While urging Americans to remember the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, top Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee are urging vigilance over threats facing the country due to “open-border policies” pushed during the Biden administration. 
The lawmakers are calling for a resolute commitment to border security after a massive surge in individuals on the terror watchlist crossing the border under former President Joe Biden. The lawmakers praised the Trump administration for its actions to lock down the border.
“As a lifelong New Yorker, &#8216;Never Forget&#8217; is more than a phrase of remembrance for me; it is a call to action,” committee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) told The Daily Wire. “Today, as we honor the nearly 3,000 innocent lives taken by al Qaeda terrorists on 9/11, we also reaffirm our commitment to DHS&#8217;s core counterterrorism mission. Our nation still faces heightened and evolving threats more than two decades after 9/11, particularly following four years of open-border policies.”
From the start of fiscal year 2021 to the end of Biden’s presidency, border patrol agents encountered around 400 individuals on the terror watchlist at the border. At least 2 million illegals who were known “gotaways” entered the country in that same period. From 2017-2020, only 14 individuals on the terror watchlist were apprehended at the border, <a href="https://homeland.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/December-24-SS.pdf">according</a> to the committee. 
These threats have come from a variety of countries. It was previously <a href="https://homeland.house.gov/2025/06/26/homeland-republicans-applaud-house-passage-of-rep-greenes-special-interest-alien-reporting-act/">reported</a> that Biden released into the country around 50% of the 1,504 Iranian nationals who were stopped at the border during his presidency. Over the summer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-tajikistan-born-russian-national-foreign-fugitive-suspected-being-member">arrested</a> a Tajikistani national suspected of being a member of al Qaeda. The man crossed the border and was released under Biden. 
Garbarino will be leading a visit of Homeland Security members to Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum on Thursday. He praised the work of federal, state, and local law enforcement to protect American communities. 
&#8220;These brave men and women deserve our continued support as they put their lives on the line every day. Alongside the Trump administration, the House Committee on Homeland Security is working to keep our borders secure for years to come — because border security is national security,&#8221; he said. 
Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger told The Daily Wire that the Biden administration’s “reckless open-border policies” led to “blinking red” danger to our security. 
“While President Trump’s Administration has taken strong, decisive action to identify and deport many of these individuals, an unsettling truth remains, we still don’t know how many terrorists may have slipped through the cracks under President Biden’s watch and are now living among us,” he said.

Former President Biden Speaks at ACRD Conference in Chicago

On 9/11, Republicans Warn About Lingering Danger From Biden’s ‘Open-Border Policies’

9/11

border security

House Committee on Homeland Security

Joe Biden

Terrorism

House Republicans are set to lose Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, following another vote on the &#8220;One Big, Beautiful Bill&#8221; expected in the coming weeks.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from Congress. Recently, I was offered an opportunity in the private sector that was too exciting to pass up,&#8221; Green said in a <a href="https://markgreen.house.gov/press-releases?id=C02CE940-281B-4FEE-85F7-A6E7134F4FAF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Monday.
He continued, &#8220;As a result, today I notified the Speaker and the House of Representatives that I will resign from Congress as soon as the House votes once again on the reconciliation package.&#8221;
The GOP-led House narrowly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-one-big-beautiful-bill-in-massive-win-for-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> the bill, which contains myriad tax cuts and spending provisions seeking to boost President Donald Trump&#8217;s second-term agenda, a few weeks ago.
Senators are expected to make some changes to the legislation, meaning the House will have to approve it again, in its revised form. The Trump administration hopes to have the bill completed by July 4.
First elected to the House in 2018, Green oversaw as chairman of the Homeland Security panel efforts to pass a major border security bill and impeach Biden DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
&#8220;Though I planned to retire at the end of the previous Congress, I stayed to ensure that President Trump’s border security measures and priorities make it through Congress,&#8221; Green said in his statement.
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The chairman added, &#8220;By overseeing the border security portion of the reconciliation package, I have done that. After that, I will retire, and there will be a special election to replace me.&#8221;
A source told Fox News reporter Aishah Hasnie that the <a href="https://x.com/aishahhasnie/status/1932211198155489557" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;plan&#8221;</a> is to have Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) return as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee until the end of this session of Congress.
Green&#8217;s departure will decrease the GOP&#8217;s majority in the House. As it stands, there are 220 Republicans and 212 Democrats. There are <a href="https://pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three vacant seats</a> left behind by Democrats who recently died.
&#8220;I have no doubt that my colleagues in this Congress will continue to strengthen the cause of freedom,&#8221; Green said. &#8220;May God bless them, and the United States of America.&#8221;

Rep. Mark Green (R-TN)

House GOP Chairman To Retire After ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Vote

Congress

Mark Green

Spending Bill

Tennessee

U.S.

U.S. House of Representatives

On Wednesday, Republicans on the House Committee on Homeland Security advanced a number of bills to combat terrorism, strengthen security at the border, and counter the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts against America.
“I am proud of this Committee’s work to advance legislation that protects Americans from growing threats to our homeland and our way of life,” Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) stated. “For far too long, the CCP has tried to influence American higher education, target and harass dissidents on U.S. soil, and infiltrate our critical infrastructure and government networks. Today, this Committee stood up to China, advancing bills from Chairman Pfluger and Rep. Ogles to counter the real and growing threat they pose in our own backyard.”
“We also will not forget the serious threats sparked by the Biden-Harris administration’s historic border crisis. That’s why Committee Republicans advanced bills from Reps. [Marjorie Taylor] Greene and [Clay] Higgins to demand transparency on the number of Special Interest Aliens encountered at our borders and enhance efforts to detect deadly drugs like fentanyl at our land ports of entry,” he continued. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to swiftly pass these bills to increase transparency and give Custom (sic) and Border Protection (CBP) more enforcement tools.”
Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee Chairman Rep. August Pfluger’s (R-TX)  bill, H.R. 881, the “DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act,” would restrict DHS from funding American universities that host a Confucius Institute and require &#8220;certain disclosures related to Chinese entities of concern.&#8221;
Rep. Pfluger also introduced H.R. 2158, the “Countering Transnational Repression Act of 2025,” which would establish a dedicated transnational repression working group with DHS, thus protecting Chinese and Iranian dissidents who voice criticism of their countries’ despotic governments.
Rep. Clay Higgins’ (R-LA) bill, H.R. 1569, the “CATCH Fentanyl Act,” would further empower CBP to test and evaluate new technologies for deployment at U.S. points of entry.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) bill, H.R. 275, the “Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2024,” would require DHS to publicly release information monthly on the number of special interest alien encounters.
Rep. Morgan Luttrell’s (R-TX) bill, H.R. 1327, the “Syria Terrorism Threat Assessment Act, would ensure the Department of Homeland Security conducts an assessment of terrorist threats the United States posed by individuals in Syria with an affiliation to a foreign terrorist organization or a specially designated global terrorist organization.
Rep. Andy Ogles’ (R-TN) bill, H.R. 2659, the “Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act,” would target the escalating cybersecurity threats from the Chinese Communist Party and its state-sponsored cyber actors. oil.”

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House Committee on Homeland Security

On 9/11, Republicans Warn About Lingering Danger From Biden’s ‘Open-Border Policies’

House GOP Chairman To Retire After ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Vote

House GOP Committee Advances Bills To Protect Homeland