This week, federal authorities arrested Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub Al-Muhtadi in Lafayette, Louisiana. It's the city I live and work in, where I am on the air every day talking to conservatives (and anyone else who decides to stay a while and listen). To say our community was shocked would be an understatement. How in the world did an (alleged) 10/7 terrorist end up in our town?
The 33-year-old man stands accused of being a senior operative in the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s military wing. He’s been living and working in Lafayette since May. Before that, he was in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Before that, according to federal prosecutors, he crossed into Israel on October 7, 2023, armed himself, recruited additional attackers, and participated in the massacre at Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where 62 people were murdered and 19 were kidnapped.
Al-Muhtadi entered the United States on September 12, 2024—under the Biden administration—via Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport after obtaining a green card through visa fraud. He lied about his background. He lied about his activities. The Biden administration’s immigration system approved his entry.
A man allegedly involved in an attack that killed 1,200 people—including American citizens—received approval for permanent residency in the United States and lived in our state for months. The Biden administration made deliberate policy choices that prioritized processing speed over security screening. Those choices produced this outcome.
The Data
Since fiscal year 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has recorded more than 10.8 million encounters nationwide, including over 8.72 million at the Southwest border alone. That represents roughly the combined population of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas, crossing with minimal vetting.
The terrorist watchlist encounters tell the story more clearly. Since fiscal year 2021, 382 aliens on the terrorist watchlist have been caught illegally crossing our Southwest border. Under the Trump administration, that number was 14 encounters over four years. The increase—from 14 in four years under Trump to 382 in just over three years under Biden, 268 in Biden’s first three years alone—represents a 3,000 percent jump.
READ MORE: Crisis at the Border: Under Biden, at Least 99 Illegals on Terror-Watch Released into United States
Of the more than 250 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist encountered by Border Patrol at the southwest border between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, the Department of Homeland Security released at least 99 into American communities. The Biden administration encountered suspected terrorists attempting illegal entry and released them into the country.
The Vetting Process
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas repeatedly told Congress that everyone entering the country is “vetted.” The reality of that “vetting” deserves examination. When Border Patrol or CBP officers apprehend an illegal alien, they ask for their name, date of birth, and nationality. They run that information through databases for matches. That concludes the vetting process.
The system depends entirely on subjects providing accurate information and on those subjects already existing in U.S. databases. When someone lies—as Al-Muhtadi allegedly did—or when they haven’t been previously flagged, they pass through unchallenged.
Consider an October 2023 case in San Diego. A former Afghan general and advisor to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani attempted illegal entry. Database checks returned no results. He was identified only because an administrative employee recognized him from a college research project years earlier. A high-ranking foreign military official nearly entered undetected because the vetting system amounts to self-reporting plus database queries.
Al-Muhtadi followed the same path. He received a green card in 2024 through the U.S. embassy in Cairo. His application stated he would live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and work in “car repairs or food services.” Based on that false application, he obtained authorization to travel to the United States and Legal Permanent Resident status. The comprehensive vetting that Secretary Mayorkas described failed to identify a terrorist operative.
What Happened on October 7, 2023
Hamas and allied Palestinian militant groups launched a coordinated assault on southern Israel during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on October 7, 2023. The attack killed 1,200 people—most of them civilians—and resulted in 247 kidnappings.
At Kibbutz Kfar Aza—where federal prosecutors allege Al-Muhtadi participated—approximately 250 Palestinian militants attacked the kibbutz. The assault resulted in 62 residents murdered and 19 abducted. Investigators found many victims with their hands bound or decapitated.
Federal prosecutors cite Al-Muhtadi’s telephone calls from the morning of the attack. The transcripts show him telling one person to “get ready” and another to “bring the rifles.” Additional transcripts show him requesting a “full magazine.”
The criminal complaint describes Al-Muhtadi as an operative who coordinated and executed mass murder. The Biden administration approved his green card application.
The American Public—Then and Now
Fox News and Harvard/Harris polls from March 2024 identified “immigration/border security” as President Biden’s biggest failure, cited by 31 percent of respondents—more than double any other issue.
By January 2024, 35 percent of voters named immigration their top concern, surpassing inflation. Among Biden’s critics, immigration was the single most cited factor at 19 percent.
ABC News/Ipsos polling from mid-January 2024 recorded 18 percent approval for Biden’s handling of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border—roughly half his spring 2021 numbers—while 63 percent disapproved. Biden’s immigration rating was the lowest for any president in ABC News/Washington Post polls since January 2004.
The public identified the border crisis accurately. They recognized that dangerous actors were entering the country. They understood the vetting was insufficient.
Current polling shows 32 percent of respondents identify the Biden administration as “most responsible” for the immigration crisis—ahead of any other political or structural factor.
Cases like Al-Muhtadi’s validate the conservative argument: When processing speed takes priority over security screening, when enforcement mechanisms are weakened, when millions cross illegally with minimal consequences, the result includes dangerous actors alongside economic migrants.
The Biden-Harris administration released millions of inadmissible aliens without adequate vetting. That figure excludes roughly two million known gotaways. In Louisiana terms, the scale equals releasing the combined populations of Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and every small town between them without meaningful background checks.
The National Security Threat
Immigration and Customs Enforcement data from July 2024 documented nearly 650,000 criminal illegal aliens on ICE’s Non-Detained Docket. These individuals remain in the country with criminal records but without detention.
Between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, Border Patrol encountered terrorist watchlist aliens from 36 countries at the southwest border: Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.
Fiscal year 2024 encounters included tens of thousands from nations presenting potential national security risks: 2,134 Afghan nationals, 33,347 Chinese nationals, 541 Iranian nationals, 520 Syrian nationals, and 3,104 Uzbek nationals.
Each encounter represents a threat that should have been stopped before reaching this depth in our immigration system.
Louisiana’s Response
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller for the Western District of Louisiana stated: “Let this arrest serve as a reminder both that those who perpetrate acts of terrorism cannot evade justice by hiding in our communities and that state, local, and federal law enforcement are working tirelessly to bring these people to justice.”
The FBI, Louisiana State Police, Lafayette Police Department, and Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office spent months tracking and investigating a terrorist suspect who should never have entered the country. These resources could have addressed local crime, drug trafficking, or homegrown threats. Instead, they corrected federal failures.
“Anyone involved in the October 7th attacks committed a crime against humanity and deserves to be behind bars," said Sen. Bill Cassidy, and he's right, but incarceration should have occurred elsewhere, not in Lafayette, Louisiana, after a compromised immigration system granted entry.
Security Versus Compassion
I understand the humanitarian arguments for immigration. America has historically served as a destination for people seeking better lives. The American dream should remain accessible to those willing to work hard and contribute to our nation.
Compassion divorced from security becomes recklessness. The Biden administration chose processing speed over safety, numerical throughput over background verification, expedited passage over thorough vetting. They made these choices, understanding they would create security gaps. They made them while knowing dangerous individuals would exploit those gaps.
The result? A man allegedly involved in one of history’s worst terrorist attacks lived in Lafayette, worked at a local restaurant, and maintained a normal daily routine despite his alleged participation in the murder of 62 people.
The Federal Government’s Responsibility
The federal government’s fundamental duty is to protect American citizens from foreign threats. When Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before Congress in June 2024, he stated: “I’m worried about the possibility of a terrorist attack in the United States.”
The Biden administration’s own Attorney General expressed concern about terrorist attacks stemming from border security failures. Yet policy remained unchanged. The administration continued implementing procedures that their own officials recognized as inadequate.
READ MORE: DHS IG Releases Report on Screening, Vetting of Illegal Immigrants - and It Doesn't Look Good
Political calculation explains this decision. The administration prioritized avoiding “anti-immigrant” accusations over addressing security vulnerabilities. That political choice created conditions where Americans could have been killed.
Current Status and Future Implications
Al-Muhtadi remains in custody at St. Martin Parish jail, facing federal charges for providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and visa fraud. Conviction carries significant prison time.
He represents one known case. The complete count of dangerous individuals who entered during this period remains unknown. How many people with threatening backgrounds currently live in American communities because vetting processes proved inadequate?
We cannot determine the full scope. But each encounter with suspected terrorists, each criminal alien released into communities, each case resembling Al-Muhtadi’s, demonstrates federal failure at the most basic level—protecting citizens from foreign threats. Voters understood these failures before November 2024. They elected Donald Trump partly because they demanded secure borders and functional vetting. They wanted leadership that would prioritize American security, even when that required strict enforcement and intensive screening.
Repairing the Biden-era damage will require years. Criminals and terrorists who entered during that period remain in the country. Weak vetting systems persist pending reform. The institutional culture favoring processing speed over security continues.
The Bottom Line
A terrorist suspect allegedly involved in the October 7 massacre—among the worst attacks on Jewish civilians since the Holocaust—lived in Lafayette, Louisiana. Why? Because the Biden administration approved his green card based on fraudulent claims, and because their vetting procedures failed to identify him.
Americans expect to feel secure in their communities. They expect the federal government to verify who enters the country. They expect that terrorist suspects cannot fabricate their way through the system and establish residence in American neighborhoods. The Biden administration failed that test. They failed it spectacularly. And a man who allegedly helped orchestrate mass murder was walking around Lafayette as a result.
We got lucky this time. The FBI, working with Israeli authorities and local law enforcement, tracked him down and arrested him before he could do any harm here. But how many times can we count on getting lucky? into the country. They want to believe that suspected terrorists can’t just lie their way through the system and end up living next door.
The Biden administration failed that basic test. They failed it spectacularly. And a man who allegedly helped orchestrate mass murder was walking around Lafayette as a result. We got lucky this time. The FBI, working with Israeli authorities and local law enforcement, managed to track him down and arrest him before he could do any harm here. But how many times can we count on being lucky?
The next administration needs to learn from this failure. Real vetting means more than running names through a database. It means thorough interviews, cross-referencing with international partners, and taking the time to verify claims rather than rushing people through. It means prioritizing security over processing speed, even if it means longer wait times.
And most importantly, it means understanding that compassion without security isn’t compassionate at all—it’s dangerous.
The American people deserve better. Louisiana families deserve better. And the memory of the 62 people murdered at Kibbutz Kfar Aza deserves better than having their alleged killer approved for permanent residency in the United States.
This can never happen again.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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