FOX Business’ Hillary Vaughn pressed Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., to respond to news of eight suspected ISIS terrorists entering the U.S. through the southern border on Wednesday.
The eight suspects were arrested over the past week in three different cities. Padilla argued the incident is more evidence that Republicans should approve border legislation that was negotiated by a bipartisan group and includes some additional funding for the border.
“I don’t think they’re being welcomed, but to me, that is just a reminder that Republicans need to stop opposing additional resources for more Border Patrol agents and, other DHS personnel to help continue to enforce the law,” Padilla said.
“You don’t think President Biden has any responsibility for the fact that terrorists are being allowed into this country?” Vaughn asked.
“The fact that they were identified and detained and we know where they are is them doing their job,” Padilla said of border agents.
Vaughn later spoke to Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and asked him about the same issue.
“We should obviously, arrest and detain people, that commit terrorist acts. And so I think that, obviously, it’s really important for us to address the issues here,” Casar said. “At the same time, we should be making sure that we have both a secure and humane border policy. And I’ll continue to support the president in making sure we strike the right balance.”
All eight individuals crossed the U.S. southern border illegally, and, according to a federal source familiar with the sting, no derogatory information was initially flagged by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or Homeland Security (DHS) during processing.
Fox News’ source said after the suspected terrorists were released into the U.S., derogatory information was flagged with national security concerns, including the individuals’ ties to ISIS.
When contacted about the report by Fox News, the FBI and DHS sent a joint statement:
“Over the last few days, ICE agents arrested several non-citizens pursuant to immigration authorities. The actions were carried out in close coordination with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces. The individuals arrested are detained in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. As the FBI and DHS have recently described in public and partner bulletins, the U.S. has been in a heightened threat environment. The FBI and DHS will continue working around the clock with our partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt potential threats to national security.”