Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard warned that suspected terrorists may be present inside the United States, criticizing immigration and vetting policies under the Biden administration and describing the situation as a national security concern.
Gabbard cited data from the National Counterterrorism Center indicating that approximately 18,000 known or suspected terrorists entered the United States during the previous administration. She said her primary concern is that additional individuals may have entered the country without being identified by authorities.
Gabbard made the remarks in an interview with Fox News over the weekend while discussing broader counterterrorism challenges facing U.S. intelligence agencies and the ongoing efforts to identify potential security threats within the country.
“The Biden administration did not take their vetting responsibilities seriously,” Gabbard said on “Saturday in America.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized immigration and vetting policies implemented under the Biden administration and has cited national security concerns as justification for expanded enforcement efforts. During his second term, President Donald Trump ordered a nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration.
Gabbard said that of the estimated 18,000 known or suspected terrorists identified by the National Counterterrorism Center, approximately 2,000 were Afghan nationals who entered the United States following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
More than 100,000 Afghans were evacuated during the withdrawal. Lawmakers from both parties have previously raised concerns that the rapid pace of the evacuation resulted in gaps in the vetting process for some evacuees.
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Gabbard said whistleblowers involved in the post-withdrawal vetting process have come forward, telling her they were instructed to expedite screenings in order to process large numbers of migrants during the rapid influx following the Afghanistan evacuation.
“They [whistleblowers] were told, ‘Hurry up, don’t do the thorough vetting that you normally do because we have to hurry up and get these people into the United States,’” Gabbard said.
She referred to the situation as “devastating” and mentioned that it has already resulted in real-world consequences. The day before Thanksgiving, for instance, two National Guard members were shot, allegedly by an Afghan brought into the country during Biden’s term and lightly vetted early in the Trump administration via processes put in place by the previous administration.
“What we are seeing right now is the exact result where we have a direct threat on the lives of the American people, and we have the kind of tragedy that we experienced on Thanksgiving with the shooting,” said Gabbard.
One of the members, Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed, while the second, Air Force SSGT Andrew Wolfe, 24, barely survived a gunshot wound to the head.
FBI Director Kash Patel criticized what he called the Biden administration’s “emblematic failure” following the Nov. 26 shootings. The Justice Department has formally charged Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal with four counts, including murder.
“The problem with this case shows the emblematic failure of the Biden administration to vet anyone who came here from Afghanistan after the disastrous withdrawal,” Patel told Fox host Laura Ingraham.
According to Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General report from Sept. 6, 2022, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the [Afghan] evacuees.”
Patel told Ingraham, meanwhile, that the FBI is continuing to investigate when and how Lakanwal became “radicalized.”
“This is a sprawling international terrorism investigation that the FBI is leading out on,” Patel said.
“I’ve already issued dozens of pieces of legal processes, dozens of devices, already hit two houses and interviewed many individuals associated with the subject, and that investigation is going to continue on to anyone and everyone this person ever spoke to,” Patel continued. “We are not going to leave any stone unturned.”
