WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Top members of two U.S. Senate panels have sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting additional information about the recent arrest of suspected terrorists in major U.S. cities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested eight persons from Tajikistan with suspected ties to Islamic State in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles earlier this month.
They entered the U.S. through the southern border, and were reportedly being tracked by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
In the letter, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; said the circumstances of these arrests have highlighted significant potential vulnerabilities within the U.S. border security and immigration screening processes.
'Given the serious national security implications of these deficiencies, it is imperative that we receive detailed information to fully understand the scope of these issues and to ensure that our border infrastructure and national security systems are adequately safeguarding against such threats.'
The senators seek all Department of Homeland Security records, including component records and complete Alien Files, related to all of the individuals arrested in connection with this operation, including their immigration status and criminal history.
They want DHS to provide documents and communications detailing their transit through other countries and whether they sought asylum in a third country.
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