Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said in an interview that she's concerned about the presence of individuals on the terror watchlist who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, Iran's threats against the U.S., and the possibility of an attack on domestic soil.
"I'm very concerned about our open border, and I've been saying this from the beginning, even before this horrific war in Israel, that we have to secure our borders," she said during an appearance on Newsmax's "Saturday Report."
And we know that hundreds of individuals on the terror watchlist have been bought over our border."
Malliotakis connected Iran to the open border risk.
"We know that Iran has made specific threats against the United States, saying that they were going to, you know, counter for what happened to [the late Iranian Gen. Qasem] Soleimani on our own soil."
"We don't know who's among the 1.7 million individuals who have snuck into our country and have evaded all of government and all of law enforcement," she added. "We don't know who they are, where they are, or what their intentions are."
She clarified that advocating for secure borders should not be misconstrued as anti-immigrant sentiment and noted that even immigrants in her district sought secure borders.
"In a post-9/11 world, I've been sounding this alarm. It's not anti-immigrant to say you want to know who is coming in and out of our country; it's not anti-immigrant to say that we want secure borders," she said.
"I represent a district in which we have a large immigrant population, people from all over the world, and they're telling me the same thing. They want secure borders; they follow the rules; they follow the law.
"They did everything right to enter our country, and they are very uncomfortable with what they're seeing taking place right now."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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