Ex-US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Warns Of Potential Terror "Sleeper Cells" In US Amid Israel-Hamas War

Former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday warned that there might be terrorist sleeper cells hiding in the United States and waiting for the order to strike during the unprecedented illegal immigration at the southern border. Appearing on NBC's 'Meet the Press', Mr McCarthy pointed to a new report released by US Customs and Border Protection that shows 18 people on the FBI's (Federal Bureau of Investigation) terror watch list were apprehended at the southern border in September, accounting for more than 160 caught so far this year. "It's going to be an uphill battle," he said, noting that these troubling figures showed there were more terrorists attempting to enter the US last year than over the past six fiscal years combined. 

"If you simply look at what's the chaos right now, a wide-open southern border, I'm concerned about a cell sitting inside America today. We just caught 18 people just last month on the FBI Terror Watch List coming across our border, more than 160 have done it this year," Mr McCarthy told the outlet.  

"When we're looking around the Middle East and the uprisings popping up around Europe and others, they could be sleeper cells right now in America. But this administration has done nothing to change what's happening on the Southern border," he added. 

Further, the Republican Congressman stated that if he were still the Speaker of the House, he would've made sure "we looked at our own border - that we don't have any sleeper cells here, that we would actually stop these terrorists coming across our own border". 

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When 'Meet The Press' host pressed him on whether he will once again seek speakership, Kevin McCarthy said, "I'm going to lead in any capacity I can [to] help to protect America". 

"I'm going to work to secure our border. I'm going to work to stop the inflation. I'm going to make sure war does not break out in Israel, and that Israel has every resource they need to defend themselves. But more importantly, I'm going to press this administration," he said, as per The New York Post.  

"We have to destroy Hamas," the former House Speaker continued, adding, "But you cannot do it without confronting Iran," which he said is "getting billions of dollars to fund terrorism around the world". 

"We have to be very clear: Every single American has to come home," Mr McCarthy said of the hostages held by Hamas. "No one will be left behind."

Notably, despite Mr McCarthy's concern over terror "sleeper cells" in the US, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson has said it does "not have specific and credible intelligence indicating a threat to the United States at this time, stemming from the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel". The department is "closely monitoring unfolding events and will continue to engage in information sharing with our intelligence and law enforcement partners at home and abroad," the spokesperson added.