Ted Cruz raises concerns over federal memo warning Hamas, Hezbollah could be crossing southern border

Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz raised concerns about a federal memo exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation warning about Hamas and other terrorist organizations possibly crossing the southern border during an episode of his podcast that aired Monday.

The memo came from the San Diego Field Office Intelligence Division of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which warned that the war between Israel and Hamas could lead to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Hezbollah, all of which are U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Border patrol encounters with individuals whose names appear on the terror watchlist hit 172 at the southern and northern borders in fiscal year 2023, up from 98 in fiscal year 2022.

“You look at this memo that was sent out on the 20th. It lists several, quote, ‘questions of interest, such as questions related to the individual’s personal or familial associations with Hamas, with Hezbollah, with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine or other similar groups.’ Now, as the memo is rightly noting, if you’re a terrorist crossing the southern border, you want to obscure that fact, you want to hide that fact,” Cruz said on “Verdict.”

“Because if you’re coming here, there’s a very real possibility you’re coming here to commit acts of terror. And so, I want to underscore something I’ve said on this podcast previously, I believe we are at a greater risk for a major terrorist attack of the United States today than we have been any time since September 11th and the Biden administration’s policies continue to make that more and more likely each and every day.”

Federal border authorities should look for indicators of possible terrorism ties that include seeing military-age males, military gear, lone travelers, and ties to the region, according to the memo.

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