FBI Director Wray says he IS concerned border crossers could launch another 9/11 terror attack in the U.S. and warns human trafficking cells have ties to ISIS
- The intelligence chief’s revelation came during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the biggest global threats the US currently faces
- Wray responded “yes” when asked by Senator Cornyn if he was concerned about whether potential terrorists crossing the southern border could cause harm
- The US “faces a fragile world order” according to the latest annual report released Monday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence
FBI Director Chris Wray is concerned that illegal migrants crossing the southern border could launch another 9/11 terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
The intelligence chief’s revelation came during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on the biggest global threats the US currently faces.
The hearing was interrupted several times by pro-Palestinian demonstrators shouting “a truce now!” shouted. during remarks from the country’s top spy chiefs.
This is evident from the latest annual report published on Monday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence The US is “facing a fragile world order” as a result of “accelerated strategic competition with major authoritarian powers” seeking to undermine it.
That includes Russia’s growing desire for an arsenal of nuclear space weapons and China and Iran’s attempts to meddle in the upcoming 2024 elections through TikTok and other malign influence operations.
One of the biggest concerns is the ongoing migrant crisis at the porous southern border, which has seen more than 7.2 million people enter since President Biden took office.
Top Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, questioned Wray on the issue of the southern border being used by U.S. adversaries, and terrorists in particular.
Since President Biden took office, 7.2 million people have entered the US through the southern border
Wray answered “yes” when Cornyn asked him if he was concerned if potential terrorists crossing the southern border could cause harm to Americans, similar to the terrorist attacks on September 11.
When Cornyn pressed whether terrorists are among the more than 1.8 million “escapees” who have evaded capture by border officials, Wray said it is possible.
He quoted former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as saying, “We don’t know what we don’t know.”
“And I think there are a lot of ways in which the national security implications of the problems at the border are in some ways more evident, more because of what we don’t know about the people who snuck in, provided false documents or entered in a different way. when there wasn’t enough information about when they came in to connect the dots,” Wray said.
“It’s almost more important in our opinion,” he continued, “because for the most part, those people are being stopped, detained and processed.”
The Texas senator raised the fact that there were only 26 co-conspirators in the September 11 attacks, which killed more than 3,000 people.
“I worry that among the people crossing the border and evading law enforcement, there are also those who want to do us harm. Do you share that concern?’ Cornyn asked.
Wray replied, “Yes, I do.”
Another major concern for the FBI director is last summer’s report showing that individuals from Uzbekistan were smuggled into the US by an ISIS terrorist after being screened by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
As a result, the FBI became aware of the ISIS terrorist cell using human trafficking operations to infiltrate the US
“So that’s a threat stream that we’re very concerned about,” Wray confirmed Monday.
‘We are very actively exploring cooperation with DHS with both people whose travel was facilitated and with members of the facilitation network in another way abroad.’
He said he would discuss the senators in more detail during the closed secret session.
“I worry that among the people crossing the border and evading law enforcement, there are also those who want to do us harm. Do you share that concern?’ Cornyn asked
The FBI is aware of the ISIS terrorist cell that used human trafficking operations to infiltrate the US
Another major concern for the FBI director is last summer’s report showing that individuals from Uzbekistan were smuggled into the US by an ISIS terrorist after being screened by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Other topics mentioned in the annual threat assessment report included the risk that US adversaries would obtain nuclear weapons.
“Moscow will rely more on nuclear and counterspace capabilities for strategic deterrence as it works to rebuild its ground forces,” the report said.
That limit is significant because of reports last month that Putin wants to place nuclear weapons in space, according to US intelligence.