Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson is contradicting a GOP lawmaker who claimed this week that members of the terrorist army known as Islamic State have already tried to sneak into the United States across the southern border.
Mr. Johnson said those claims made by Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, were “categorically false.”
“Let’s not unduly create fear and anxiety in the public by passing on speculation and rumor,” he said Wednesday on CNN’s “Situation Room.”
Mr. Hunter said that Border Patrol sources told him that agents had caught members of Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, crossing the southern border.
“I know that at least 10 ISIS fighters have been caught coming across the Mexican border in Texas,” he said Tuesday night on Fox News’ “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.”
“If you really want to protect Americans form ISIS, you secure the southern border — it’s that simple,” he said.
Mr. Johnson assured Americans that the Obama administration is alert to terrorist threats at the borders.
“I look at the intelligence reports from overseas, from our southern border, from our intelligence community virtually every day, numerous times a day, to be on the lookout for something of that nature,” Johnson said.
“So what I would say to the American public is, we’re vigilant in looking out for individuals of suspicion that may be crossing our border, and we have no specific intelligence that ISIL is planning to come into the U.S. through our southern border.
Hunter spokesman Joe Kasper told CNN that the congressman stands by his comments.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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