Miller to Hold Hearing on Threat to the Homeland from Foreign Fighters in Iraq and Syria

Press Release

Tomorrow, the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security will hold a hearing to examine the threat to the homeland posed by foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria, many of whom have Western passports which could ease their travel into the United States.

WEDNESDAY, September 10 at 10:00 a.m.

Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security

One Flight Away: An Examination of the Threat posed by ISIS Terrorists with Western Passports

311 Cannon House Office Building

-Mr. John P. Wagner, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
-Mr. Troy Miller, Acting Assistant Commissioner, Intelligence and Investigative Liaison, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
-Ms. Jenny A. Lasley, Deputy Under Secretary for Analysis, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
-Ms. Hillary Batjer Johnson, Deputy Coordinator, Homeland Security and Multilateral Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Subcommittee Chairman Candice Miller (R-MI) on the hearing: "Stepping up its international recruitment efforts, ISIS has successfully enlisted fighters from multiple Western nations, including the U.K., Belgium, France and the U.S. Reports indicate that as many as 3,000 of the brutal jihadist militants currently fighting in Iraq and Syria hold European Passports, which allow visa-free travel to the United States. Next week, the Subcommittee will hear from the Department of Homeland Security, specifically Customs and Border Protection, about the current security measures intended to prevent ISIS fighters from traveling to the U.S. to plot or carry out attacks on the Homeland."

Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on the hearing: "ISIS's recruitment of foreign fighters is a real and dangerous threat to the homeland. Potentially thousands of terrorists in Syria and Iraq have Western passports that could ease their travel to Europe and the United States to carry out attacks. I look forward to hearing what the Administration is doing to confront this growing danger to our national security."

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