EXCLUSIVE — The Department of Homeland Security is facing increased pressure to issue a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin in response to a number of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border who have been identified as “special interest aliens” due to national security concerns.
In a letter sent to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) pressed the Biden administration official to issue a bulletin, which would provide a quarterly summary of any terrorism threats to the United States. Biggs criticized the department for failing to issue a bulletin over the last several months, arguing it increases the risk of terrorist activity in the country.
“The danger of these attacks comes not only from the sheer number of terrorists coming into the country but also from the fact that the lack of proper screening of encountered individuals leaves some uncertainty as to just how many are within the country and where they originate from,” Biggs wrote in the letter, which was first obtained by the Washington Examiner. “Additionally, the unprecedented number of ‘gotaways’ creates even more cause for concern since there is no way of identifying what individuals are within these groups and it is reasonable to infer that those who deliberately avoid encounters with Border Patrol may have malevolent intent.”
The letter cites more than 52,000 illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border since last October who have been identified as national security concerns. The letter also mentions 360 illegal immigrants encountered at the border since Biden took office in 2021 whose names appear on the terror watchlist.
Biggs accuses the Biden administration of implementing border policies that have directly caused an increase in the number of dangerous individuals in the country, pressing Mayorkas to provide a bulletin that details those encounters.
In his letter, Biggs outlines a number of questions on Mayorkas’s “indecision to issue an NTAS Bulletin,” pressing the DHS secretary on “how many known terrorists” it would take to publish such a report.
The questions press Mayorkas on whether the DHS is considering releasing a bulletin and what factors the department analyzes when deciding to issue one. The letter also requests information on what steps the DHS is taking to stop individuals on the terror watchlist from entering the country and how long it would take to publish a bulletin once the department decides it will issue one.
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“Despite the number of known terrorists crossing the border and the inevitable number of unknown ‘gotaways’ who are also on the terror watchlist, DHS seemingly does not believe the American people should be alerted to the heightened risk that the Biden administration’s open-border policies create across the United States,” the letter states.
The letter currently has 14 co-sponsors who have signed on to the letter, which requests answers from Mayorkas by July 31.
The DHS pushed back on the request, telling the Washington Examiner it no longer issues National Terrorism Advisory bulletins and instead uses a different homeland threat assessment process.
“DHS responds to congressional inquiries directly via official channels, and the Department will continue to respond appropriately to Congressional oversight,” a spokesperson said.