Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) and others sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding reports of a planned Election Day attack on American soil by ISIS. The plot was “foiled,” according to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland after conspirator from Afghanistan Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi was arrested in Oklahoma City.
“As charged, the Justice Department foiled the defendant’s plot to acquire semi-automatic weapons and commit a violent attack in the name of ISIS on U.S. soil on Election Day,” said Attorney General Garland. “We will continue to combat the ongoing threat that ISIS and its supporters pose to America’s national security, and we will identify, investigate, and prosecute the individuals who seek to terrorize the American people.”
However, this report from the Department of Justice was not good enough for some senators.
Sens. Cornyn, Cruz, and others shared that they “remain deeply troubled” by the potential plot and demand more answers.
“We remain deeply troubled by the increasing likelihood that foreign extremists may successfully exploit the weaknesses of our immigration system or our southern border to commit an act of political violence or an act of terror here on U.S. soil, and the policies of the Biden-Harris administration have only made matters worse,” Sens. Cornyn and Cruz other legislators wrote.
They continued by saying that despite the arrest, it is “only a matter of time” as Tawhedi was not properly vetted for a special immigrant visa, according to Sen. Cornyn’s office.
“This ongoing failure to protect Americans from potential terroristic threats is unacceptable and it is only a matter of time before it yields deadly results. As part of our ongoing oversight of DHS’s use of immigration parole and its response to the heightened threat environment the U.S. finds itself in, we are requesting that you provide to us for review a copy [of] Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi’s alien file (a-file) and any other records related to his parole and vetting he received prior to his arrest, no later than November 1, 2024,” the lawmakers concluded.
Alongside Cornyn and Cruz, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined in sending the letter to Secretary Mayorkas.
