FBI Director Kash Patel told Congress the northern border poses a growing terrorism threat as adversaries adapt and shift from the south.
FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers on Wednesday that the United States’ northern border now poses a greater terrorism risk than the south, where security has tightened in recent years.
“The enemy has adapted,” Mr. Patel said during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. “We need more focus on the northern border to stop known or suspected terrorists from coming in from places like China, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan.”
Patel said encounters at the southern boundary have dropped sharply. “We’ve encountered almost zero at the southern border since the southern border’s been sealed,” he told lawmakers. “The problem we are running into is our northern border.”
Government data show that from May to July, Border Patrol arrested 37 people on the terrorism watch list, a surge compared with earlier years. Patel also cited rising counterintelligence investigations into Russia, China and Iran, warning that adversaries are exploiting vulnerabilities across America’s borders.
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