WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and colleagues in demanding that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas brief senators on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) arrest of eight illegal aliens from Tajikistan who have suspected ties to ISIS. 

Reports indicate that these suspects entered the U.S. through the southern border under the Biden administration. At least one suspect used the administration’s CBP One application to enter the country.

“We write to express our grave concerns regarding reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of eight individuals from Tajikistan suspected to have terror ties to ISIS who crossed the southern border to enter the U.S. last year and this year,” the senators wrote. 

“We are deeply concerned by reports that a wiretap shows that one of the now-arrested individuals was talking about bombs and that the target of the wiretap was previously released by federal authorities at the southern border with a court date of next year,” they continued.

“We are further concerned by reports that federal authorities vetting these individuals upon entry into the U.S. did not detect any ties to ISIS at the time and only discovered these ties ‘[l]ater and in recent weeks,’” the senators added. 

The senators requested that the DHS inform senators about the nature of the suspects’ border crossings, the individuals’ connections to terrorist organizations and the Department of Justice’s knowledge of threats they posed.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), John Thune (R-S.D.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) also signed the letter.

Background

• In May 2024, Kennedy joined Budd and other colleagues in demanding answers on two illegal aliens’ attempt to break into Marine Corps Base Quantico.

• In Jan. 2024, Kennedy authored an op-ed in the New York Post that called attention to terrorists who are taking advantage of Biden’s open border policies.

• In Oct. 2023, Kennedy joined Marshall in introducing the Where Are The Terrorists Now Act, which would require the DHS to provide monthly updates on encounters of individuals on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist at the southern border.

The full letter is available here.