Exclusive: Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) issued a stark warning about the crisis at the US border during an RNC event on Wednesday.
“We have guys coming across our southern border from Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon,” Scott said at a breakfast for the South Carolina Republican delegation. “I believe there are sleeper cells in this country because of Joe Biden.”
“He needs to be fired,” Scott added, to applause.
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Senator Tim Scott spoke at a breakfast for the South Carolina Republican delegation. (Getty Images)
Scott’s warnings about the terror threat at the border are not new: FBI Director Chris Wray told Congress in March that while no specific threats had been identified, there was “no question” that criminals were crossing the southwest border.
“There is a particular network in which some of the overseas intermediaries in the smuggling network have ties to ISIS that we’re very concerned about and we’re working with our partners to put a lot of effort into investigating,” Wray said at the time.
His speech marks the start of the Republican National Convention’s third day of programming, with Wednesday’s theme expected to focus on national security.
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Scott said President Biden should be “fired” over the border. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Border security is likely to be a central talking point tonight as Republicans continue to blast the Biden administration over its response to the migrant crisis at the southwest border.
“How many of you have a back door?” Scott asked the audience. “Look, my back door is locked. Is there anybody who disagrees with that?”
The crowd chanted “No” in response.
“If you wouldn’t lock your back door at night, why wouldn’t you lock the back door of the greatest country on earth?” Scott asked.
He went on to warn of the threat of foreigners from other continents: “If we have, and I believe we do, a national security risk across our southern border, consider… there are 100,000 Chinese people across our southern border.”
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Scott said Trump’s reelection is crucial to continuing construction of the border wall. (Fox News)
Law enforcement sources told Fox News on Tuesday that U.S. Secret Service security has been stepped up in recent weeks following intelligence reports of Iran plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, a claim Iran denies.
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While Republicans and some moderate Democrats have criticized the Biden administration’s approach to the border crisis, Biden and his allies continue to blame Republicans for derailing a bipartisan border security agreement that Republicans said at the time fell short.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a White House spokesman cited the bipartisan effort and the recent decline in illegal border crossings.
“This week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that encounters at the southwest border have fallen by more than 50% since President Biden’s executive proclamation on June 4. The average daily encounters are now lower than when President Trump left office and are lower than they were at this time in 2019, pre-pandemic,” the spokesperson said.
“Additionally, since the Presidential proclamation, DHS has deported more than 50,000 individuals to more than 100 countries, including operating more than 175 international repatriation flights. DHS has also doubled the percentage of aliens deported or removed directly from CBP custody.”
“President Biden is doing his job and taking action. If Republican elected officials truly care about fixing our broken immigration system and securing our border, they would support a bipartisan border security agreement instead of blocking it because of partisan politics.”
Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.
