Terrorism Threat Rises: Officials Warn of 18,000 Suspected Terrorists in US

In Washington, a high-stakes debate over terrorism and border security has dominated the past two days, as senior U.S. officials warned Congress about what they describe as an elevated threat environment inside the United States.

Testifying before the House Committee on Homeland Security at its annual Worldwide Threats hearing, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent said his analysts have identified approximately 18,000 known and suspected terrorists currently in the country who, he argued, entered during the Biden years. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Kent told lawmakers this is now “probably the top terrorist threat” facing the homeland, emphasizing that many of these individuals have alleged ties to jihadist groups such as ISIS and al‑Qaeda. The House Homeland Security Committee summary of the hearing notes that Kent framed this as a direct consequence of what he called the prior administration’s “open borders” and the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, appearing alongside Kent, reinforced that message. The committee’s account of her testimony says Noem listed ISIS, al‑Qaeda, Hamas, transnational cartels, and violent gangs as interconnected terrorist threats, insisting that her department is encountering, arresting, and deporting suspected terrorists and cartel-linked actors “each and every day.” She told members the government is also bracing for potential plots tied to major upcoming events hosted by the United States, including the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.

The political intensity spiked around a specific recent case: the pre‑Thanksgiving shooting in Washington, D.C., where a National Guardsman was killed and another wounded. The National News Desk reports that Kent and other Trump administration officials labeled the alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a former Afghan soldier who once worked with the CIA, as part of that 18,000‑person pool of suspected terrorists. They argued that Lakanwal, who arrived under the Operation Allies Welcome resettlement effort, exemplifies systemic vetting failures and shows that today’s threat often comes from individual “targets of opportunity” attacks rather than large-scale plots like 9/11.

That claim, however, immediately triggered partisan dispute. During the same hearing, Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson pressed Secretary Noem on who actually approved Lakanwal’s asylum. According to the National News Desk’s account of their exchange, Thompson produced information indicating the Trump administration’s own Department of Homeland Security signed off on the application, complicating Republican attempts to pin blame solely on Biden-era policy.

Despite that clash, both parties broadly agreed that the United States faces a complex, evolving terrorism landscape, combining foreign-inspired extremists, lone actors, and criminal organizations now formally treated as terrorist groups.

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