Released by Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana – October 25, 2023
“If the Biden administration is going to forfeit its duty to protect American citizens, Congress needs to have transparency from the Department of Homeland Security so we can address the real terrorist threat open borders pose to American communities.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) in introducing the Where Are The Terrorists Now Act, a bill that would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide a monthly report to Congress disclosing the number of migrants on the FBI’s Terrorist Watchlist whom U.S. officials encounter at the southern border.
“The Biden administration continues to undermine our national security by ignoring the crisis at our border. More members of the FBI’s terror watchlist are sneaking into our country than ever before. If the Biden administration is going to forfeit its duty to protect American citizens, Congress needs to have transparency from the Department of Homeland Security so we can address the real terrorist threat open borders pose to American communities,” said Kennedy.
“There is an invasion at our southern border. Every day that the Biden Administration continues their open border agenda, Americans’ national security is at risk. Month after month, we have seen historic numbers of migrants on the FBI’s terror watchlist infiltrating our country’s border. The threat the individuals on this list pose to Americans’ safety is too great for us to do nothing,” said Marshall.
Under the Where Are The Terrorists Now Act, the DHS, in partnership with the Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, must provide Congress with a monthly report including:
- The number of individuals who are on the terrorist screening database that border officials encounter.
- Where each individual was encountered.
- Why each individual is on the Terrorist Watchlist.
- Any ties each individual has to a terrorist organization.
- The individual’s nation of origin.
- The individual’s criminal convictions.
- How the individual traveled to the United States.
- Where the individuals were detained, whether they are still detained, whether they have been deported, whether they have been transferred to another agency, and their known whereabouts if they have been released.
- If the individual has been released, how DHS determined that the individual does not present a danger to the U.S.
Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) also co-sponsored the legislation.
Full text of the legislation is available here.
