According to Mark Morgan, who served as acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) during the Trump administration, there may be “a cell in the United States planning the next terrorist attack, and we would have no idea.”
The statement comes amid an ongoing border crisis, where officials have warned that members of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Hezbollah may be encountered by border agents.
“The same terrorists that just carried out this horrific attack in Israel—their hatred and their unwavering commitment … to do harm to the United States, is alive and well,” Morgan told The Epoch Times.
Between October 2022 and August 2023, border patrol agents apprehended 151 illegal immigrants recorded on the national terrorism watchlist.
By comparison, zero terrorism watchlist identities were arrested on the Southwest Border in fiscal year 2019, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Donald Trump similarly warned that an attack on the United States may be imminent.
“The fight in GAZA is ‘coming home’ to the USA,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The tens of thousands of strong young men from the Middle East, that have already “’nvaded’ our Country, and are continuing to come, totally unchecked, will become a problem the likes of which we have never seen before. Crooked Joe Biden is a very ignorant (STUPID!) man, who has NEVER been right on a foreign policy issue in his life. CLOSE OUR BORDER, NOW. STOP THE ONSLAUGHT, STOP THE INVASION!”
Sympathy for Hamas, which Morgan describes as a “deep-rooted, irrational ideology,” may also propel what he calls “radicalization.”
Numerous anti-Israel protests have occurred across the globe, including on university campuses in the United States.
National security lawyer and regional analyst Irina Tsukerman also spoke to The Epoch Times, explaining that there is “significant pro-Hamas support in the United States already, both among leftist radicals and apologists in academia, and Palestinian activists and their allies, such as the crowds rallying with Hamas in various big cities around the United States in the past few days.”
American Faith reported that a protest in New York resulted in 22 people getting arrested.
Some of the chants from the protestors included, “Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here,” “We will free Palestine within our lifetime, “We stand with Palestine,” and “Once upon a time… There was humanity.”
NYPD noted that while some protestors were peaceful, others showed signs of aggression.
“Officers were pushed, shoved, and struck by some demonstrators within the crowd after the LRAD (long-range acoustic device) device was utilized,” the NYPD stated. “Officers were struck with flying debris which included eggs, fireworks, and bottles.”
