You know it’s bad when even Obama’s team has to say something.
Jeh Johnson, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, expressed his concerns about the current surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border during an interview on Fox News. He emphasized that this influx is unprecedented in scale and poses challenges for U.S. authorities in terms of identifying individuals entering the country.
According to Newsweek, these comments came in response to questions about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, which escalated on October 7 with a major attack by Hamas on Israel, prompting heavy Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
The situation has raised worries in the U.S. that individuals with known or suspected links to terrorism may exploit the migration crisis at the southern border to gain entry. Former President Donald Trump recently claimed that people affiliated with dangerous groups were entering the U.S. through the Mexican border, although there is no substantiated evidence to support this assertion.
Moreover, concerns spread online after former radical leader Khaled Mashaal called for global protests in support of the Palestinians and encouraged neighboring countries such as Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt to join the fight against Israel.
Jeh Johnson acknowledged the anxiety many Americans may be experiencing due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, he urged citizens not to panic and instead remain vigilant. He emphasized that the current surge of people crossing the southern border is of an unprecedented scale, and the systems in place, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, are struggling to keep up. Additionally, Johnson noted that the existing system is burdened, leading to the entry of unidentified individuals into the country.