As the conflict between the federal government and Texas escalates over the state’s right to protect its border from illegal crossings, a group of 10 retired FBI executives have voiced serious alarm to Congressional leaders about the massive surge of adult male border crossers from nations hostile to the United States.
“In its modern history, the U.S. has never suffered an invasion of the homeland, and, yet, one is unfolding now,” the FBI veterans wrote in a Jan. 17 letter, echoing the language Gov. Greg Abbott has been using to describe the flow of illegal immigrants into his state.
Since 2021, they wrote, the demographics of illegal border crossers started to shift to the point that those breaching the U.S.-Mexico border primarily consist of young men traveling alone with and “holding questionable motivations.”
The signers of the letter said they found the situation “particularly alarming” in light of the Hamas terror attack on Israel last October.
Over the past year, more than 160 individuals with positive matches on the FBI’s terrorism watchlist have been stopped trying to cross the southern border, compared to 100 in the previous year.
Shortly after the Middle East war broke out, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in San Diego warned that military-age men associated with the terror groups involved in the Oct. 7 attack “may potentially be encountered at the southwest border.”
“Those of us who have fought terrorism know that, historically, successful terror attacks invite mimicry,” wrote the former FBI executives, some of whom oversaw the bureau’s counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism operations.
“We know, as well, that terror leaders intentionally cultivate throngs of young men possessing a certain easily-manipulated personality type to carry out atrocities.”
The letter said it must be considered as a “distinct possibility” that large numbers of young men could attack gatherings of unarmed citizens at the behest of a foreign terror group, in a similar manner Hamas terrorists carried out their massacre at the music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“We would be remiss not to call out this potentially grave threat in the most direct terms. The warning lights are blinking,” the FBI agents advised Congress.
However, this “very real concern” does not appear to be getting the amount of attention it “logically deserves,” the FBI veterans said.
“The Director of the FBI has correctly assessed an elevated threat level since 10/7. But relatively little discussion has followed highlighting unsecured borders as a significant cause of this increasingly dangerous environment.”
“It is a troubling concern that needs illumination, not avoidance,” they wrote, arguing that President Joe Biden’s border policies have unleashed a “soft invasion” of a military-aged male foreigner whose presence poses “one of the most pernicious ever” threats to national security.
“These men are potential operators in what appears to be an accelerated and strategic penetration, a soft invasion, designed to gain internal access to a country that cannot be invaded militarily in order to inflict catastrophic damage if and when enemies find it necessary,” the letter read.
The letter was sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and the chairmen of the House and Senate committees responsible for overseeing the U.S. intelligence and Homeland Security apparatus.
‘Clear and Present Danger’
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a top Republican on the Senate’s homeland security committee, called the letter a stark portrait of the reality of the threat the country is facing.On Wednesday, Texas Gov. Abbott defended his order to place razor wire along miles of the border with Mexico even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against such an operation, arguing that Texas has the constitution-guaranteed right to continue protecting itself.
The Republican govenror also accused President Biden of refusing to enforce immigration laws.
“President Biden has violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress,” he said in a statement.
“Instead of prosecuting immigrants for the federal crime of illegal entry, President Biden has sent his lawyers into federal courts to sue Texas for taking action to secure the border.”
Mr. Abbott’s stance has gained support from more than two dozen Republican governors, who issued a joint statement saying they “stand in solidarity” with him and the Lone Star State “in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border.”
