recently arrested in a coordinated sting operation in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
All eight men crossed through the southern border into the U.S., and their criminal background checks came back clean when they crossed, NBC News reported Tuesday, citing two officials familiar with the matter. At least two of the men crossed in the spring of 2023, and one used the CBP One app, which the Biden administration created to allow migrants to book appointments to claim asylum.
"Almost weekly we are getting reports that someone with terrorist ties or other major criminal connections has been released into our country by the Biden administration and allowed to roam free for months or even years," Green said in a news release. "Such bad actors exploiting our borders used to be the exception — it's quickly becoming the rule under President [Joe] Biden and now-impeached [Homeland Security] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas.
"It's only a matter of time before one of these individuals connected to a terrorist group is involved in something devastating on U.S. soil, and this administration will be responsible. How much longer will we let this madness continue?"
The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force had been aware of a potential terrorist threat originating in central Europe, and it began monitoring the eight men as part of that investigation, according to NBC News.
"Over the last few days, ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents arrested several noncitizens pursuant to immigration authorities," read a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
"The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings."
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the Homeland Security Committee, agreed with Green that Biden's open-border policies are escalating the risk of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
"FBI Director [Christopher] Wray testified last week of growing potential for a coordinated ISIS-like attack in the US, & it's not hard to see why," McCaul posted Wednesday on X. "Pres. Biden's open border has enabled terrorists like these 8 individuals to enter our nation & live in our communities while they plot our demise.
"Instead of making flippant attempts to appeal to voters with more bootless executive orders — which fool no one — the president should be urging the Senate to pass House Republicans' Secure the Border Act, which would fix the national security crisis he created."
Wrote Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Wednesday in a post on X: "Biden's wide-open border is allowing potential terrorists to enter our country, jeopardizing the safety and security of the American people. He is playing politics at the risk of our national security. It's dangerous and unacceptable."
But the Biden administration tried to deflect the issue by pointing to claims some House Republicans want to defund the FBI.
"This is another example of why we think some calls from Republicans to defund the FBI is a bad idea, is troublesome," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday during a press gaggle on Air Force One. "And so we'll continue to call that out as well."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.