FBI Director Wray: 'Great concern' over terrorists entering U.S.

FBI Director Christopher Wray expressed "great concern" about potential terrorists entering the United States during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday that comes in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel. 

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, asked Wray during the hearing for his thoughts on the record numbers of illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border as well as an increased number of encounters with those on the terror watchlist. 

"Certainly the numbers give us concern. I think it's important though in some ways to realize that its numbers alone don't even really tell the problem. We've all seen how much damage just a small number of foreign terrorists could cause. I mean sometimes people as crazy as it sounds tend to forget that it was 19 people who killed 3,000 people," Wray responded, referring to the 9/11 terror attacks. 

At another point in the hearing, Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., asked whether the FBI could guarantee that known or suspected terrorists, including any from Hamas, were not among the "gotaways," or people who entered the U.S. without being processed by Border Patrol officials. 

"Certainly, the group of people that you're talking about are a source of great concern for us. That's why we're aggressively using all 56 of our joint terrorism task forces," Wray said. 

In his pre-written opening remarks, Wray said: "As of right now, we have no information to indicate that Hamas has the intent or capability to conduct operations inside the U.S., though we cannot, and do not, discount that possibility, but we are especially concerned about the possibility of Hamas supporters engaging in violence on the group’s behalf."

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressed similar concerns as Wray in his pre-written opening testimony. 

"The threat of a 'lone wolf' actor attempting to exploit the conflict between Israel and Hamas and incited to violence by an ideology of hate is of particular concern," he said in his pre-written statement.

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