Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated on Sunday that one of the most significant threats to U.S. national security originates from President Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. During an interview on CBS News’s “Face The Nation,” McCaul expressed his concerns about the current U.S. border policy and the national security threats associated with it, especially given the recent increase in arrests at the border.
McCaul pointed out that, beyond the issues of aggravated felons and fentanyl trafficking, the most alarming threat is the influx of ISIS-K militants who escaped from Afghan prisons during the fall of Afghanistan. He explained that these militants have migrated to the Khorasan region, which includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, and eventually made their way to the U.S. through Mexico.
“In addition to the aggravated felons and the fentanyl — and I can go on and on about that — what I worry most about is, look, you had the fall of Afghanistan. Thousands of ISIS-K came out of those prisons at Bagram, end up in a region called the Khorasan region, which is Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan,” McCaul said. “They make their way over. They come through Mexico. And they enter into the United States. ISIS.”
McCaul emphasized that while the FBI has detained eight ISIS individuals so far, the bigger concern is how many more have potentially entered the country. He highlighted the gravity of the situation, noting that, during his time chairing the Homeland Security Committee, the presence of ISIS within the U.S. was a significant worry, but they had not witnessed it until now.
