WASHINGTON, D.C.—Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), testified Thursday, December 11, that the leading terrorist threat to the United States comes from approximately 18,000 known or suspected terrorists who entered the country during the Biden administration.
Director Kent delivered the assessment during the House Homeland Security Committee’s annual “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland” hearing, which began at 10 a.m. EST in the Rayburn House Office Building. He credited the Trump administration with putting ISIS and Al-Qaeda fighters “on the run” in Iraq and Syria through recent military strikes, but said the domestic picture is far different.
“The number one threat that we have right now, in my view, is the fact that we don’t know who came into our country in the last four years of Biden’s open borders,” Kent told lawmakers.
According to NCTC analysis, roughly 18,000 individuals with ties to jihadist groups—primarily ISIS and Al-Qaeda—were allowed to enter the United States. Under normal vetting standards, Kent said, these individuals would have been denied entry. He pointed to the late-November attack in Washington, D.C., in which Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, an Afghan evacuee in 2021 under Operation “Allies Welcome” and who resettled in Bellingham, killed one National Guard member—U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, of Summersville, West Virginia—and wounded another.
Kent described the attacker’s prior vetting for service in the Afghan military as insufficient and said the Biden administration used it as justification to admit him.
“The individual terrorist who committed the attack in D.C., he was vetted to serve as a soldier in Afghanistan,” Kent said, “The Biden administration essentially used his tactical level vetting as a ruse to bring him here and to bring him into our communities.”
The 18,000 figure includes about 2,000 people airlifted to the United States during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. Kent said vetting of the more than 100,000 Afghans brought in under Operation Allies Welcome was inadequate, and 2,000 of the 88,000 who ultimately arrived have since been linked to terrorist organizations.
The remaining 16,000 identified terror suspects entered through various legal pathways, Kent said, adding that the total does not include an unknown number who crossed the southern border illegally.
“We’re working right now hand in hand with DHS and with the FBI to run down this 2,000, the Afghans who came here under Allies Welcome who have ties to terrorist organizations, and additionally the other 16,000 individuals with ties to terrorist organizations that Biden let into our country,” Kent said.
In a post on X Thursday morning, Kent wrote that NCTC is sharing intelligence with federal, state, and local law enforcement to counter potential holiday-season attacks. He cited the foiled ISIS-linked plot in Michigan around Halloween and the D.C. attack as recent examples of the risk posed by individuals admitted under Biden administration policies.
Saed Ali Mirreh,19, of Kent, Washington, was arrested and charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, in connection to that foiled Halloween terrorism plot in Michigan.
This holiday season, the National Counterterrorism Center is working vigilantly with interagency partners to counter any potential terrorist threats of violence, rapidly sharing intelligence with law enforcement at all levels to spotlight ongoing and new dangers and ensure… pic.twitter.com/TBfnLRD7dc
“NCTC equips law enforcement and leaders across the United States with the intelligence and tools needed to combat these terrorist extremists, including radical Islamist extremists like AQAP who have ramped up online calls for attacks this year,” Kent wrote in his X post. “This intel sharing helps law enforcement hunt terrorist threats and safeguard our people by empowering local law enforcement to protect our communities, so the American people can worship and celebrate in peace this holiday season.”
Since taking office for his second term in January 2025, President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders aimed at bolstering U.S. counterterrorism efforts.
On his first day, he signed Executive Order 14161, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” This order directed agencies to review risks from countries with weak vetting. It resulted in a June 2025 proclamation that reinstated and expanded travel restrictions on nationals from terrorism-linked countries, including Iran.
In January 2025, Executive Order 14175 designated the Houthis (Ansar Allah) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. A February directive added eight international cartels, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13, to the terrorist list to combat narcoterrorism and speed deportations.
Also in January, Executive Order 14188 expanded measures to combat antisemitism. It included stricter social-media screening for support of terrorist groups during immigration reviews.
In November 2025, Trump signed an executive order requiring the State and Treasury Departments to designate specific Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and elsewhere as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists within 45 days.
On the domestic front, a September 2025 executive order designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. It authorized federal investigations into its networks, funding, and violent activities. Another September order created a national strategy to counter domestic terrorism. It prioritized prosecutions for politically motivated violence, doxing, and rioting, while directing the Attorney General to fund enhanced law enforcement programs.
Author: Mario Lotmore
