The FBI more than doubled the number of domestic terrorism cases

The FBI has announced that it has more than doubled its number of domestic terrorism cases – from around 1,000 to around 2,700 investigations – since the spring of 2021.

It also more than doubled the number of staff dedicated to domestic terrorism, fueled by the colossal workload stemming from the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol and the growing threat of extremists harboring racial, ethnic and anti-government grievances.

“Today, terrorism is moving at the speed of social media,” Wray said during a “Global Threats” hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, following the 20th anniversary of the 11 attacks. September 2001.

The power vacuum in Afghanistan

National security officials have expressed deep concern about the potential replenishment of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, as well as ISIS-K, the spinoff group behind last month’s attack attack in Kabul, which killed 13 US servicemen and at least 170 Afghans.

The FBI director also expressed concern that domestic actors, including Afghan evacuees – could be further radicalized by foreign terrorists following the chaotic withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan.

“We are placing a strong emphasis on community outreach as evacuees settle here in the United States,” Wray told the Senate panel.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told lawmakers more than 60,000 people have been brought to the United States from Afghanistan so far – including 7% US citizens, 6% permanent residents legal and 3% of Afghans who received special immigrant visas. . The rest represent vulnerable Afghans, some of whom are in the process of applying for special immigration visas.

“We haven’t found a lot of people with derogatory information compared to those who qualify for admission to the United States,” Mayorkas said, although he did not provide a number. Mayorkas has vowed that the federal government will expel any Afghan evacuees who allegedly waved red flags, with possible relocation to a third country.

Threat of inspired violence

National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) director Christine Abizaid said the terrorist threat to the homeland is “less acute” than it was two decades ago, but said the Changing threats from Afghanistan are proving a “top priority” for the center, as terrorism groups scramble to fill the power vacuum in the country.

“The main threat to the homeland comes from individuals inspired by violence, either by foreign terrorist groups or by other national grievances and ideologies,” Abizaid said. She noted that the NCTC is evaluating how quickly terrorist groups in Afghanistan might acquire the capacity to launch attacks against the homeland of the United States.

Wray told the committee’s top Republican, Ohio Senator Rob Portman, that he “certainly remains concerned” about Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is both leading the Afghan counterterrorism program as interim home secretary. and was among the most wanted ranks by the FBI.

“We are concerned about what the future holds,” Wray said.

Wray also noted that 62 law enforcement officers have been “criminally killed on the job in 2021” in the United States – which equates to one officer murdered in his country, every five days, and already more than the total number of officers lost in 2020.

The situation in Del Rio, Texas

Lawmakers also inundated the DHS secretary with questions after thousands of migrants, mostly from Haiti, poured into the southern border near Del Rio, Texas, overwhelming the US border authorities and inciting them to establish a makeshift encampment for the treatment of migrants under an international bridge.

The secretary highlighted a massive deployment of hundreds of border patrollers and repatriation flights to Haiti, which reduced the number from 15,000 to less than 10,000. Mayorkas vowed that the encampment would be cleared within 10 days, a situation that ‘he called it “unprecedented” and “human tragedy”.

“Are you responsible for the crisis at Del Rio?” GOP Senator Josh Hawley, of Missouri, repeatedly asked the secretary. “Yes or no?”

“It is my responsibility to deal with the human tragedy in Del Rio,” replied Mayorkas, noting that human traffickers had fueled migrant disinformation about US immigration policies.

Mayorkas also told lawmakers that images of border patrol agents on horseback aggressively dispersing Haitian migrants, which first surfaced on Monday, were “in the foreground” in his mind. “I was horrified to see the footage,” Mayorkas told lawmakers.

The secretary noted that DHS has launched an internal investigation into the displayed behavior and has assigned professional accountability office staff to “be onsite 24/7 at Del Rio.”

“We do not tolerate any mistreatment or abuse of a migrant,” Mayorkas added. “Period.”